Can you imagine my surprise when surfing the Internet I came across a video showing a HIAB truck crane erecting the original Stonehenge, a Multilift hooklift delivering the famous Easter Island statues, and a Moffett forklift handling stone for the famous pyramids of Chichén-Itzá! Well, with a bit of historical fiction in play, Cargotec had some fun showing how their truck mounted products work today in all kinds of applications around the globe.

The video offers a fun way of looking at the many capabilities of HIAB load handling solutions. It describes how the HIAB XS crane concept allows customers to order “tailor-made cranes” that meet their specific requirements. It also notes the wide selection of lifting capacities, from 1 to 90 tm, and outreach of between 2 and 30m. (The spotlight on the HIAB XS 1055 truck crane speaks to the innovations and continuous improvements in design by HIAB.)

When discussing the Multilift hooklift system, the video points out that Multilift is the global leader in demountables because of the excellent reliability and productivity of the equipment. Of Moffett truck mounted forklifts, the video states that they “revolutionized the way materials are distributed,” and also notes that they are the best selling truck mounted forklift in the world.

And, of course, the video has some great footage of HIAB products in action.

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External lighting firm David Webster Lighting relies on a HIAB XS 122 remote control crane to carry out its work on the streets of central London. The company has contracts to remove and erect street lamps, including cast-iron heritage columns.

According to an article on the autoevolution website, the lighting firm uses an 18-tonne Iveco Eurocargo 4×2 truck, which is outfitted with the latest technologies, including: “Bluetooth capability, axle weighing sensors, a ladder to permit safe access to and from the load bed and fixed anchor points which allow operatives to clip-on to avoid falls whilst unloading. It also features four-bag rear air-suspension and an uprated 7.5 tonne front axle with 315/70 R 22.5 tyres.”

The HIAB XS 122 offers the precise controls required in the kind of work done by David Webster Lighting. It provides the power and lifting capacity of a larger crane, but does so in a lighter overall package. Its lifting capacity is 4,000 kg @ 2.9 m or 600 kg @ 15.0m. Remote control options enable the operator to be positioned in a location with the best sightlines, and operators can act as their own load assistant, making unloading more efficient.

To learn more about the HIAB XS 122 and to download product brochures visit our HIAB XS 122 truck mounted crane page.

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It’s not every day we hear about a HIAB truck crane being used in a rescue operation, especially an animal rescue. But that is exactly what happened last week in Corringham, England.

The story begins with reports of a missing donkey named Heidi. When she went missing Heidi was due to be transferred to the Donkey Sanctuary from her home, because of the ill health of her owner. Animal welfare officers spent the day searching for Heidi and eventually a passerby found her, cold and nearly in shock in a ditch. By the time the welfare officers arrived, firefighters and police were already on the scene, comforting Heidi and trying to remove her from the ditch.

Fire crews from the animal rescue unit used a HIAB crane to gently and carefully lift Heidi out of the ditch. She was taken to an animal hospital for treatment. Sadly, Heidi passed away from pneumonia two days later.

The staff at the Donkey Sanctuary expressed their thanks to everyone involved in Heidi’s rescue in a post on their blog. The story also received coverage in the local news, including word that a special donation page had been set up in Heidi’s memory.

Needing a solution for service and maintenance of its wind turbines, Siemens Wind Power A/S turned to HIAB cranes.

Siemens needed a crane that could be operated effectively and dependably in the very tight space of a wind turbine nacelle. The nacelle sits on top of the tower and houses the gear box, main and small shafts, generator, controller, and brake. (The definition came from this fun diagram of a nacelle.)

HIAB truck cranes are known for fitting into confined spaces. They take up little room on a truck, yet offer tremendous reach and high lifting capacities relative to their size. The articulation in the cranes gives them excellent manoeuvrability. Precision controls also set HIAB cranes apart. Whether operated with manual or remote control options, HIAB cranes allow for the highest degree of accuracy when placing a load.

HIAB offers a wide selection of cranes in the light, medium, and heavy ranges. To learn more, visit our HIAB Truck Mounted Cranes page.

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HIAB Québec recently exhibited at the BMR Buying Show in Place Forzani, Laval, Quebec on March 24 and 25th. They were invited as a select BMR supplier and brought with them displays and equipment like HIAB truck cranes and Moffett forklifts installed on customer trucks.

BMR started as a group of six lumber and building materials dealers. They decided to get together to pool purchases and increase buying volumes to pass on savings to their members. The group eventually expanded into hardware distribution. BMR now has more than 183 dealers/members operating renovation centres across eastern Canada. As BMR’s website notes, in 2006, “the commercial flow generated by BMR dealers exceeded the billion dollar mark.”

At the BMR show, HIAB Québec put the spotlight on versatile, durable equipment that has long served the building materials industry: HIAB truck cranes and Moffett truck mounted forklifts. For moving all kinds of building materials—plywood, bricks, pipes, landscaping supplies, roofing supplies—HIAB cranes and Moffett piggyback forklifts offer the perfect combination of power, ease of use, and manoeuvrability.

Congratulations to HIAB Québec for their excellent showing at the BMR event!

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Assembling houses using pre-fabricated sections is commonplace today but back in the late 60s this method of home building was in its infancy.

An article in HIAB Method number 7 talks about the housing market at the time, citing the housing shortage, a lack of labour, and soaring wages as the reasons behind a call for greater efficiency in building methods.

One solution was developed in Sweden. Skilled craftspeople would work together in a factory setting to create house assembly kits. For a single-storey house, the kit would consist of six large blocks that made up the exterior walls of the house. These pre-fabricated walls included all conduits, pipes and glazed windows. All they needed for completion was paint and wallpaper.

The challenge, of course, was moving these heavy walls into place. That is where the HIAB 177 Speedloader came into play. With the precise control offered by the crane, three inexperienced men were able to erect the walls of the house in a matter of hours.

The seventh edition of HIAB Method shares all the details of the operation—a very interesting process that you can read about by clicking the link to the PDF copy of the magazine, below.

For more information about today’s HIAB products, visit our HIAB truck mounted cranes page.

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Taking a look back to Canada’s centennial year of 1967, we see that the innovators at HIAB had discovered many new applications for the versatile Speedloader, as HIAB cranes were then known.

The seventh edition of HIAB Method magazine, attached here, describes some very interesting uses of HIAB cranes: operating only ten degrees from the North Pole, mounted on trucks and trains in Canada, and new applications in the building trades industry.

As the introduction to the magazine says, “The numerous ways in which HIAB can simplify goods handling are reflected in its ceaseless spread to new fields of application. The utility and efficiency of HIAB loaders are also being increased by the many different attachments and ancillaries and the many specialised mounting and equipment alternatives that HIAB’s designers have developed.”

The spirit of innovation existed then at HIAB and continues today with the latest models and options available in HIAB truck mounted cranes. Our next few blog posts will highlight some of the articles in this edition of HIAB Method magazine.

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In case you haven’t checked our used equipment listings in a while, here are two recently added packages featuring HIAB cranes.

One package includes a HIAB 031 truck mounted crane with two hydraulic extensions. The crane has a lifting capacity of 5′ 6″ 3,674 lbs at 5’ 6”, and 1,364 lbs at 15′ 7″. This package also includes a Ford F-555 XLT truck. The truck has a 7.3 diesel engine and 256,000 km. Full details and pictures for this listing are available in our Used Equipment listings.

The next package features a HIAB 650 crane and Freightliner FL80 truck. The crane has a lifting capacity of 7,940 lbs at 5’7″ and is equipped with two hydraulic extensions. The truck is a 1997 with 260,000 km. To view the complete listing for this package, visit our Used Equipment page.

HIAB made the world’s first hydraulic truck mounted crane and their products continue to be recognized for excellence in design and long life. For more information on HIAB cranes, visit our HIAB Truck Mounted Cranes page.

Since 1931, Lake Scugog Lumber Inc. has supplied building materials, roof trusses, and floor systems to businesses within a 200-km radius of its location in Port Perry, Ontario.

The company sells complete framing packages (lumber, plywood, floor systems, and roof trusses manufactured on site), a wide selection of lumber (spruce, PAD, KD, MSR, and pressure-treated), and all manner of building supplies. The company also has the most advanced roof truss fabricating equipment available.

Of course, delivery is a big part of their job. Lake Scugog Lumber delivers all over south-central Ontario, from Barrie to Peterborough, as far east as Kingston, and as far west as Mississauga.

To carry out their deliveries, Lake Scugog Lumber uses a HIAB XS 244 truck-mounted crane, shown in the attached video. The crane is ideal for the building supplies industry. Like all HIAB cranes, it offers a low weight and small footprint relative to its lifting capacity of 22tm. Because it takes up little space on the truck, it leaves more room for payload.

Complete technical specs are available on our HIAB XS 244 page.

You’re quite likely to see one of our truck mounted HIAB cranes, Moffett forklifts and Multilifts on the road just about every day you’re on the highways and byways across Canada. But one thing that you won’t normally see unless you’re tooting around a large warehousing facility is an “Ottawa” style Kalmar terminal tractor. Cargotec, the parent company for the HIAB, Moffett and Multilift branded products is also well recognized for these purpose built vehicles.

Recently, Cargotec announced the production of its 50,000th terminal tractor at its manufacturing facility in Ottawa, Kansas. The achievement is significant in its own right, but even more so when you consider that the 50,000 mark was reached far faster by Cargotec than its competitors—a sign of Cargotec’s expertise in producing world-class materials handling equipment.

As David Wood, Cargotec Director of Terminal Tractors in North America stated, “Our market leadership in terminal tractors is the result of our dedicated people, willingness to adapt to customers’ needs, and ability to produce productive, cost effective machines.”

Congratulations to everyone at the Ottawa plant for this amazing accomplishment!