The paper recycling industry requires heavy bales of scrap paper and cardboard to be moved, the more efficiently the better. Moffett truck mounted forklifts have proven to be just the right tool for this job.

An article in the most recent edition of HIAB Method magazine notes that conventional collection vehicles are not as fast as Moffett forklifts for this particular task. “As the forks move up and down, it is easy to load and unload scrap paper bales, and the number of bales per load is higher….Its light-weight design and ability to mount/dismount in less than a minute allow users to pick up more bales, in less time, with increased payload capacity.”

Moffett truck mounted forklifts are available in a wide range of lifting capacities and models including multi-directional units for handling long length loads in tight spaces, low profile units for low overhead deliveries, wide frame models for handling wide storage and waste containers, and Pantograph and Lift Assist® models for providing double reach same-side unloading of trucks and trailers.

 

 

The latest issue of HIAB Method magazine is now available. The issue focuses on the impact of global trends on HIAB’s refined strategy for addressing customer needs.

Look for an interesting article HIAB safety systems. There are also some great news items: a Multilift Hooklift used by a Swedish fire department to carry a range of tanks, depending on what is needed for each rescue; a new mini radio control for Multilift hooklifts; and the new XSDrive remote control for HIAB HiPro truck cranes.

The news section also contains some brief notes on how HIAB equipment has been used in emergencies around the world, including Haiti, the rescue of Chilean miners, the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant in Japan, and in coastal towns affected by Cyclone Yasi in Australia.

The cover story focuses on the new HIAB XS 622 truck mounted crane, pictured here. We will talk more about the XS 622 and other stories from this edition of HIAB Method in the coming days. To download your copy of HIAB Method magazine, click here.

Get a Quote on a Knuckle Boom Crane

Seeing Atlas Polar and a bevy of HIAB cranes at provincial and national trade shows is a regular occurrence today but how about back in 1967?

The seventh edition of HIAB Method magazine highlights a trade show held in Toronto at which Atlas Polar “put on show a HIAB 174 Speedloader equipped with a 5-h.p. electric motor to supply it with pressurised oil.” The show was attended by about 75,000 people from across North America, who saw the “Boom with Reeeeeach” put through its paces in live demonstrations of the crane’s many capabilities.

You’ll continue to find Atlas Polar at many industry-specific trade shows in landscape, construction, general cartage and more, meeting with customers and suppliers. Today we not only show the full range of HIAB knuckleboom cranes but also the many other products we have to offer: Moffett truck mounted forklifts, Multilift hooklifts, Mixveyor concrete conveyors, and Cleasby roofing conveyors.

Stay tuned to our blog for information about upcoming shows we will be attending.

Get a Quote on a HIAB Crane

Our previous post talked about the beginnings of pre-fabricated housing in the late 1960s and the important role HIAB Speedloader cranes played in erecting the walls of pre-fab homes.

Other areas of the building industry also benefited from HIAB technology, as the attached edition of HIAB Method magazine shows. In an article called “HIAB Raises the Roof”, we see the HIAB 174 Speedloader being used in Austria to hoist roof beams into place. Workers had the added benefit of a “hydraulic extension and an extra jib section to give it a lifting height of 36 feet (11 metres).” In the US, workers used a 177 Speedloader with several extra sections on the jib to put roof trusses into place.

The HIAB Speedloader enabled operators to reach up to 3 or 4 storeys in height, often eliminating the need for special building cranes and making the job go faster.

To see the HIAB Speedloaders in action, we invite you to browse the pages of the attached edition of HIAB Method magazine. To see current HIAB cranes at work, watch the video clip on our HIAB Truck Cranes page.

Get a Quote on a HIAB Truck Mounted Crane

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.

Get a Quote on a HIAB Truck Crane

In our continuing look back at the history of the HIAB company, we see how HIAB truck mounted cranes were adapted for use in specific industries.

Although HIAB now has specialty forestry cranes, when the companies working in the forestry industry were in the early stages of mechanizing their haulage methods, they turned to HIAB Speedloaders—the forerunners to today’s truck mounted cranes.

As the articles in the attached issue of HIAB Method magazine show, the forestry business could have chosen separate, specialty loaders, but those were expensive and not worth the investment since most forestry companies did not run their felling operations year-round. With a HIAB Speedloader, they had a piece of equipment that could be used in the forest and in the timber and pulpwood sides of their business.

HIAB’s success in this industry could be seen in its need for expansion. In 1964, the HIAB location in Borlange, Sweden had to add five workshop bays, additional space for supplies, and a spare parts department.

The versatility of HIAB cranes was the key to their success in the forestry industry. This versatility is one of the many reasons HIAB cranes remain industry leaders today.

To read more about Atlas Polar’s selection of truck mounted cranes, visit the HIAB Truck Cranes page.

Get a Quote on a HIAB Crane

Imagine trying to lower 500 kg (1,100 lb) transformers thirty feet below ground 44 years ago. That is exactly the problem an Australian power company faced in 1966. They also had to handle installations close to buildings, with shop signs and overhangs from buildings obstructing their work.

Other lifting methods either wouldn’t work (building cranes frequently had trouble with overhangs) or took a lot of effort (block and tackle required a lot of setup and blocked traffic.)

Enter the HIAB 177 Speedloader. Some forward-thinking designers at HIAB’s Australian distributor added a hydraulically driven winch to the crane, and outfitted it with 100 ft. of half-inch steel wire rope. Operators controlled the winch from two extra valves mounted above the regular control valves. And, as the article HIAB Method states, “thanks to the careful arrangement of the sheaves in the crane jib, all the movements of the crane can be used even when hoisting is in progress with the rope winch.”

Innovation has always been a hallmark of HIAB, and this is just one more example of the company’s ingenuity at work.

Our HIAB truck mounted cranes page has more information about winches and the many other options available on current HIAB cranes.

Get a Quote on a HIAB Crane

Looking back with HIAB Method magazine, we turn our attention to the year 1966. An article entitled “HIAB 174 a Success Right From the Start,” outlines how quickly the HIAB 174 Speedloader gained a foothold in the marketplace.

A mere six months after introducing the 174, HIAB had sold nearly 2,000 of the cranes to companies spanning the globe.

Along with many Swedish clients, HIAB had sales in: England, where the Speedloader was used for a power-transmission building job; in Chile, where cranes and trucks were purchased from HIAB for use in the forestry industry; in Spain, where the cranes were again used in the forestry industry; and Australia, where they used by a power company. Two hundred of the cranes were sold in the United States, and 55 were purchased by the Canadian army. The Speedloader had also gotten attention in Paris, and was even used to film a running race.

Then, as now, HIAB products were known for their quality, durability, and versatility. To learn more about today’s HIAB offerings, visit our HIAB truck mounted cranes page.

Most people probably assume that employee and workplace safety are fairly recent innovations, but volume 4 of HIAB Method magazine proves that this is not the case. As far back as 1963, the idea of training and safety aids for drivers of large trucks was being discussed in Sweden, and by 1966, a Road Transport Vocational Council had established 14-week training courses.

The courses included driver training on a practice track, with special emphasis on trailer work (including testing on backing up with a two-axle trailer.) After completing classes, the driver was given a 5-week placement with a trucking firm. All in all, it sounds like a comprehensive program and it was solidly backed by HIAB.

Atlas Polar is another company that knows the value of workplace training. We offer complete crane training courses at our Toronto office, at customer sites, and at various authorized HIAB dealers across Canada.

To learn more about Atlas Polar crane training, visit our Crane Training page.

Get a Quote on a HIAB XS 435K

In an earlier post we said we would put a spotlight on some of the ways the “HIAB method” transformed construction methods used in the 1960s. The development of the HIAB Hi-Tilt is one example.

As the editors of HIAB Method magazine noted in 1966, larger building components posed a challenge on construction sites. In the US, large and heavy plasterboards, used commonly in house building, were proving difficult to move around the job site.

HIAB’s American subsidiary, HIAB Hydraulics Inc., asked its engineers to come up with a solution. After much study and planning, they came up with the Hi-Tilt, an apparatus that was ideal for lifting large boards, whether plaster, plywood or wallboard.

Talk about efficiency! The article notes that it used to take four people to unload a truck full of wallboard and then place the load in the desired spot. With the Hi-Tilt, one operator could do the job in half the time.

Sales of the Hi-Tilt took off immediately, and the apparatus also proved useful in unloading train cars.

The Hi-Tilt is yet another example of HIAB’s ingenuity and attention to customer needs. Check out the HIAB XS 435K video to see a modern day hydraulically tilting fork in action handling drywall.