a LIFTING cab allows the operator to place material where it needs to go in a safe, quick manner. the optics of loading material may seem to be taken for granted until you witness a skilled operator make quick work of moving piles safely all by himself.

Common Uses

Material handlers are most commonly found in the port, logging, scrap and dredging industries. They are amazingly efficient machines that can quickly load trucks, open containers, barges, and sea freight transport with items such as coal. Because the operator sits high above the load out area, voids in the load are eliminated, and the need for spotters is greatly reduced. With the use of common attachments, product is moved, loaded or removed with great speed.

Common Sizes

Currently, Sennebogen, a German manufacturer of material handlers has the bragging rights for the largest material handler ever built, at 420 metric tons. This machine is built specifically for port loading, and is available in diesel and electric power plants. The boom is 130 lineal feet (40 meters), and the operators cab can reach 160 lineal feet (48 meters) above the ground. This machine is a monster.

Material handlers are commonly shipped with either a wheel or track configuration, and they range in size from 15 ton to the 420 ton behemoth, as listed above. Probably the most common size is in the 80,000 lb range (36,000 kg), with the smaller machines in the 30,000 lb range (17,000 kg). They are powered by diesel or electric powerplants, each being geared for the environment they are working in.
The importance of the cab to extend above the loading area is the single most important feature of the material handler. By being able to observe the ENTIRE load out area, the operator can place loads visually, being able to keep loads balanced. Not only does efficiency skyrocket by being able to “see”, the margin of safety in a loading/unloading scenario is exponentially increased; the operator has complete visual command of what is going on below him.

Attachments


The orange peel grapple is a staple in the landfill and scrap industries. It is one of the quickest and safest ways in which to load/unload material from trailers and debris boxes.

There are many other industries making use of this attachment, and they are far too numerous to mention here.

The log grapple attachment, is, as is no surprise, used to manipulate logs and timber. This attachment is commonly seen in recycling yards that are moving scrap lumber, and in paper mills feeding the mill.

The dredging bucket, pictured right, can be used to much material out of rivers and waterways very quickly, removing the existing elevation, and deepening it to make way for larger vessels.

The clamshell bucket also has numerous uses in a variety of industries - one such use is the loading of coal into container vessels, or used in dredging where mud needs to be removed to deepen a water passage.

Industry Uses