Oh boy! Hird cladding lifter investment gives installers a boost
Hird has given its service for cladding installers a big lift by adding Viavac cladding vacuum lifters to its hire fleet.
The tried and tested high-performance vacuum lifters are popular with cladding lifter teams, with a well-established reputation for reliability and ease-of-use.
Hird now stocks two types of Viavac cladding lifters – the Cladboy CB5 and the Cool Boy 400, also known as the Cladboy Compact.
Cladding lifter demand
With no sign in a slowdown of the growth in the use of cladding to build new structures – specialist cladding lifters like these are coming into their own.
Latest market research predicts the industrial wall cladding market is due to grow by over 11% every year between 2024 and 2031.
The market is driven by the need to build sustainable, cost-effective and very large structures, for example mega storage sheds – very quicky.
Technology, both in the construction and maintenance of these huge structures, is racing to keep up with demand, and Viavac cladding lifters are a key component of that steep innovation curve.
Flexible cladding installation
Hird’s Cladboy CB5 is configured to provide a maximum load capacity of 400kg and can be fitted with suction pads to lift all commonly-used composite wall and roof panels.
It is specifically designed to be flexibly set up to lift cladding sheets of different proportions, whether installed vertically, horizontally and across sloping roofs.
The Cladboy CB5 cladding lifter weighs 165kg and has dual vacuum circuits. This means if one of the circuits fail, the other pump system will continue to safely hold the load.
It has four suction pads that can be flexibly configured with interchangeable sections and pads for lifting loads of different shapes and weights. Loads can also be tilted through 900 to facilitate precise placement.
The cladding vacuum lifter can be configured to install panels up to 17 metres long on vertical walls and up to 16 metres long on roofs with a pitch of up to 450.
It can also be used to install cladding panels up to 15 metres long held horizontally.
The Cladboy CB5 is battery powered, with a built-in charger. There is an option to control it with a wireless remote control, giving the operative more freedom to position themselves during the lift.
Compact cladding lifters
The Viavac Cool Boy 400 is a highly flexible vacuum lifter designed for lifting cladding and roofing sandwich panels, which combine strength, rigidity and high levels of insulation.
It has one large vacuum pad, measuring 1000mm by 500mm, which has a maximum lifting capacity of 400kg, with the ability to tilt loads though 900 and rotate them through 3600 during installation.
It can be set up to lift and install is horizontal or vertical configurations, and also has the option of being operated with a wireless remote control unit.
The Cool Boy 400 / Cladboy Compact is part of Viavac’s Cladboy CBC range of highly compact cladding lifters.
Hird’s version is the Cladboy CBC4, which has dual circuit vacuum pumps to support safer cladding panel lifting.
It weighs just 70kg and is only 265mm deep, which increases the flexibility of lifting solutions and supports working in congested spaces.
Like the Cladboy CB5, the Cool Boy 400 is battery powered, with an onboard 110v charger.
Mini crane hire options
Both the Cladboy CB5 and the Cool Boy 400 can be combined with a variety of machines in the Hird mini crane fleet, including Valla pick and carry cranes and Maeda spider cranes.
An example could be the impressive new Maeda MK3053C ECO all-electric knuckle boom crane. It has a maximum safe working load of 2.98t, a maximum working height of 16.95m, using its jib, and maximum radius of 14.3m, again with its jib.
Mini cranes can be supplied as hire-only options, or as crane and operator hire. Hird’s Cladboy cladding lifts can also be combined mobile cranes, also available for hire from Hird, or tower cranes.
Hird can also deliver RTITB-accredited below the hook vacuum lifter training for individual operatives or lifting teams, so customers are ready to get the most out of highly capable cladding lifters.
Find out more
Talk to the Hird lifting equipment hire team about the new Viavac Cladboy cladding lifters, and associated crane hire and training. They are available for hire from across the UK via Hird’s three operational hubs.
Email: [email protected]