6 vacuum lifters our customers love about our glass lifter hire service
Can you love vacuum lifters? No harm starting a news item about the Hird glass lifter hire service with what seems to be a daft question. But if the vacuum lifter is one that makes glass installation easier than before.
A vacuum lifter that increases productivity. And a piece of kit that improves safe glass handling at the same time, the concept of love and vacuum lifters comes more sharply into focus.
So, we’re testing love and vacuum lifters to the safe limit, by highlighting 6 of the machines that define the breadth of the Hird vacuum lifter hire fleet, and tell the story of why customers might…actually….love them.
1. Woods Powr-Grip MRT4
If the words bread and butter were to be applied to a vacuum lifter, it would be spread all over the Woods Powr-Group MRT4. We’ve been supplying this excellent industry-leading lifter for many years, and it still stands the test of time. With a gross weight of just 58kg and a maximum lifting capacity of 320kg, it is now one of a lower-weight vacuum lifters. But it’s as popular as ever. Versatility comes from variable length arm extensions that allow the machine to be adapted quickly for materials of different size and type.
2. Woods Powr-Grip P11104
Another stalwart of the Hird vacuum lifter hire fleet, the P11104 lifter also has a 320kg maximum safe lift. But its 4-in-line design makes it ideal for lifting elongated material sheets, including glass, metal, fibre board and plastic. Our glass handling customers love its flexibility and excellent safety features. For example, Hird was the first glass lifting hire company in the UK to supply P11104s with the new 2-button fast release system, which reduces greatly the risk of accident load release.
3. Hydraulica 1000
The Kappel Hydraulica 1000 vacuum lifter defines the point at which the loving relationship between vacuum lifters and glass lifting began to get heavy. A decade ago, 500kg would have been considered a heavy piece of glass to lift with a vacuum lifter. Now, 1 tonne is becoming the norm, and the Hydraulica 1000 is one of the reasons. It can lift up to 1000kg. Its sister vac lifter, the Hydraulica 1200 can go to 1,200kg. With ten suction pads and arm extensions, it also delivers excellent versatility.
Another UK first for Hird: our newest Hydraulica 1000 and 1200 models now also have full remote control for rotation, tilt and vacuum, reducing manual handling and increasing productivity. These vacuum lifters just keep getting better and better!
4. Hydraulica 1500 / 1200 curved
To show we do not rest on our laurels, here is a sneak preview of a new vacuum lifter that will make clients with the hardest hearts melt (just a little). The Hydraulica 1500 is new to our vacuum lifter hire range, and is really two vacuum lifters in one. Because with a bit of adjustment by Hird technicians it can be turned into a Hydraulica 1200 curved vacuum lifter. This is important because there is growing demand for vacuum lifters that can handle curved and non-standard loads.
5. Fin lifter
The Fin lifter is a 1,800kg vacuum lifter that has been exclusively designed for Hird, and reflects another trend in glass lifter development. Over the last 10 years, vacuum lifter designers have been in a race to keep up with what goes on in the heads of the world’s best architects.
Modern buildings, especially high-rise ones on mega cities like London, Dubai and New York, are increasingly designed to be made from structural glass. This is glass that has the strength to hold up the building, not just be looked out of.
This means glass panels are getting heavier, more complex and more numerous. Also, because they form a more integral element of the structure, it is vital that they can be installed quickly, to keep up with the modern productivity demands of the building process.
So is born the Hird Fin lifter. This vacuum lifter can carry sheets of glass more than 9 metres long. It is in demand to install glass fins in many large construction projects across London. As you might expect with a vacuum lifter that carries such heavy and important loads, our clients do really love its safety features. These include four independent vacuum circuits, a vacuum gauge for each circuit and an audio-visual low vacuum alert.
6. Hydraulica 3500
Just to prove that glass lifting has moved on a lot in recent years, our Hydraulica 3500 takes us into the super heavy vacuum lifting arena. This impressive machine can lift glass and other materials up to 3.5 tonnes in weight. That’s equivalent to two super mini cars. Affectionately known as Brutus, the vacuum lifter has been put to work on some of the highest profile building projects in London, as well as a cottage renovation in Wales that features on Grand Designs.
So you can see, there is lots to love about the Hird vacuum lifter hire fleet! Safety, flexibility, capacity, productivity. All key issues in glass lifting and materials handling are covered by the UK’s most comprehensive glass vacuum lifting service. Don’t wait until Valentine’s Day to find out for yourself.