Quality runs through every aspect of the design, manufacture, and delivery of all Hyster® products, which is particularly important when handing heavy metals. From concept to launch, every new Hyster® forklift truck follows a carefully structured development process and prototype trucks are proven in application before going into production.
For demanding handling operations in the steel industry, Hyster has a dedicated, experienced team, offering intelligently designed solutions to optimise steel handling applications and overcome their specific challenges.
Forklift trucks for steel handling operations often require specialist attachments to handle awkward loads. A range of “quick disconnect” fork and front-end attachments are available with Hyster® trucks, including rounded forks, grab clamps, coil manipulators, C-hooks, pipe stabilisers, hydraulic pipe clamps, coil rams (with up to 13 picks), twin rams, long rams, magnets, to name a few.
Heat can also be a problem. Semi-finished products such as slabs, blooms, ingots or bars, exit the manufacturing process at approximately 900 degrees C. Extreme heat can seriously affect a forklift truck but Hyster has one of the toughest heat protection packages in the world for foundry environments, ensuring that the forklift maintains reliability and a low cost of operation.
For example, Hyster trucks can be fitted with heat resistant hoses to prevent them from drying out and leaking, while a heat shield can protect hydraulic cylinders. An extended front fender can also prevents tyres from softening.
For dusty environments, Hyster has introduced an extended pre-cleaner air intake to help avoid engine failure, on demand cooling to reduce fan induced dust and automatic greasing to force dirt out of critical wear areas.
The Hyster Special Engineering Team can also develop customised solutions. For instance, to support a steel operation transporting metal coils with temperatures of up to 450 degrees, a Hyster® H30XM-12 with 30 tonne lift capacity was delivered with a direct lift chainless monomast and an integrated coil ram attachment.
A regular forklift mast working in this temperature suffers rapid wear and tear of the chain grease and hoses. The direct lift mast uses only lift cylinders, which removes the issue of maintenance of the mast chains. The tough coil ram attachment enables easy movement of the hot coils which can also be stacked two-high.
All Hyster® lift trucks up to 52 tonnes are built to high quality standards for the toughest jobs. For more information about quality Hyster® trucks for the steel industry and a wide range of other applications, visit www.hyster.eu.
