With the introduction of crane technology just over a year ago, the vacuum handling specialists J. Schmalz GmbH in D-72293 Glatten extended their range of internal material-flow solutions. The range of aluminium crane systems has now been extended with the addition of slewing cranes. Schmalz can thus now offer a comprehensive range of material-flow systems: the Jumbo vacuum tube lifters, the VacuMaster vacuum lifting devices, wall-mounted aluminium cranes with slewing angles up to 180°, column-mounted aluminium slewing cranes with slewing angles up to 270° and overhead aluminium cranes for coverage of larger working areas - whereby all of the cranes are suitable for use with a vacuum tube lifter, with a chain hoist (carrying, for example, a vacuum lifting device) or with a block and tackle or a cable balancer.

The new wall- and column-mounted aluminium cranes are characterised by their low intrinsic weight and can be mounted easily on a wall or the floor, or on a base plate. The jibs are also made of lightweight aluminium sections, which makes them easy to move, stop and position the suspended loads. The crane trolleys which run along the jibs are made of fibre-reinforced compound material, are very light and easy to move, since they are equipped with special rollers to ensure low friction. A further advantage of the combination of aluminium rails and easy-running rollers is that they make very little noise and permit almost silent handling of the loads.

With jib lengths of up to six metres, the slewing cranes permit extremely flexible and ergonomic workpiece handling over large floor areas. They are designed for maximum loads of between 65 and 650 kg and the vacuum tube lifters or chain hoists can be equipped, with various grippers for handling of many different products, containers and sacks. Since all of the prefabricated components are immediately available from our stockroom, such vacuum handling systems can be commissioned without delay and, thanks to the innovative accessories, can be installed quickly and easily (including alignment of the jibs). It goes without saying that Schmalz also offers maximum quality, safety and technical availability with these new aluminium cranes. The new slewing cranes will be available as standard products as of January 2008.