Lifting Equipment Customer Open Day: Bringing Customers and Manufacturers Together
At Lifting Gear Products, we know that choosing the right lifting equipment isn’t always as simple as finding a product with the right capacity and placing an order.
The way equipment is going to be used, the environment it will be working in and the challenges faced by the people using it can all make a difference. Sometimes, a conversation with the right manufacturer or lifting specialist can be just as useful as looking through a product catalogue.
With that in mind, we recently hosted the first of what we hope will be many customer open days at our sister division, Dale Lifting & Handling Specialists, in Manchester.
Over two days, we brought together one of our valued defence customers with a range of established lifting equipment manufacturers and specialists. It was a great opportunity for everyone involved to look at equipment, ask questions, share experience and, most importantly, talk about some of the real challenges faced when planning and carrying out lifting operations.
Bringing Customers Closer to the Manufacturers
The idea for the event actually came from our customer, who wanted the opportunity to spend some time with manufacturers and get a better understanding of the latest developments across lifting equipment, safety, training, inspection and maintenance.
Rather than putting on a traditional product demonstration day, we wanted the event to be much more interactive.
Our customer was able to speak directly with the people behind the equipment, ask questions about particular applications and get a better understanding of what options might be available for future lifting requirements.
That’s particularly useful when you’re dealing with more complicated lifting applications. The product that initially appears to be the obvious choice isn’t necessarily always the best option once you understand exactly what the customer is trying to achieve.
Having the manufacturer, customer and lifting specialist in the same room makes those conversations much easier.
Talking About Real Lifting Applications
A large part of the two days was simply talking through how lifting equipment is actually used.
Discussions covered areas including planned lifting operations, equipment selection, pre-use inspections, maintenance and ways existing or planned operations could potentially be improved.
This is something we see regularly at Lifting Gear Products. A product might have the required Working Load Limit (WLL), but that is only part of the decision.
Where is it being used? How often will it be used? What is being lifted? How will the load be connected? What access is available? Are there environmental considerations? Are there other ways of carrying out the lift?
These are the sorts of questions that can change the equipment or configuration that makes the most sense.
Getting involved early in the process gives everyone a better chance of finding a practical solution rather than trying to make a standard product fit a particular application.
One of the more interesting discussions centred around a potential confined headroom lifting application. The requirement involved multiple hoists that would need to be operated individually, but at times also operated simultaneously. With the limited headroom available, finding a suitable solution isn’t straightforward.
By having the customer in the room with manufacturers and lifting specialists, we were able to explore the requirements in much more detail. While the final solution will need to be properly assessed and specified, it looks like a suitable solution is likely to be achievable.
That’s exactly the sort of conversation we wanted the open day to create.
The event also gave us a good opportunity to explain some of the services we can provide beyond supplying standard lifting equipment.
We can work with customers on bespoke lifting requirements, including the fabrication of lifting beams and other specialist lifting equipment. Where an off-the-shelf product isn’t suitable for a particular application, being able to discuss a bespoke solution can open up another option. Find out more about the bespoke equipment we can fabricate on our service page.
Leading Lifting Equipment Manufacturers Under One Roof
One of the highlights of the open day was having so many established manufacturers and suppliers available for our customer to speak to directly.
Columbus McKinnon
Columbus McKinnon is a major manufacturer of lifting and material handling equipment, with products used across a wide range of industrial applications.
Their involvement gave our customer the opportunity to discuss different lifting technologies and how they can be used in demanding working environments.
Kito Crosby
Kito Crosby brings together some of the best-known names in the lifting industry and offers a broad range of lifting and material handling products.
From hoists through to lifting accessories, their equipment is used across many different industrial applications.
Tiger Lifting
Tiger Lifting specialises in manual and pneumatic lifting equipment, including hoists designed for demanding industrial environments.
The event provided an opportunity to discuss where different types of hoists can be used and the considerations that need to be made when selecting equipment for a particular application, as well as the safety features being introduced into the latest models.
William Hackett
William Hackett is an established manufacturer of lifting chains, chain hoists, including both manual and pneumatic hoists, and associated lifting equipment.
Chain remains an important part of many lifting operations, so having the opportunity to discuss chain products and their applications added another useful dimension to the event.
Enerpac
Enerpac is well known for high-pressure hydraulic equipment and engineered lifting solutions.
Hydraulic equipment can be particularly useful where controlled movement, positioning or high-capacity lifting is required, making it an important option for some specialist applications.
Enerpac’s product range will also be added to our online offering in the coming weeks. If you need information before then, you can contact our Sheffield team at sales@liftinggearprod.co.uk or our Manchester team at info@dale-lifting.co.uk.
Red Rooster Lifting
Red Rooster Lifting specialises in pneumatic lifting equipment, including pneumatic hoists for industrial applications.
Pneumatic equipment can be a useful option where compressed air is already available or where electrical equipment isn’t appropriate for the working environment.
As with Enerpac, Red Rooster Lifting’s products will be added to our online range shortly. In the meantime, enquiries can be made through sales@liftinggearprod.co.uk or info@dale-lifting.co.uk.
Donati Sollevamenti
Donati is well known for its overhead crane systems, jib cranes and associated lifting equipment.
As part of the open day, the team at Dale Lifting & Handling Specialists was able to demonstrate Donati equipment and discuss how crane systems can be configured to suit different workplaces and lifting requirements.
Lifts All
Lifts All specialises in vacuum and mechanical lifting technology.
Vacuum lifting can be particularly useful when handling sheet materials and other loads where traditional lifting methods can be awkward, labour-intensive or simply not the best fit for the job.
It was another good example of why looking at the application first can open up different options.
Green Pin
Royal Van Beest is the manufacturer behind the well-known Green Pin range of lifting shackles and accessories.
Lifting accessories such as shackles, hooks and connecting components are often small parts of a much larger lifting operation, but selecting the right equipment and making sure it is correctly inspected and used is essential.
More Than Product Demonstrations
Although equipment was obviously a big part of the event, we didn’t want the two days to feel like a series of sales presentations.
There was plenty of time for people to talk, ask questions and compare experiences.
We had organised manufacturer sessions throughout the event, with refreshments available during the day, but some of the most interesting conversations happened between the formal sessions.
And we made sure there was some decent food too.
Day one included freshly made pizzas, while day two finished with a BBQ. We also organised an evening event at Lane7, giving everyone the chance to step away from the formal sessions, relax and spend some time together away from the workplace.
It was a good opportunity for customers, manufacturers and our teams to get to know each other in a more relaxed setting. As is often the case, some of the conversations that continued into the evening were just as useful as those that took place during the formal sessions.
Training, Safety and Equipment Knowledge
Training and safe use of lifting equipment were also important parts of the event.
Having the right equipment is only one part of a safe lifting operation. People also need to understand how equipment should be selected, used, inspected and maintained.
The discussions covered areas such as:
- Equipment selection and application
- Safe equipment use
- Pre-use inspections
- Maintenance
- New product developments
- Lifting accessories
- Alternative lifting methods
- Planned lifting operations
For us, this is an important part of what being a lifting equipment supplier should involve.
We don’t just want to supply a product and leave the customer to work out the rest. Where we can, we’d much rather understand the application and help identify the equipment or solution that makes the most sense.
That might mean supplying a standard product, but it could also mean looking at a different configuration, a different lifting method or a bespoke piece of equipment designed around the application.
The Beginning of Something Bigger
This was our first customer open day, but we’re already looking at how we can develop the idea further.
For future events, we’d like customers to be able to bring specific lifting challenges, planned operations or applications with them and put those directly to the manufacturers and specialists attending.
The confined headroom application discussed during this event is a good example of what we mean. Rather than simply looking at products individually, we could discuss how multiple hoists might work together, how they could be operated individually or simultaneously and what options might be available within the available headroom.
Imagine being able to bring a particular lifting problem into a room with several manufacturers, engineers and lifting specialists and work through the options together.
That’s where we’d like these events to go.
Ultimately, we want these events to be useful. That means giving customers the opportunity to ask questions, put real applications on the table and work through possible solutions with people who understand the equipment.
Could Your Lifting Challenge Be Our Next Open Day Topic?
Every lifting operation is different.
You might be looking at a new overhead crane system, choosing a hoist, improving material handling, introducing vacuum lifting, planning a complex lift or simply trying to find a safer and more efficient way of moving a load.
You might also have a requirement that doesn’t quite fit an off-the-shelf product. In those situations, our team can also look at bespoke options, including fabricated lifting beams and other specialist lifting equipment.
Whatever the application, getting the conversation started early can make a real difference.
If you’re an existing customer, or you’re looking for a lifting equipment supplier that can offer more than simply a product catalogue, we’d be happy to talk through your requirements.
And if you’d like to be involved in a future Lifting Gear Products customer open day, we’d love to hear from you.
If you have a particular lifting challenge that you’d like our team and industry partners to explore, get in touch. It could even become the subject of our next open day.
Lifting Gear Products – Lifting Solutions Simplified.
Email: sales@liftinggearprod.co.uk
