Goss Graphic Systems, a manufacturer of newspaper printing presses based in Pennsylvania, USA, rejected installing a 50t overhead crane in favour of using a Tri Lifter, a lifting machine that offers an alternative for heavy materials handling in a manufacturing environment.
Goss wanted to increase its production capacity and needed a way of positioning side frames for assembly, then tipping, moving and loading the finished presses, each weighing about 20t.
“We were initially looking at putting in a heavy overhead crane to do the job,” said Goss safety and environmental engineer Phil Whitmoyer. “To put in a heavier crane, we would have had to beef up the columns and structure, but then we would have lost even more headroom than we have now. So what we were planning at that point was to sink the floor.” But that would have presented a safety hazard to factory workers. “We would have had people going up and down steps, even though it’s only a couple of feet.” The next option to be considered was a moveable fixed frame gantry running on rails in the floor. Though less structural reinforcement would be needed, the floor would still need to be dropped. Then Whitmoyer came across some riggers using a Tri Lifter, a mobile combination gantry, crane and forklift from Riggers Manufacturing Company, and realised here was a solution which did not involve lowering the floor.
A new floor plan was drawn up that cost less and offered more than the gantry crane options, offering the opportunity for an extra bay and installation of a door to allow trucks to be backed right in for loading presses.
Is the Tri Lifter difficult to use? Not according to Goss operations manager Jeff Landis: “For some reason, I find it easier to operate than a fork truck.”
