The beam, which is fitted with two evo10 automatic hooks from Elebia, each with a capacity of 10t, is used to lift and transport grape presses weighing 14t from one area of the company’s warehouse to another.

The distance between the automatic lifting hooks can be adjusted, depending on the model of pneumatic grape press being lifted. Once the distance between the hooks has been modified, the lifting beam is levelled and fixed, so no balancing is required during the lifting and transportation process.

Using the automatic beam, combined with the automatic engage and release functions of the hooks, Bucher Vaslin has seen an increase in productivity of up to 50%, because the different manoeuvring processes can now all be handled with the same beam and hooks.

As well as increasing efficiency, safety has also been improved thanks to the remote-release hooks, which keep operators a safe distance away from the presses when loading and unloading.