Elebia’s CeMAT Centrepiece Marks 10 Years of Automatic Hook Innovation

This year’s CeMAT show in Germany will mark the completion of the first 10-year evolution cycle of Elebia’s automatic hook that started in 2006 with a scale model built of Lego Technic—the first working automatic hook ever developed, it claims.

The Barcelona, Spain-based manufacturer’s exhibit at the Hannover show will celebrate the progress of the hook range, equipped with a magnet that both attracts and positions slings and other rigging gear.

The centrepiece will be the new evo2, which is the embodiment of a decade of lifting innovation. The hook boasts the hallmarks of quality associated with Elebia but CeMAT visitors will note its compact shape and design, suiting the product to any lifting environment where operators and riggers will be safer at distance from the application.

Elebia CEO and founder Oscar Fillol Vidal said: “The concept is constantly growing and advancing. We’re aiming to complete the range of products and implement even more features that we’re working on, although they remain a close-guarded secret.”

New features such as the new remote control system, called the eMax, and a load cell are landmarks in the hook’s development.

The eMax includes a full colour liquid-crystal display (LCD) screen and offers the user a variety of information about the lifting application, including weight, hook status and alarms that alert the operator to overload or unbalance situations.

The Barcelona, Spain-based manufacturer’s exhibit at the Hannover show will celebrate the progress of the hook range.

Vidal said: “We were overwhelmed by industry’s response to the eMax, in particular. The extent of the uptake is best demonstrated by the high profile companies that have embraced the enhancement to the range—SpaceX, Rolls-Royce and Enercon, for example. We are also in consultation with many additional, equally exciting, end users.”

Vidal, who will present the eMax system to CeMAT visitors as a “black box” of crane operations, added: “The system is integral to our growth potential, providing valuable information about lifting activity that can be used to further enhance productivity. eMax constantly creates a log file that can be explored for information as the user desires.”

The concept has come a long way since the first sketches, four rounds of prototypes and the eventual launch.

“Prior to that, I had a requirement to buy cranes and felt that the lifting solution was somewhat incomplete,” Vidal recalled. “Everything was electronic, remote controlled and very automated but there was a lack of innovation around the hook. You could buy the most innovative crane in the market but in the end an operator had to climb up to connect the hook to the load. That was when I really saw there was a lot of work to do in terms of safety and productivity related specifically to hooks.”

CeMAT 2016 takes place 31 May to 3 June at Deutsche Messe, Hannover, Germany. Stand J56 will be the focal point of the Move & Lift area at the world’s leading trade fair for intralogistics and supply chain management. Other Elebia products on show include the evo5, evo10, evo20, big bags, slings, and the flip-up belt.