Attachments developed for productivity boost

Tony Rooney, MD at Cooper Specialised Handling, said: “To give businesses added flexibility to meet their logistics challenge Mantsinen has developed a series of tools, which it also manufactures, that can cope with the most arduous applications.

“As you would expect, all tools are purpose-designed for use with Mantsinen’s award-winning hydraulic cranes, but they are also compatible with other makes of material handler, making them a universally practical solution.”  

One example is, when it comes to moving bulks such as cereals, fertilisers and soil, Mantsinen offers clamshell buckets in sizes ranging from 1.5m3 to 20m3. All have been thoroughly tested in a variety of applications, including loose and frozen coal, soil, ores and chemicals. Shells for the buckets are available for use in handling extremely abrasive or corrosive materials. The clamshell buckets are suitable for both heavy duty operations and for use with lighter cargo and can be supplied with additional hydraulic rams and bolt-on teeth for extra bite. 

Purpose-designed for heavy duty work with a capacity of 0.8m3 to 9m3, Mantsinen’s orange peel grabs are available as closed, semi-open or open structures and can be supplied with a choice of four to six tines. The company has also developed a square grab with six tines and a volume of 2.2m3, which is ideal for applications involving direct loading to lorries or rail wagons. 

Lifting hooks, an essential tool for port operations, can be stick-mounted or used in conjunction with Mantsinen’s quick change attachment.  Available as a single, double or anchor hook in capacities up to 50 tonnes, they are supplied with a parking cradle as standard.  

Mantsinen’s patented sawn timber spreaders incorporate automatic release hooks to reduce manual labour to a minimum while also increasing the safety and the efficiency of the operation and are available with a choice of manual or hydraulic length adjustment. Since the semi-automatic system works hydraulically, there is no pressurised air requirement and the tool instead relies on manual hooking and automatic disengaging to increase cycle speeds. Typically capable of handling four packs, Mantsinen’s latest generation of timber spreaders can lift eight packs simultaneously. 

Fully compliant with Comprehensive Safety Analysis standards, Mantsinen’s log grabs are available in tip-to-tip, cross-over or by-pass format. The by-pass round wood grab comes in sizes 1m2 to 6m2 and facilitates the handling of half loads or single logs at a time so is well-suited to loading and unloading lorries and rail trucks.  The tip-to-tip grapple, available in sizes from 1.6m2 to 3.6m2 is ideal for ship loading/unloading and features two heavy chains in the middle of grab to keep a single log in place. 

Pulp and bag handlers come in semi-automatic and fully automatic modes and a range of configurations to carry between four and ten bags. For added flexibility, Mantsinen’s big bag spreaders can be customised to suit any bag design, while its pulp bale spreaders operate hydraulically and can carry between three and six bales. An automatic release feature on both systems eliminates the need to physically unhook the bags, making the handling operation safer and improving efficiency. 

Mantsinen offers a versatile solution for the handling of single or multiple waste bales of different sizes whereby the blades can be fitted with rollers and one blade can be hydraulically shut off. To ensure the effective handling of single and multiple pallets the shape and size of Mantsinen’s pallet forks can be adapted in accordance with pallet size, while its coil clamps can be customised to lift and load steel products. To support container handling operations Mantsinen has developed fixed spreaders that can lift 20ft and 40ft containers and a telescopic 20ft-40ft container spreader.

Whatever the nature of the load, there are clear benefits in being able to switch quickly, easily and safely between general purpose hooks and grabs and specialist tools. To support operations that require frequent changes of tools, such as ports and freight terminals, Mantsinen has developed fixed rotators and quick couplers with a built-in tool interchange attachment.  Enabling crane operators to switch from agribulks and aggregates to timber handling in just ten minutes, the quick change system reduces machine downtime, helping to increase throughput and support efforts to improve productivity.