Palamatic is a leading supplier of vacuum tube lifting systems to the woodworking industry. With 35 years’ experience, thousands of the company’s solutions are in use on a daily basis. With recent changes in the construction industry, Palamatic’s range has developed to offer solutions to keep up with the demand.
As a proven health and safety solution, a Palamatic Vacuum Tube Lifter offers increased operator safety and performance allowing efficient use of labour, and reduced injuries and claims.
“Our systems are very robust, built to last and designed to endure the vast requirements of the woodworking industry,” explains Matt Bennison, Palamatic’s marketing and customer relations manager.
Woodworking facilities are at a high risk of fires and explosions due to the unavoidable presence of flammable material in the form of wood and wood products, sawdust, etc.
Ignition sources can range from potentially faulty electrical wiring, cutting and welding operations, sparking tools, propellant actuated tools, to even operators (eg smoking). There is also the potential for static electrical discharges and lightning.
In response to this risk, Palamatic has developed a range of ATEX-suitable (atmospheric explosibles) lifting systems and upgrade packages for existing vacuum lifting equipment to give companies the peace of mind and confidence to operate safely within hazardous environments.
“Some of the ATEX safety measures offered include earth continuity certification, ATEX components, use of suitable materials, etc, dependant on the specific hazardous rating of the area and process.,” explains Matt.
“For additional support on this contact our experts at our HQ in Chesterfield.
“Applications we regularly provide equipment for include loading and unloading vertical panel saws, beam saws, dimension saws, flat-bed CNC stations edgebanders and laminators, paint lines, tilt tables.
“The most common wood materials handled by our lifting systems include Trespa Jumbo boards, Spandrel panels, MDF, MFC, chipboard, wood, plywood, Sterling board, plasterboard and Polycarbonate. Weights up to 350kg can be picked up.”
Wood products handled include fire doors, panel doors, furniture, staircases, planks, timber sections, laminate surfaces and cabinets.
“We are also often asked to rotate boards through 90° or 180° for loading and unloading purposes. Another request we get is to grip doors by their edges, instead of using suction on the flat face, for example to avoid wet paint/glue, which our systems can do with ease.
“Our philosophy is to provide equipment fit for the purpose, so all applications will be looked at by our engineers to design the correct solution.”
The gantry that the lifting systems are suspended on are critical to offering an ergonomic solution that works for the operator.
“We can provide H style gantry systems to cover large areas, but our smaller swing jibs and low headroom centre posts can fit in to areas where space is an issue and work perfectly well.
“With our 22,000 sq ft factory based in Chesterfield, Derbyshire, we are well placed to visit customer sites, and for customers to send us samples to test prior to us manufacturing their vacuum tube lifter. We have a skilled field engineering team to install the systems and come in to train your operators,” says Matt.
“Due to the high demand on lifting systems in the woodworking industry we recommend companies take up a service contract to ensure their systems are kept in good working area.
“If you have an application you would like us to come and look at, please visit our website.”
01246 452054
[email protected]
www.palamatic.com
