PRODUCT REVIEWS
Celebrating 25 years of lifting innovation
At Blechexpo in Stuttgart , Germany ( 7-10 November 2023 ), Irish manufacturer Combilift will be demonstrating how handling and storing even long and bulky loads need not be a headache with its wide range of customised forklifts and other material-handling solutions . Show visitors can find the company on stand 5218 at Blechexpo 2023 .
“ The growing range of products now available ( at least 30 different models ) are designed to ensure safe , space-saving and productive operation . Their versatility enables them to work indoors and out , for offloading incoming products in the yard , taking raw material to production or manufacturing lines and storing finished products in the warehouse . All Combilifts are tailor-made to customer requirements , with a wide array of attachments and power options ,” it outlined . To mark 25 years in business , Combilift has
Forming solutions
Group Rhodes , one of Europe ’ s largest Original Equipment Manufacturers , will be showcasing its innovations in superplastic forming and diffusion bonding at the Advanced Engineering exhibition ( 1-2 November 2023 ) in Birmingham ( UK ).
The company will also highlight its extensive range of machinery for the hot and cold forming of metals and composites as well as complete turnkey solutions for specialised machinery in the aerospace industry .
Group Rhodes ’ operations director , James Gascoigne , outlined : “ The Advanced Engineering exhibition is a great opportunity for our team to demonstrate the innovative work that is being undertaken at Group Rhodes . It is the perfect environment for us to meet with industry experts and discuss all the aspects of our ever-growing portfolio .”
Group Rhodes manufactures and markets over 50 ranges of machinery from its facilities in Wakefield , West Yorkshire ( UK ). launched no fewer than five
COMBi-CB 70E . new models in 2023 . Many of these are an addition to its electric range , designed to meet increasing requirements from various industry sectors for powerful , emission-free and more sustainable handling solutions .
The machines on show will reflect the variety of Combilift ’ s offering : the original multidirectional forklifts of the C-Series , with lift capacities of 2-25t , are joined by sideloaders and stand-on trucks . For extremely oversized loads , the company also offers bespoke straddle carriers ( Combi-SC ) and mobile gantries ( Combi-MG ) which can lift to around 100 tonnes . The pedestrian-operated trucks , reach stackers , counterbalance stackers and powered pallet trucks have capacities from
The company ’ s capabilities include the design , development and manufacture of bespoke equipment and complete turnkey solutions . The main trading divisions of the Group consist of Rhodes Interform , Craven Fawcett and Hallamshire Engineering Services .
“ Rhodes is celebrating its 200th anniversary next year and , notwithstanding the fact that the business has evolved enormously since 1824 , we are still proud to nurture a dedicated workforce in a traditional yet dynamic manufacturing environment ,” it told ISMR .
The Advanced Engineering exhibition is a large annual gathering for engineering and manufacturing professionals in the UK and a hub of innovation , collaboration and development for all sectors and areas of the engineering supply chain . The event attracted around 9,000 attendees and over 400 exhibitors in 2022 . n
www . grouprhodes . co . uk
Group Rhodes at the Advanced Engineering Show 2022 .
1-16t , depending upon model type . These all feature Combilift ’ s patented multi-position tiller arm .
Combilift also launched its new COMBI-AGT automonous sideloader ( with the option of manual operation ) at the FABTECH exhibition in Chicago recently . n
www . combilift . com
Strong FABTECH results for Unison
FABTECH 2023 in Chicago , USA , proved to be a great success for Unison Ltd , the UK-based specialist in all-electric tube manipulation , and its North American division , Unison Tube LLC .
Over the four-day event in September , the tube and pipe bending machinery manufacturer secured a significant number of high-quality enquiries and an all-electric Unison Breeze CNC tube bender was purchased by Sharpe Products . A 100mm ( 4 ”) single-stack Breeze model formed the centrepiece of Unison Ltd ’ s FABTECH display . It is the ninth Unison Breeze to be bought by Sharpe Products since 2003 and will be used to provide additional capacity for bending tubular components for the business ’ s customer base .
“ Like all Unison Breeze tube bending machines , the 100mm Breeze offers rapid set-up ; fast tooling changes ; rigid mechanical design and all-electric control for ‘ right first time ’, repeat subcontract work or immediately after producing a single trial part ,” Unison told ISMR .
Other highlights for Unison Ltd during FABTECH 2023 included the interest shown in its EvBend range of manually operated , CNCcontrolled , three-axis tube bending machines . Typically used for low-volume production and prototyping , two models are currently available : the EvBend 1000 for bending tube of up to 16mm in diameter and the EvBend 2000 , featuring power-assisted operation able to bend tube of up to 50mm in diameter . n
www
. unisonltd . com
136 | ismr . net | ISMR October 2023