Hubtex: Platform truck: 40 tonnes moved with millimetre precision

The Austrian company Binder+Co AG uses a Hubtex electric platform truck of the SFX type with a 40-tonne payload and multi-directional steering for the in-plant transport of raw material, semi-finished and finished bulk material processing plants.

Ever larger, ever heavier, ever more powerful: this trend also applies to Binder+Co AG’s bulk materials processing systems. On average, the machines, which are in demand worldwide, weigh around 20 tonnes. Individual machines can even reach up to 40 t.

The infrastructure on the premises of the long-established company in Gleisdorf, Austria, was not designed for these dimensions. The gantry cranes installed here in the outdoor storage area and in the halls lift a maximum of 15 to 20 tonnes.

“We always had to hire external mobile cranes with the appropriate lifting power to provide and remove fully assembled processing plants,” recalls Armin Fuchs, who is responsible for operating technology at Binder+Co. This solution was not only costly, but also inflexible. Unpredictable delays in the production process contrasted with the days of operation of the rental cranes agreed in advance, which could not be rescheduled at short notice.

Upgrading the yard crane would have been too expensive

Against this background, Binder+Co set out to find a suitable transport vehicle with a load capacity of 40 t that could move inside and outside the halls. “Upgrading our yard crane would have been too expensive and only feasible in the long term,” notes Fuchs, who had contacted various manufacturers of industrial trucks as part of his research. The search was fruitless until Fuchs became aware of the SFX heavy-duty platform transporters from Hubtex on the Internet.

“The experts from Hubtex were quickly on site with us, took a look at the premises and invited us to a reference visit at a nearby customer with similar requirements,” Fuchs reports. “In the course of the discussions, we jointly developed the idea of additionally equipping the electric platform truck with a lifting function,” recalls Michael Schulz, who is responsible for Hubtex sales in Austria. “This means that the version of the SFX built individually for Binder+Co can not only transport, but also pick up the loads independently,” adds Stephan Rückert, specialist for heavy-duty transport systems at Hubtex. For this purpose, Binder+Co invested in four swap bodies, each with a load capacity of 15 or 40 tonnes. Three more swap bodies are currently being built.

Manoeuvring with millimetre precision

“The lifting function allows us to use the existing gantry cranes much more efficiently because they can now preload the swap bodies with a time delay,” explains Fuchs, who also likes the ease of operation of the SFX 40 with multi-way steering. All eight wheels of the platform truck can be steered hydraulically and precisely via a remote control, so that manoeuvring in the narrow halls with millimetre precision is no problem.

The control unit is equipped with two joysticks for driving and steering. The wheels return to the straight-ahead position when the joystick is released. Different driving programmes, such as longitudinal and transverse driving, can be selected via a selector switch. In addition, there are programmes for all-wheel, diagonal, front and rear axle steering as well as circular driving. The ergonomic operating concept is well received by the staff: “The four colleagues who have been trained on the vehicle are very happy to operate the machine,” Fuchs emphasises.

The drive is provided by four wheel gears with four 12.6 KW three-phase motors each, which move the vehicle at 3 km/h when loaded and unloaded. The capacity of the 80-volt battery with an output of 750 Ah is completely sufficient, especially since the platform truck is only used irregularly and for about one hour per day. The charging time for a full battery charge is 6.5 to 7 hours.

Company grounds more usable

The 15 t vehicle is 7,500 mm long, 2,500 mm wide and 980 mm high. Two of the eight hydraulically steered axle bogies are mounted on four longitudinal rockers, which are mounted directly on the frame. With this pendulum chassis, the rails laid on the company grounds can be driven over and gradients of up to eight percent can be overcome. “The heavy-duty platform transporter from Hubtex can reach every spot on our extensive company premises, which has made us much more flexible in terms of choosing storage locations. We can now make much better use of the site,” says Fuchs, explaining another advantage of the SFX 40, which has been in use at Binder+Co since February 2023.

Conclusion: With the Hubtex SFX 40 electric platform truck, Binder+Co achieves a number of positive effects. Bulk material processing plants weighing up to 40 t can now be transported independently of costly rented truck-mounted cranes throughout the company premises and between the various halls and production stages. Thanks to the lifting function and the use of interchangeable racks, several racks can be pre-loaded, allowing the existing gantry cranes to work in a time-shifted and highly efficient manner.

For more information, please visit: https://www.hubtex.com/en-us