With sand-lime brick, load-bearing walls can be built with a material thickness of just 11.5 centimetres. At Heidelberger Kalksandstein, everything revolves around this versatile material, which has to arrive at the construction site undamaged. This requires powerful yet sensitive heavy-duty forklifts and grabs that can withstand rough conditions. Together with the company SH Anbaugeräte, Konecranes Lifttrucks has designed two forklifts with brick stacking grabs that are suitable for sand-lime brick production thanks to their high lifting power and gentle grip. The power packs, each with a lifting capacity of eight tons, are already in use at Heidelberger Kalksandstein, and a third, identical device is currently being manufactured by Konecranes Lifttrucks. "These three machines are the first Konecranes Lifttrucks forklifts with brick stacking grabs in the C-series," explains Uwe Höß, Sales Manager Konecranes Lifttrucks Southern Germany.

As safety has priority on the company premises with heavy traffic, the heavy-duty forklifts are equipped with an electronic speed limiter. No more than 20 kilometers per hour are possible, the limiter can also be set at 15 kilometers per hour.

The grabs are equipped with a pressure transducer: It informs the driver in real time about the hydraulic clamping pressure. If the grip is too loose, there is a risk of the pallets slipping out of the gripper. If the device grips too tightly, the stones can be damaged. The wireless transducer transmits on a frequency that is largely insensitive to interference, so the driver always knows how securely he has his heavy load under control. An electromagnetic locking valve prevents the gripper from swinging. This allows the forklift trucks to pick up several pallets of sand-lime bricks safely and precisely.

Konecranes Lifttrucks has focused on the safety and comfort of the driver when manufacturing the trucks and has installed the Optima cab, which offers a clear and comfortable workplace. Equipped with an air-suspended seat, the vibration- and noise-damped cab is state-of-the-art in terms of ergonomics. Air conditioning and seat heating ensure a pleasant working atmosphere, while the driver controls the machine with the aid of a seven-inch touch monitor. The front windshield does not have any struts to obstruct the view and offers an optimum overview. The driver controls the truck via an electronic joystick with speed increase. The machine and hydraulic system are always ready for use thanks to the hydraulic oil tank heater, diesel parking heater and engine water heater. The SMV 12-1200 C forklifts have a short wheelbase of 3.5 meters, a lifting height of over 6.5 meters and a load capacity of up to eight tonnes. Thanks to wider supports, the brick stacking grab can hold up to five pallets of sand-lime bricks, depending on their size. pb