Barcelona-based Elebia is known for its range of automatic hooks, but has now diversified to offer the C5. The clamp has a safety factor of 4:1, and weighs 19kg, measuring 345mm by 310mm by 133mm—making it similar in size to the manual products already in the marketplace, says Elebia, but with a range of additional safety and productivity advantages.

Esteve Fornells, marketing manager at Elebia, says that the company has received requests for products to address specific lifting and manoeuvring requirements since the company launched its first hook eight years ago.

“One such enquiry centred on a solution for lifting steel plates, specifically at ports,” says Fornells. “From designing a much larger automatic hook, to modifying and/or changing the tip of our hooks, we looked at a number of options. It was clear to us that there was market demand for a state-of-the-art automatic solution.”

The C5 was developed following a discussion with a customer in Singapore, who wanted a system for lifting steel plates and tubes. Elebia engineers initially considered modifying the tip of the company’s 2.5t-capacity evo2 automatic hook.

The clamps are designed to be used with a linear beam and chains, and a tagline can drag them into position, which informed how the product was designed, says Fornells: “We’ve reduced the need to pick and carry the clamps, making operation safer, faster and easier.

Once the clamps are fixed to the load, automation takes over. The C5 combines the safety and security of a clamp with the ease of use and productivity of a claw.

“The crane operator uses our eMAX remote control to ensure the lifting clamps are all in the same position before every lift. This information is relayed in real time and should there be any discrepancy, the control informs the crane operator immediately. When handling pipes, the lifting clamp can be chained to the spreader with the hand grip acting as a second lifting point.”

The primary advantage of the clamp, as with Elebia’s automatic hooks, is eliminating the need for operators to gain access to rig loads manually, says Fornells—with the clamps making it impossible to drop a suspended load.

The C5 is currently available in one size and capacity but can be scaled to customised higher capacities within a short lead-time, says the company.