Lifting Gear Hire (LGH) has added to its fleet of load cells with a landmark order for Straightpoint (SP) Radiolink plus units, ranging in capacity from 5t to 500t. LGH will now be able to offer the highest capacity Radiolink plus load cells available for rent in Europe with a pair of 500t products.

Agreed at last year’s LiftEx trade show in Telford, UK, the order also comprises pairs of load cells in 100t, 200t, and 300t capacities. Delivery of the wireless tension load cells swells LGH’s fleet of force measurement technologies to over 200 units. The Radiolink plus, capable of both weighing and dynamic load monitoring, is SP’s most popular product.

LGH’s Phil Smith (left), commercial manager, and Colin Naylor (right), managing director, either side of David Ayling, managing director, Straightpoint, at LiftEx 2017.
LGH’s Phil Smith (left), commercial manager, and Colin Naylor (right), managing director, either side of David Ayling, managing director, Straightpoint, at LiftEx 2017.
Phil Smith, commercial manager at LGH, said: “We prefer to deal with specialist companies and given our long-standing knowledge of the SP range, we didn’t see any reason to look beyond what is a proven product. We conducted a complete review of historical data, including won and lost quotes, which enabled us to arrive at what we believe is our optimised range.”

LGH has also invested heavily in a range of Green Pin wide body shackles to accessorise the new SP units. Smith added: “We actually ended up with wide body shackles throughout. Whilst this is a preference for our customers on the larger sizes—we already elected to commence the improved range of shackles at 55t capacity—we thought it beneficial to achieve consistency.”

The wide body versions use a specific pin diameter that is different to the standard pins SP typically use for calibration. David Mullard, business development manager at SP, explained that to resolve this and to ensure optimum accuracy, it has adapted its calibration rig fittings so load cells can be calibrated with the same pin diameter used in the shackles. “This way we ensure that calibration conditions are as close as possible to real-world use with the safety and accuracy benefits associated with that,” he said.

LGH has reacted to demand to stock the largest Radiolink plus load cells on the European rental market. Smith said: “We’ve received regular enquiries for this capacity load cell over the past six months, so rather than re-hire, we’ve committed to making the investment. Despite being a highly specialised company focusing on lifting equipment rental, we’re always looking for niche products that give us an edge over competition and the 500t load cells meet that criteria.”

Mullard will lead training at LGH branches that will stock the new load cells. He said the specifics of those sessions will include wireless centre of gravity software, particularly useful for planning heavy lifts and to obtain the exact centre of gravity location of an item as part of a lift plan; the Clamp On Line Tensionmeter (or COLT), for measuring tension on static lines; and the new ATEX / IECEX-approved range of load cells for use in hazardous areas.

Smith concluded: “Training on safe use, features, and benefits of the equipment is a vital component in successfully launching any new products. We hope to create the need for further units, but our next phase will most likely see some activity in the compression range.”