Different Merlo Telehandler Attachments And Their Uses

The world famous telescopic handler company, Merlo, brings an unmatched amount of precision and quality to their unique attachment range. It doesn’t matter if it’s a handler for construction or agricultural use, Merlo provide some of the market’s best attachments for these vehicles.


An attachment is a crucial extra to a telescopic handler and creates a tailor-made machine, ready to complete any job. The whole process of Merlo attachment design and development is completed in house at the huge Merlo factory in Italy. With such a huge team of design and engineering experts, Merlo’s attachment creations are perfectly adapted for their telescopic handlers.

Having specific attachments for every machine makes Merlo the number one handler provider in the industry. For decades, they have been relied on to provide the utmost reliability and versatility with their machines and attachments. Right now, Merlo has well over one hundred different kinds of attachments for all their handlers, for every situation. Here is just an example of some of these attachments to show the vast range they specialise in.


Forks: Manure fork and grab, folding hay bale spikes/ with sliding backrest and top spike.

Clamps: Twin log clamp, drum clamp, round bale clamp, wrapped round bale clamp and a paper or waste squeeze clamp.

Grabs: Orange peel grab, 360 degree rotating grab and a 360 degree rotating cement pipe grab.

Handlers: Tyre handler, olive tree shaker, brick handler and a boat handler.

Buckets: Digging bucket, re-handling bucket, 4 in 1 bucket, 4 in 1 cereals bucket, general purpose bucket and grab, root crop bucket, waste bucket, timber bucket and a concrete mixing bucket.

Hooks: Fork mounted hook and a carriage mounted hook.

Jibs: Crane jib, telescopic crane jib, lattice jib/with winch and the mini tower jib.

Winches/Hoists: Carriage mounted winch, carriage mounted hoist and the boom mounted winch.

Platforms: Fixed platform, slewing platform, front opening slewing platform, space 11 platform and the tunnel rib positioning system with space platform.

Other: Tunnel rib booms, platform with overhead protection, panel positioner, insulating tower, sweeper, disk bush cutter, drilling rig, and even ice coring machines.

As you can see, Merlo has attachments for almost every type of construction or agricultural job. Coupled with their world class telescopic handlers, these attachments come together to produce a truly unparalleled lifting machine. If you had to depend on a company for your heavy lifting job, then Merlo would be that company.

Why Choose A Vehicle Mounted Cherry Picker?

A vehicle mounted access platform, such as a cherry picker is an effective solution to the lifting needs of an assortment of construction jobs, maintenance of buildings and shops. These vehicles fill a gap between the need for ladders or scaffolding which can be unsafe and expensive over the long term. They have many key benefits and are commonly incorporated in and around many sites.


The requirement of a large, standalone lifting device with mounted access platforms adds speed and versatility to the process of elevation. On arrival to the site, all necessary lifting equipment needed to get the job ready to go is easily implemented in no time. Lifting equipment mounted on a vehicle is inherently more secure and stable than structures such as scaffolds and independent elevators that are placed directly on the floor.


Most vehicle access platforms or scissor units offer one or two workers easy access to high or otherwise inaccessible areas without any preliminary fieldwork needed. For any accessible project for a standard working vehicle, a vehicle mounted access platform can usually be used to achieve any high points needed for building maintenance procedures, or landscaping trees.

Cherry pickers:


These consist of a small controllable platform in the end of a crane that extends and can be remotely controlled by the operator of the platform or by a second worker in the truck. These are commonly seen in use by utilities and by a variety of companies, depending on the specific job, as elevators, mounted pickers and scissor-lifts vehicles have their own appropriate uses.

They are best suited for applications at higher levels. A cherry picker can expand and have a longer range than a scissor lift. However, a crane is generally less stable when lifting heavy loads.
Therefore, it is most useful in situations and best suited for lifts of those that include light maintenance such as painting and window cleaning, technical tasks wiring and cables, and pruning of trees and other landscape applications work.


Both the cherry picker and scissors are self-powered by an operator and are vehicles perfect for standard medium-sized work. They are also generally compact enough to access any workstation and fit into a parking space as normal. In most cases, the trucks in which mounted access platforms are installed in the vehicle can be driven by individuals with a standard car license.

Definitions and Classifications of Lifting Equipment

In the world of heavy lifting equipment, there are many definitions used to classify the numerous types that exist. These take many forms, from lifts, escalators and continuous transport, to cranes, lifts, trucks, telehandlers and other similar devices.

Crane: lifting apparatus with a discontinuous operation, intended to raise and distribute, in space, suspended loads from a hook or other attachment.

Jib crane: crane in which the arm is suspended with an accessory pen or a car traveling along it.

In the first case, the load distribution can be effected by varying the angle of inclination of the pen; in the second case, the position of the pen is typically horizontal, but it can be used to form an inclined angle.

Mobile Crane: lifting apparatus with a discontinuous operation, intended to raise and distribute, in space, suspended loads from a hook or other attachment arm.

Self-loading crane: lifting apparatus installed on vehicles suitable for transporting materials. It is used exclusively for loading and unloading.

Tower crane: A jib type crane fed by detachable power, specially designed to work as a tool in construction. They can be classified by its main features:

Stationary: the cranes do not incorporate a manoeuvre operation, i.e. the ability to move themselves autonomously via rails or other means.

Supported: Those that focus their severity through weights or counterweights located at its base.

Built: Those that focus their gravity on the ground, anchored to a concrete pad or similar means ground.

Mobile: Those that possess the capacity for autonomous movement.

Climber: Able to rise by climbing systems (wired or zippers) firmly until the building is constructed.

Telescopic: Able to elongate and rise above themselves through wide and narrow sections embedded on each other.

Hoist: A hoist is a machine used to lift or move a load. It has an advantage over other apparatus because it requires much less force to be applied to the weight. It takes two or more pulleys built to minimize stress.

Hoists vary in size and power; the small hoists are operated by hand and larger machines have an electric motor. There are rotating structures, whose entire upper structure, including pen and control unit, rotate on its base.

Swivel pen: one whose upper structure, including pen, is without a control unit and rotates on its base.

And lastly, there are pen sets: The upper structure, including pen, is fixed relative to the base.

These mechanisms are widely used in many industries that carry heavy materials and elements to make the process easy, quick and for the direct placement of parts. This could be on a construction site, in workshops, warehouses, as well as loading and unloading trucks that carry the weights.

Why May You Need Heavy Lifting Equipment?

Heavy lifting equipment is a vital component in construction, agriculture and other large-scale industries, but what kind of equipment are out there and how does it help exactly?

Firstly, there are lift tables and hydraulic lifts or hoists. The heavy lifting equipment, such as lift tables and loading dock systems are designed to help workers load and unload heavy machinery, equipment, vehicles, and make these tasks much easier and safer. These units are designed for a variety of purposes and are always to be used according to the directions provided by the manufacturers.

Consider the example of lift tables: lifting devices that are using the scissors mechanism to raise and lower materials. Manufacturing firms currently design and distribute lift tables with a variety of functions, such as:

* Rotating roof

* Hydraulic Foot Pump

* Gas Lift Mechanism

* Rocker Mechanisms

A lift table is often used to properly position the workers in the operations of the assembly line. Heavy lifting companies currently manufacture lifting tables for use in all sorts of industries, such as paper, printing and publishing, transportation of heavy machinery, light assembly and warehouse work too.

Hydraulic lifts are another example of heavy industrial lifting machines commonly used today. A hydraulic lift is basically used to raise and lower material specific heights.

An equipment loading ramp is another lifting machine used. Equipment for this includes load-levellers, dock boards, dock seals, safety rail, mini portable ramps and docks.

All these varieties, plus telehandlers at the ready to help manoeuvre in and out of tight spots around construction sites, make for a much easier and safer heavy lifting project. What once was a dangerous and deadly pursuit and not to mention time consuming, can now be achieved safely and in quick time too.

As a society, we have always built up and expanded and so to lift materials, move them and work towards an infinite amount of projects will no doubt require heavy lifting. That is where all this advanced equipment comes into it’s own and luckily for our generation, makes it a lot more achievable than was once possible.

As technology improves year on year, these lifting operations will only become better managed and safer than before. Our factories, farms and building sites will benefit greatly from the wealth of equipment available and will do for exciting future projects.

Where Would We Be Without Telehandlers?

Telehandlers of all description have helped to shape the way our industries lift and load, especially in the agricultural and construction sectors. There is now a vast array of products on the market; with both telehandlers themselves and the selection of accessories that you can get to fulfil any specific requirement. Their skilful application is what makes telehandlers so well-loved. They are extremely versatile machines and as a result, are growing massively in popularity as a vital tool for a myriad of businesses.

There are compact wheel loaders, straight mast forklifts, skid steer loaders and much larger machines too. The beauty of the telehandler is that they are extremely powerful without being cumbersome or slow. In fact, they are incredibly agile and can easily get around any corners or over a variety of different terrain.

Developed first in Europe on large farms, the telehandler soon found its way across the world and in high demand, especially in America, where they were used primarily in the construction industries. It wasn’t long before the telehandler’s capabilities were being utilised in numerous countries and for all kinds of jobs.

Telehandlers themselves have developed and evolved from the early days. Firstly, they were large machines and operated a standard pick and place boom. The handling of the vehicles progressed and it was when the compact telehandlers were made that the market saw the potential of these machines.

So we’ve seen how great telehandlers are for many industries, but what was it like before and how did these companies get by without them?

Before telehandlers, there were limited options and none that perfectly fulfilled a multi lifting task. There were forklifts, which were manoeuvrable but light weight and didn’t have the strength or number of attachments. There were cranes, which were more or less static and cumbersome, there were trucks and diggers, but these too, were not agile enough to get round tight spaces quickly. The telehandler revolutionised a filled a niche in the market that is growing every day.

The massive versatility that the telehandler provides marks it out as an invaluable machine. When before, larger vehicles had to try and carry out the job, now the range of telehandlers are equipped to complete it in double quick time. Their size doesn’t mean that they are a weak cousin however. They are more than capable of carrying out heavy lifting on the construction or agricultural sites. 

 

By, Steve Porter

GT Lifting Solutions

http://www.gtliftingsolutions.co.uk/index.htm

5 things you should do when using heavy lifting equipment

5 things you should do when using heavy lifting equipment

If you’re thinking of using heavy lifting equipment for a certain job in the near future, then it would be best to run through the requirements needed first. This is because there are a few key areas that must be adhered to before any lifting is carried out.

When lifting equipment is on the agenda, there are regulations to be met, as with many other operations in the industry. This is mainly to maintain a safe environment for all and reduce incidents of misuse or negligence. Heavy lifting when using large equipment can be very dangerous, so regulations are in place for the security of everyone.

1)      Firstly, the machine or telehandler carrying out the lift should be suitably strong for the job. It should also be on a stable surface, so as to maintain safety for the operator. The load which is being lifted should also be appropriate and not exceed the limits of the telehandler.

2)      A great sense of safety throughout the lift needs to be considered. The way that the telehandler is located in relation to other people, vehicles or buildings should be taken into account, in case of any accidents occurring.

3)      Within the lifting vicinity, there should be plenty of signs and markings to warn others of the operation. Other accessories during the lift should have a mark on them too. These are designed to serve as an instruction as to the safety of the area.

4)      You must have made sure that the lifting operation has been well thought through and planned. This should involve trained experts in heavy lifts, who have experience in this field. Given the potential for risk and injury, it is never a safe option to go it alone if you don’t have the right amount of experience. Always contact a professional for a safe and thorough job.

5)      This would include having the lifting equipment examined first, so that they fully meet regulations. Safety is number one when it comes to heavy lifting, so as to reduce the element of risk to an absolute minimum. There may be faulty attachments, loose connections, moving parts or a thousand other possible reasons for injury.

By bringing in a team of professionals to help you with the lift should put your mind at ease and make the experience a much less stressful and more rewarding one. After all, this kind of work should not be rushed into or taken lightly.