New CRS Maxebeam transforms reach stackers into dedicated Rotainer handlers

The engineering team at CRS has come up with another innovative addition to its specialized products portfolio.

The company’s astute customers are continuously looking to maximize container payloads, 35 to 40 tonnes are the new norm for open top container weights in the Australian region.

Unfortunately, add a container rotating device and most reachstackers are pushing the designed boundaries when it comes to rotating containers; this is especially true if an automated lid lifting apparatus is required.

Most commercially available reach stackers have 45-tonne first row lifting capacity as standard.

Heavy duty open top containers such as the CRS Rotorcon® have gross capacities of 38 tonnes, other non-CRS containers can have 35 tonnes as gross weight.

One of CRS’s clients has 1,400 containers that are over ten years old which generally operate with around 32 tonnes gross weight.

Rather than replace their container fleet, the client approached CRS to come up with a way to increase gross weights to 35 tonnes and still be handled with their current fleet of 45 tonne reachstackers; this would leave only seven tonnes for a container rotating device.

Considering a lightweight Rotainer® Eurospec 38 set up with reachstacker attachments comes in at around 12 tonnes, add the 35 tonnes and we need to lift approximately 47–48 tonnes.

CRS’s solution: the CRS Maxebeam® . This apparatus is (patent pending) a fixed spreader beam replacement system to allow reachstackers to become dedicated Rotainer handlers.

By removing the standard 20/40 spreader and fitting a fixed beam it would increase the lifting capacity of the reachstacker.

After reviewing the application, it was decided that the beam needed to be a quick release (easy to change) whilst meeting the operational envelope of the standard 20/40 container spreader, while still having full side shift, left and right, and keeping the versatility of the normal rotating head frame.

To achieve these results a unique internal steel frame structure was developed to absorb the spot loads during side shift without adversely affecting the main beam on the reachstacker.

Fully tested and certified this beam can be adapted to any brand of reachstacker spreader with minimal modifications.

The engineering team at CRS continues to innovate the rotating container industry with the release of its new Rotainer Eurospec 360PC for Portal and Gantry cranes.

By removing the standard 20/40 spreader and fitting a fixed beam, the CRS Maxebeam® increases the lifting capacity of the reac hstacker.