Manufacturing Showcase
SKY HOOK By: Russ Willcutt
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t’s been more than half a century since Edwin “Chris” Christensen recognized the need for a safe lifting device for the machining industry and established the company in 1969 which would then come to be known as Sky Hook in Letha, Idaho. Since that time, it has become a recognized world leader with an extensive line of tool post-mount, floor-mount, and mobile lifting equipment used in every conceivable industry and for an ever-growing number of products and applications. It all began with a single device: the Tool Post Mount Sky Hook. Such was the success of its design that it was the only piece of equipment the company manufactured, and the only model Christensen sold, for some 15 years. In the 1980s, as the second generation of Christensen’s prepared to take the company’s helm, the first new piece of equipment was added to its lineup: the Bench Mount Sky Hook. With two additional models soon to be added, these devices became Sky Hook’s first category of lifting devices, referred to as Fixed Mount Lifting Devices. Another category was then created that’s known as Mobile Lifting Devices, offering four different models of its own. All told, these eight models marked the company’s growth into the “CNC machining” era, offering a range of options designed specifically for reaching into enclosure-type machines (please see sidebar for more information on these categories and models). This period was overseen by husband and wife Dean and Twilla Christensen, who helped develop the Articulating Arm
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20 IMD NOVEMBER 2020
category. This was a major evolution for Sky Hook, representing a leap from manual to CNC machining lifting devices, and carried the company into an entirely new range of markets, applications, and end-users, including semiconductor and aerospace. It also focused the company’s attention on the design characteristics of its entire product lineup, according to Thomas Christensen, vice president of design.
