At industrial companies, workers still have to do a lot of heavy lifting on a daily basis when handling barrels and drums. A special drum lifter and tilter makes it easy to pick up, tilt, rotate, and transport these objects. This drum lifting equipment not only protects employees from physical damage, but also increases the efficiency of the workflow as a whole.

Companies and factories producing food, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, or other chemical substances have to store a diverse range of barrels filled with various liquids or powders. Throughout the manufacturing processes, these drums need to be tilted and emptied into machines or filling lines.

Such operations pose a considerable challenge, as one barrel may weigh between 40 and 250 kilograms. This makes it impossible to rely on manual labour without violating the general health and safety standards. Industrial workers who lift and transport heavy drums will severely impair their physical well-being in the long run.

Thankfully, you can protect staff and accelerate the workflow with the help of conveyor systems designed specifically for moving drums weighing as much as 208 litres . When used in combination with special tools, these drum lifters can complete numerous tasks safely and efficiently. Whether you need to handle barrels and drums made from plastic, steel, or wood, filled with wine, beer or oil – a drum-lifter wagon will facilitate daily routines significantly.

Electric drum lifters – the smart way to handle and transport heavy drums

Most commonly, different types of barrels are stored on pallets. A mobile drum lifter enables you to underride these pallets, grab the barrel with an electric drum tong and subsequently pick it up. This procedure does not entail any physical strain for the user, as the grabbing and lifting movements are directed by a simple remote.

The drum lifter takes care of grabbing, lifting, and moving the drums from start to finish. Once you have fastened it on the grabbing device, you can easily transport the drum to its destined location. The lifter thereby functions as a drum trolley, liftomat, and drum turner at the same time.

Emptying barrels overhead – no problem with automated drum handlers! On many occasions, the barrels’ contents need to be emptied into another machine overhead. But oftentimes, the given facilities only leave a limited amount of space to perform such tasks. 

A lifting device including an electric grabber or a drum lifter can be adjusted to either turn or tilt a full barrel and consequently pour out its contents from great heights. Instruments used to tilt drums are commonly referred to as drum cradles.

During such procedures, you may underride the drum lifter or the drum cradle in order to transport the drum to the required position before spilling its contents. The features included in the drum-lifting equipment make it easy to turn and tilt a barrel into a drain pan, for example.

Drums come in different sizes and materials. Likewise, different industries have to comply with different standards in terms of hygiene and safety. When processing hazardous chemicals or pharmaceuticals, you must adhere to particularly strict rules for handling resources.

In most cases, the respective health and safety regulations prescribe the use of stainless-steel barrels, whose contents may be processed in cleanrooms or sanitary areas. Transporting those drums also requires great caution! For such purposes, you can rely on drum lifters and drum cradles made entirely from stainless steel.