Glass, Marble, Granite, and Lumber Handling

American Crane and Equipment Corp.’s high-performance lifting solutions are specifically designed to handle some of the world’s harshest loads and most severe conditions, but they’re also used for various specialty building materials, including glass, marble, granite, and lumber — all of which require reliable, high-performing cranes to ensure optimal safety and efficiency.

OSHA Guidelines

All design processes at American Crane are driven by adherence to strict safety regulations and industry guidelines, and such mindfulness is key to successfully managing specialty materials.

Our cranes are designed for longevity and optimal safety, reducing the risk of common workplace accidents during the moving, storing, and handling of building materials such as glass, marble, granite, and lumber.

But improper practices — and use of nonspecialized, subpar equipment — when handling and storing these materials not only result in extra expenditures and delays, but can also pose serious hazards to workers, which can cause injury and even death.

OSHA guidelines state that detailed training and education should be conducted in all material handling applications in order to reliably protect employees.

Below are some of the most common workplace hazards presented by both manual and mechanical material handling:

Strains and sprains from lifting loads improperly or attempting to manage loads that are too big, too heavy, or too hard to see
Fractures and bruises resulting from being caught in mechanical pinch points or being struck by materials
Cuts and bruises caused by falling materials that are improperly stored, loads that are not fully secured, or loads that are improperly secured

To minimize the risk of accident or injury, teams must not only receive comprehensive training and accident awareness education but also be able to work with safety-oriented and application-specific equipment.

Below, we’ll take a closer look at the equipment used in marble, glass, and lumber handling.

Specialty Material: Marble & Granite

Prized for both its strength and aesthetics, marble and granite are used for many different kinds of structures, facades, and home interiors.

These stones are formed from sedimentary carbonate rocks and undergo an extensive fabrication process. The steps that carry marble and granite from quarry to kitchen include:

Extraction — This is the process of removing natural stone from an environment and transporting it to a facility for processing. Here, marble and granite slabs are assembled, drilled with holes, and set together to create perpendicular structures when needed.
Gang sawing — Gang sawing is done to break down the marble and granite into finer pieces for finish work.
Polishing and sealing — Artificial diamonds smooth the stones’ surface to reveal the true value and character of the material.
Waterjet cutting and wet sawing — The stone is cut with a cooling water flow, with minimal heat and friction applied.

Large-scale marble and granite restorations, stone repairs, and commercial work all rely on cranes for efficient, quick handling.

To withstand outdoor environments and appropriately manage delicate marble and granite loads, our cranes can be equipped with corrosion-resistant, weatherproof controls and enclosures, and our precision hoists can be used to carefully turn stones and lay them flat.

Specialty Material: Glass

Glass is among the most versatile modern materials; industrial, lighting, optical, food and beverage, packaging, construction, and countless other applications rely on it daily.

Due to its variety of uses, glass fabrication and handling may involve any number of processes, from polishing, bending, and drilling to grinding, laminating, and cutting, just to name a few.

Reliable and efficient, our top-running double girder cranes and top-running trolleys, designed for precise handling, are often used for glass handling applications.

We can also supply our trolley frames without a hoist, allowing glass manufacturers to easily customize trolleys with the ideal equipment for their specific job.

Specialty Material: Lumber

Among the most demanding manufacturing environments, paper mills require custom cranes designed to manage large loads and withstand high humidity. We recommend heavy-duty Class D cranes as the minimum requirement for paper mills.

American Crane is also proud to offer a range of craft forestry tools and smaller-scale lifting solutions, including:

Peaveys, cant hooks, and hookaroons — For managing large logs and adjusting sawmill conveyor loads
Pike poles — For retrieving logs from mill ponds
Mill rakes — For safe clearing of chips and bark
Timber carriers — For handling large logs
Tongs — For skidding and lifting large trees
Fire rakes — For cutting roots and clearing fire breaks in the event of a forest fire