VIDEO: TOOLING UP – Chain Hoists with a Twist

Narrator: This video is brought to you by Columbus McKinnon, leading the way in Intelligent Motion Solution. Welcome to Tooling Up, a series by MSC Industrial Supply Company, the show that provides real world insights and is brought to you by leading industry experts aimed at improving the efficiency and productivity of your operation. And now the host of Tooling Up, Mitch Free.

Mitch Free: Welcome to Tooling Up. I'm Mitch Free. If you're new here, subscribe and hit the like button. My guest today is Paul Smielecki, senior manager with Columbus McKinnon. Paul, thanks for taking the time to join us today.

Paul Smielecki: Thank you Mitch. Look forward to speaking with you today.

Mitch Free: Paul, I know we chatted a bit last week and as I remember, you're based in Buffalo, New York, and right there, the University of Buffalo, where I believe you went to school. Coming out of university, you had a ton of options. World is your oyster. What led you to Columbus McKinnon?

Paul Smielecki: So here in Buffalo, Columbus McKinnon is a very well-known company. It's been around for a number of years. And as I said, I went to the University of Buffalo and I was starting out and I was trying to get my feet wet and find a company that I could really get in with and grow with. That was important to me because I wanted to basically find a company that I wasn't looking to, you know, work for a company for five years and then move on. I was looking for a long-time commitment, and Columbus McKinnon proved to be just that. I ended up, this is my 27th year with the company. I worked in a number of different roles, but it's been a great career for me and I'm very thankful for the opportunities I’ve had with Columbus McKinnon and hopefully will continue to have.

Mitch Free: Well, absolutely, 27 years. I mean, you know, one of the things that you notice in the world is people like to do business with people and with great companies and you’ve had a 27-year tenure at Columbus McKinnon. Obviously speaks to the culture and the values of the company. That must be something that you guys put a lot of emphasis on.

Paul Smielecki: It definitely is. It's something that as long as I've been here, Columbus McKinnon has reinforced. And, you know, it's a great work environment. It always has been for me. And, you know, everyone has good days and bad days at the company they work for. But obviously, I've been here 27 years, so I've never had a bad day to the point where I said, you know, I just can't do it anymore. And that, you know, that says a lot about Columbus McKinnon.

Mitch Free: Yeah. So the chain hoist is a staple in our industry. And you don't walk into a shop that really doesn't have chain hoists. And I think a lot of people would think it's a pretty mature product. But you guys are super innovative and continue to innovate. And you know, pardon the pun, but I think you're Hurricane 360™ is a new twist on chain hoists. And I'd love to hear about that product. And, you know, what was the genesis of that innovation?

Paul Smielecki: Yeah, absolutely. And you know, when you talk about chain hoists, especially manual chain hoists like the Hurricane 360, Columbus McKinnon, you know, we try to be innovative. We definitely do. We emphasize safety. We emphasize intelligent lifting. And intelligent lifting, you know, you might associate that with electric or powered hoists, but it also can be a reference for manual chain hoists as well.

So with the Hurricane 360, it has a rotating hand wheel that allows the operator to lift the hoist from virtually any angle, including above the hoist, which you might say, well, how often are you going to actually lift the product, you know, operate the hoist from above it? Well you’d be surprised because, you know, people are operating hoists off of platforms, dropping hoists into holes all the time.

So it comes into play. With electric chain hoists, you know, there is definite safety with not being what they call tethered to the hoist, not having a pendant or a hand chain where you have to control the hoist from directly underneath that. Manual chain hoists, of course, you don't have the option of things like radio remote control where you're not tethered.

So the Hurricane 360, we did the next best thing. We offer that rotating hand wheel cover, that although you're still tethered, you're not directly underneath the load, you can operate it from any angle.

Mitch Free: So that is a big advantage. I mean, I think those of us that have used chain hoists in our, in our life picking up varied objects realize how, you know, you have to be really careful when you don't have that 360 option, not get yourself in a pinch point and lift up an item that you don't realize it, but it's a little bit off balance and it starts to swing and if you can't get out of the way, you're at risk.

In addition to the versatility that the hoist offers, I can imagine the use cases are virtually unlimited. Paul, I'm sure you spend a lot of time with customers looking at applications and use cases. Where are you seeing, you know, the real adoption of this and maybe even specific use cases that you find interesting?

Paul Smielecki: Yeah, it's a great question, and actually one of the things that I most enjoyed in my career is getting out there in the field and talking to users of our equipment. You know, it's the buzz word is voice of customer, right? But voice of customer doesn't mean anything if you don't implement the feedback that you're getting from those customers.

And that's something that we've done. So we launched the original Hurricane 360 back in 2011, right. And what we've done now is, you know, we've talked to users of the equipment and what do you like about it? What improvements would you make and the result of that feedback that we've got? We now basically have a family of the Hurricane 360 and then in 2015 we launched what we call the ATEX version.

So ATEX is a European directive for hazardous environments, sometimes called spark resistance environments. So you have things like stainless steel load chain, stainless steel hand chain, bronze or copper-plated hooks, basically components that are non-sparking and also are corrosive-resistant as well. And that is ideal for the oil and gas industry, especially. In 2018, we further establish the product line by launching integral trolley hoists and also higher capacities up to 20 tons.

And then just recently in 2021, we came out with what we call the Hurricane Mini, which is one of the most lightweight and compact hoists in the industry. Average weight, if you can believe this, is about 3 to 5 lbs.

Mitch Free: Well, it's so if you think about the breadth of the product, like for the lifting capacity, what is the range from the smallest to the heaviest?

Paul Smielecki: So smallest is quarter ton and it goes all the way up to 20 tons through the whole family.

Mitch Free: That's great. Paul, thanks so much for joining me today. It's been a fascinating conversation and I enjoyed learning more about Columbus McKinnon and about the Hurricane 360 product and all the versatility and great solutions that that product solves.

Paul Smielecki: Well, I appreciate the opportunity. I think Tooling Up is a great platform and I was very excited to be a part of that today.

Mitch Free: Super. If you enjoyed the interview with Paul as much as I did, subscribe to our channel where you will find a lot of other great interviews. To learn more about Columbus McKinnon, Hurricane 360 and their other products, visit mscdirect.com/cm. See you next time on Tooling Up.

Narrator: Want more insights and ideas to improve the efficiency and productivity of your operations? Check out the Tooling Up video playlist to hear tips that can take your company to the next level and subscribe to our channel so you won't miss out.