Welcome to the Certex News Centre, the only place for information on Certex. Remember to keep returning to this page to keep up-to-date with Certex.

Certex and Walker Offer Magnetic Partnership

Leading lifting gear distributor Certex UK has teamed up with Walker Magnetics – the market leader in industrial magnetic applications – to offer customers a wider range of innovative lifting solutions.

Walker’s comprehensive product range, which has set an industry standard for quality and accuracy throughout the world, includes: permanent and electro-permanent lift magnets; pneumatically operated permanent magnets; battery lift magnets; and electro (mains powered) lifting magnets.

Charles Gillespie, Certex UK Director, explains why magnets often make a better choice than other more conventional lifting methods, and are just as suitable for use in workshops and warehouses as they are on construction sites.

“Magnets offer considerable savings in time and money by removing the work involved in attaching straps and chains. They usually need operating by only one person; they allow more effective use of floor space – because gangways can be eliminated as the work pieces are picked from the top – and they tend to reduce the chance of damage to the item being lifted.

“Added to this is the fact that modern magnets require little maintenance and service – particularly true of Walker products – which saves on long-term operating costs.”

The use of magnets also improves plant safety and working conditions for personnel. They are easy to operate; resulting in less strain, less operator fatigue and better concentration. They also have the added advantage of keeping people out of the immediate vicinity of the object being moved.

Aside from cost effectiveness and health and safety issues, the versatility of magnets is widely recognised. They are ideal for lifting delicate items, picking up loose material like nails and bolts, or moving awkwardly shaped objects. The Walker range offers an impressive number of products suitable for almost every conceivable industrial application.

Permanent Magnets

permanent lifting magnet Walker BUX NEO lifters utilise high-powered Neodymium permanent magnets in their design. These are protected in a fully welded construction for ever-lasting longevity. The beauty of this product is its simplicity. It is very robust, self-contained and low maintenance and suitable for varying surface conditions. Its design handles both flat and round materials and this type of magnet will lift loads from 125 to 2000 kg.

Electro-Permanent and Pneumatic Magnets

These magnets have similar properties to the permanent magnets, except they are switched on by electricity instead of a lever. They are protected by a fail-safe feature, which ensures that if the power supply fails during a lift, all that will happen is that the magnet cannot be switched off until the power is returned.

These magnets are used in conditions where there is no room to switch a handle, or if the operator wants to control the magnet remotely. They are also ideal for robots using the magnet as an operating arm.

Basically, this system has all the advantages of the permanent magnets but with control options. They have a range of lifting capacities from 250 to 1000 kg.

Battery Magnets

Battery Magnet These self-contained units are powered by maintenance-free batteries, complete with built-in charger and control. They give the operator the flexibility to move high capacity loads (1350 to 5000 kg) from crane to crane or crane to fork lift truck, without the need for an electro system.

Battery magnets have the capacity to lift plate from only 3mm thickness, and models like the BM 3600 can lift a plate measuring 6 X 2.7 metres, when only 25mm thickness. Indeed, Walker produce the only magnet in the world that can lift this plate size with one magnet.

The advantage of these magnets over the permanent solutions is in the control, which uses Infrared remote with an option for ‘tip-off’. This feature is designed to lift single plates when taking from a stack. Sometimes, when using magnets on thin material there is a tendency to lift multiple plates. However, when using ‘tip-off’, the magnet can be controlled to lift a single plate. This is a quick, safe and simple solution compared to the traditional method of banging a wedge between the plates, which causes damage to the plate and takes longer to lift.

Electro Magnets

Electro magnets are designed to handle a wide range of materials, including plate, bars, tubes, coils, bundles and loose items like nails and bolts. The magnets are powered directly from the crane and come complete with control and battery backup.

The advantage of these magnets lies within their power and flexibility in handling a wide range of materials and sizes. They can lift capacities from 50 kg to whatever the application demands and are suitable for outdoor use.

Andrew Mackenzie, Product Manager for Walker Magnetics UK, is not only confident that customers will find something in the range to suit their requirements but that they will also be totally satisfied with their product choice.

“Walker Magnetics manufactures all of its own products using the latest technology. Our designs are innovative, incorporate essential safety features and are operator friendly. We recommend that people try them out for themselves,” he said.

For further details of Walker Magnetics products, please call 0845 230 7475