July 2014, Vol. 241, No. 7

TechNotes

Vacuworx Marks 15 Years Providing Vacuum Lifting Equipment

Vacuworx, celebrating 15 years as a thought-leader in vacuum-lifting technology and provider of heavy-duty material handling equipment, reports the company is ready to grow amid increasing worldwide demand.

The company plans to enlarge the scope of its manufacturing capabilities and continue to form relationships with select equipment distributors to meet material-handling needs of contractors.

Vacuworx began doing business in May 1999 and the following year introduced its first RC Series lifter with a compact design. In 2008, the company launched the MC 3 Series “mini-lifter” to serve the utility and compact-equipment host markets.

Since the turn of the millennium, Vacuworx has expanded alongside both the versatility and lifting capacities of its machines, and in the mid-2000s it released a series of vacuum pad systems designed to safely handle all diameters of coated and non-coated pipe, as well as steel plate, still piling, concrete slabs and concrete road barriers, among other applications.

Vacuworx engineers machines and vacuum pad systems to handle an array of heavy-duty materials in a variety of pipeline, construction or utility related applications, with the lifting capacities of its MC Series and RC Series lifters ranging from 6,600 to 44,000 pounds or more, depending on the series of lifter and vacuum pad configuration.

Last year, the company officially unveiled the Vacuworx Concrete Road Barrier System to serve road construction and defense contractors, as well municipalities and the U.S. military. Vacuworx also launched its new lightweight horizontal directional drill (HDD) pipe-handling system that uses wireless remote control operation and the latest vacuum lifting technology to tilt and place drill stem at angles between 00 and 300 without the use of ropes or slings.

Over past four years, Vacuworx has tripled its inventories and more than doubled the size of its workforce.

“We took an idea and we made it into an industry,” Vacuworx President Bill Solomon said. “Regardless of whether the material is round, flat or of another shape, our focus has always been on engineering safety first into our vacuum pad systems while responsibly managing growth instead of just seeing how many products we can sell or get out the door.”

The crystal anniversary of Vacuworx coincides with other milestones for the company, including launch of a new mobile-friendly website, opening of a dedicated office in Australia, and plans to expand the footprint of its manufacturing capabilities in Tulsa, OK.