Vacuum Lifters by Industry

Shanghai Herolift has designed and built vacuum lifting equipment since 2006. The range is certified to CE standard EN 13155:2003 (certificate 1975120112) and manufactured under an ISO 9001 quality system, with a CNEX-certified explosion-proof line for classified dust and gas areas. Units are in service across Europe, North America, Australia, East Asia and Africa.

This page maps six industries to the loads they actually handle, and points to the equipment and technical reading that fits each one. If your process is not listed, send the load details and our engineers will specify from the same range.

01 / SACKS, BIG BAGS, PAILS

Food and Beverage

Ingredient sacks, big bags and pails are the classic low-headroom problem: heavy, flexible, and impossible to grip with a hook. Vacuum tube lifters grip the bag surface itself, so one operator can move a 25 kg sack or a 1,000 kg big bag without dragging it across the floor.

TYPICAL LOADS

10-50 kg ingredient sacks, 500-1,000 kg big bags, 20-30 kg pails, roll film for packaging lines

WHAT MATTERS

Food-contact pad material, wash-down duty, and headroom under the ceiling grid

Food industry sack lifter
VEL tube lifters, 30-270 kg
Roll film handling

Further reading: choosing a food industry lifter and solving heavy bag handling with low headroom

02 / CLEANROOM AND GMP AREAS

Pharmaceutical and Medical

Cleanroom and GMP areas rule out most mechanical grabs: no hydraulics, minimal particulates, and surfaces that can be wiped down. Vacuum attachment stays on the outside of the container and leaves the product untouched.

TYPICAL LOADS

Pails and drums of raw material, roll film and foil, cartons, small components in trays

WHAT MATTERS

Stainless execution, easy-clean pads, and documented load ratings for validation files

Pail and drum lifter
VEL tube lifters

Further reading: pharma-grade lifters and clamp handling trolley for pharmaceutical workshops

03 / CLASSIFIED HAZARDOUS AREAS

Chemical and Coating

This is the one industry where the equipment choice is decided by the area classification, not by the load. A standard pneumatic lifter removes the electric motor from the beam, but that alone does not make it an explosion-proof unit.

Check the classification before the load

The certified line is the compressed-air tube lifter and trolley range, marked Ex c III 80 °C Db (dust) and Ex c II T6 Gb (gas). If your area is classified, confirm the correct line with our engineers rather than assuming a standard pneumatic board lifter will qualify.

TYPICAL LOADS

Drums and barrels, big bags of powder, IBCs, stainless parts in solvent-heavy coating lines

WHAT MATTERS

Whether the area is classified at all, and if so which zone

CNEX explosion-proof tube lifters
CT trolleys, 40-500 kg
Big bag lifter for chemical plants

Further reading: how to choose explosion-proof vacuum tube lifters for hazardous chemical and dust environments

04 / PRESS BRAKE AND LASER FEEDING

Automotive and Metal Stamping

Press brake and laser feeding is where cycle time beats everything else: the operator needs the sheet flat, square and released in under two seconds. Vacuum handles the full surface, so thin sheet does not deflect the way it does under magnetic or clamp grips.

TYPICAL LOADS

Steel and aluminium sheet 0.8-6 mm, blanks and cut parts, sandwich panels, rubber and tyre components

WHAT MATTERS

Minimum sheet thickness, maximum overhang beyond the outer pads, and pad layout for the sheet sizes you actually run

BLA lifters for laser feeding, 250-1,500 kg
BLA400-6-P pneumatic, 400 kg
Jib crane systems

Further reading: automatic loading and unloading in the sheet metal industry and laser cutting machine feeding

05 / BAGGAGE AND PARCEL FLOW

Airport, Port and Logistics

Baggage and parcel handling is a throughput problem with a strict weight ceiling per operator. A tube lifter with a luggage attachment lets one person move a 30 kg case continuously for a full shift without the lift-and-twist that causes back injury.

TYPICAL LOADS

10-65 kg baggage and parcels, cartons, sacks, containers being unloaded

WHAT MATTERS

Speed of attach and release, and whether the unit can run on battery where no air line exists

Baggage handling systems
Tube lifter for luggage, 10-65 kg
Carton stacking and logistics

For ports and container unloading, the same tube lifter range runs with sack, carton and drum attachments.

06 / PANELS, SLABS, GLASS

Wood, Steel and Glass

Panels, slabs and glass share one requirement: the face must stay unmarked. Face-contact vacuum pads leave no edge chips, no clamp scratches and no roller marks, which is why they replace mechanical grabs on finished surfaces.

TYPICAL LOADS

Chipboard and MDF panels, sandwich panels, steel plate, stone and marble slabs, laminated and insulating glass

WHAT MATTERS

Surface porosity – unsealed particle board leaks air and needs a density check before ordering – and whether the unit must work without a power supply

Battery lifter for panel and wood
Stone, marble and glass lifter, 300-600 kg
Lifter for large and heavy glass

Further reading: pneumatic vacuum glass lifts for outdoor facade work

Industry Comparison at a Glance

The same load range appears in several industries. What changes is the drive, the pad material and the certification.

What to Send Us Before We Quote

Three numbers decide the model, the pad count and the safety margin. Without them any quotation is a guess:

1. 1
   Load per lift. Single unit weight and the heaviest piece you will ever handle, not the average.
2. 2
   Surface and thickness. Material, thickness range and whether the surface is sealed. Porous or rough faces leak air and will not hold vacuum.
3. 3
   Lift geometry. Sheet or panel dimensions, maximum overhang beyond the outer pads, and the headroom under your crane or ceiling.