Theodore, AL – Mack Manufacturing’s focus on building buckets to match the higher-capacity cranes of today’s ships has not only turned heads up and down America’s waterways, but the world at large.
Mack buckets equipped with remote control can be operated within a 500 ft. radius.
The company was among those recently recognized by Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley for excellence in international trade. “These companies are taking advantage of the tools available to them to serve customers all over the world,” Gov. Bentley said of the eight Governor’s Trade Excellence Award recipients. “The Export Alabama Alliance is connecting Alabama companies with exciting new opportunities, and that’s good business for this state.”
A family-owned and operated company founded in northern Minnesota in 1942, Mack began as a welding company to support the forestry and mining industries, but quickly reinvented itself as a crane attachment manufacturer specializing in material handling. Today, this focus is highlighted by Mack’s expanding range of clamshell buckets and grabs for the stevedoring industry, particularly well serviced from the company’s current base on Alabama’s Gulf Coast. Of Mack’s approximate annual sales of $7+ million, roughly 15 percent can be attributed to direct exports.
“The 25 yard buckets used to be the largest size we ever produced for these applications,” says Matt Davidson, Vice President of Sales & Marketing, “but we’ll build them as big as our customers need. We have been receiving orders recently for ship-mounted cranes rated up to as much as 30 and 35 tons.” The company recently commissioned a 40 cu.yd. bucket, painted in the crimson red of the NCAA National Champion University of Alabama Football Team.
This 40 cu.yd. bucket equipped with spill plates celebrates the Crimson Tide of the University of Alabama and is easily recognizable on the job.
Whereas smaller “touch & go” buckets were once more common in use with ship cranes, Mack has found most shipbuilders and stevedoring firms today wish to adopt the company’s single-line buckets. Gaining in particular popularity is Mack’s self-contained, diesel-powered grapples and buckets with remote controls, an innovative market introduction which allows customers to handle materials with higher densities such as pig iron and HBI. “However, they still offer the simplicity and versatility you want on a ship’s crane, compared to the electrically-powered units used by port facilities,” says Davidson. Radio-controlled models allow operators to actuate the bucket hydraulics from onboard the ship or from the dock, anywhere within a 500 ft. radius of the crane. The solenoid control valve on the bucket is powered by a 12V marine battery. Standard models include a second valve which can be attached to a ¼-inch line as a backup to the radio control.
Mack also has a full range of medium-duty buckets recommended for off-loading bulk materials up to
100 lbs./cu.ft., as well as light-duty buckets offering weight savings and lower costs for moving grains and similar materials under 60 lbs./cu.ft.
With more than 30 years experience supplying equipment for ships and ports, Mack works with customers to help them assess the optimum bucket size and type to match the equipment and cargoes they require. “Our goal is to move the maximum amount of material over the longest possible lifecycle,” says Davidson. “That’s how our customers get the best value from our products.”
About Mack Manufacturing
Mack Manufacturing is a global leader in industrial material handling attachments, specializing in heavy-duty hydraulic grapples and buckets for overhead cranes and mobile equipment. Established in 1942, Mack continues to operate as a family-owned business committed to the development of highly-skilled welders, fabricators and support staff. Mack’s head office facility in Theodore, Alabama, is fully equipped to complete every step of attachment manufacturing and remanufacturing tasks under one roof, from engineering to precision machining to final finish.
For more information on Mack Manufacturing contact:
Matthew (Matt) Davidson
Vice President of Sales & Marketing
7205 Bellingrath Road
Theodore, AL 36582
Tel: 251-653-9999
Email:
www.mackmfg.com
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