Australia, Product News, Products, Safety

Hoisting Equipment Specialists launch new product

In operation for over 40 years, Hoisting Equipment Specialists (HES) holds a tight focus on supplying lifting products and customer service for lifting, lashing, rigging, materials handling and height safety applications. The company’s latest new product release ticks all those boxes.

Working with HES for just over two years and moving to his current position just six weeks ago, sales manager Greg Francis has been on a steep learning curve to understand the contribution HES has made to the lifting sector over the years.

“It’s been a sharp learning curve for me since I started. We’re a small-to-medium business, we employ a small but specialised team and we’re growing. We have an office in Brisbane and a Sydney one, and while we do operate mainly out of those two areas, we also have a distributor network in each state – excluding Northern Territory and Tasmania.”

“We opened up our Brisbane office over 5 years ago, and that’s proving to be a growing market for us,” he said.

Supplying a mixture of both their own OzBlok products and those sourced from local suppliers, Greg says HES is selling and supplying products right across the construction and lifting sectors.

“With the construction sector being a major focus for the business, you are likely to see our products on any construction site – with lifting and rigging being our main areas of expertise,” he said.

Greg Francis, Sales Manager for Hoisting Equipment Specialists.

As the newly appointed sales manager at HES, Greg is across all product-related releases coming from the company and, under its ‘OzBlok’ brand, he reveals HES will launch a new product that will hit the shelves of lifting and rigging specialists’ on July 1. 

Stating it to be a Road-Plate Lifter, Greg says the product does exactly what it says it will. 

“Essentially, it will be used for lifting road plates and other sheets of metal,” he says. 

“We believe it’s the best in the marketplace. It comes with its own serial number and its own certificate, as opposed to other brands that need to be load tested.  Ours can be bought straight off the shelf and put straight into action,” he said.

In tandem with its quality, Greg says, the five-ton capacity device is priced to be competitive in the marketplace, offering the utmost value for money. Speaking to its components and functionality, he adds there are “two components” that ensure the product works effectively.

“It has a base which is welded into a plate, and then there’s a lifting component which fits into that plate, and then a shackle or a hook will slot in and then you just lift it. So, when you see road plates on roads and things like that, covering holes – it’s designed to enhance the productivity of the installation and removal processes of the road plates, facilitate easier access in and out for construction workers and enhance the safety of the workers handling the plates. 

Speaking to the conception of the product, Greg says there will “definitely be local demand for it”.

“We saw the Road Plate Lifter concept in Australia and thought that if we could create something similar it would complement our existing OzBlok range of products. We expect big things from the launch, and we are confident the local construction and civil sectors will quickly realise the benefits of our OzBlok Road Plate Lifter.”

Aside from its array of products, HES also offers a plethora of services to keep those operating in the construction industry safe and in business.

“With our facilities we’ll test anything from chains and wire ropes, to height safety gear, wire rope pullers – basically anything you might see on a construction site or in the rigging and lifting sectors,” says Greg.

Providing the option for customers to have their gear inspected and certified on site, he also specifies that people can bring their products into a HES workshop to get tested on the spot.

HES is confident the local construction and civil
sectors will quickly realise the benefits of the OzBlok Road Plate Lifter.

“We’ve had a good last couple of years,” he says. “We are very busy in both departments; selling merchandise, and testing and certifying equipment.”

“With people needing to have their height safety or their lifting gear checked on a regular basis to prevent any mishaps, we make sure we’re available to offer that service to them as well. Sometimes, depending on what the item is and how often it is used, it might need to be checked every three months, so we’re always open to managing these types of check-ups for people.”

With HES set to acquire its credentials from the Lifting Equipment Engineers Association (LEEA), the implications of the job are not lost on Greg as the conversation turns to safety in the industry.

“Getting accreditation from LEEA is a very important milestone for us; it will give us recognition that the industry will resonate with. LEEA accreditation says we are a safe tester and certifier. It gives people who get their gear tested confidence that you’re following the right safety guidelines – which is critical,” he says.

“Lifting is all about safety. Everyone in the height safety, rigging and lifting sectors must ensure the equipment is fully compliant and that safe work practices are adopted at all times. 

“Ultimately we are talking about people’s wellbeing here and the team at HES wants to make its contribution to ensure everyone is able leave home for work with the expectation they will go home safely at the end of the day,” said Greg. 

READ MORE: HES celebrates 40 years.

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