ELEBIA:
THE SMARTEST CRANE HOOK ON THE PLANET BY MIKE CHALMERS
Te word innovation gets tossed around the construction and rigging industries pretty regularly—to the extent that, unfortunately, its impact can feel overused. But true innovators—i.e., companies that develop, design, and manufacture game-changing products or services—will always rise to the top. After all, you can’t deny greatness.
Barcelona-based Elebia is one of these companies that has risen to the top of the lifting industry around the world for one, undeniable reason: they walk the walk. Te company is four years old, but their innovative idea was born a decade ago—in 2006—when Oscar Fillol, now Elebia’s CEO (and an engineer by trade) was working with his brother to purchase some cranes for a materials handling company they both owned. Always fascinated by cranes, Fillol was curious as to why the machines themselves were so high-tech and automated, but the lifting hooks were not as advanced. It seemed that one could buy the most innovative crane on the market, but in the end, workers still had to manually hook up the load. Fillol saw an enormous opportunity to advance the productivity and safety of lifting hooks. And off to the drawing board he went.
Elebia CEO and founder Oscar Fillol demonstrates the eMax remote.
Te first sketches and blueprints led to the first scale model—made with Lego Technic pieces (yep, Legos). Tis first model was actually the first working automatic hook ever developed. Four prototype rounds and a year and a half later came the first version to be released to the market. Today, Elebia autohooks are known around the world as a distinctive asset to any lifting operation—a hook that allows users to remotely attach and release the load with no handling. Te patented technology is equipped with a magnet on its lower section, which, when close to the load, automatically attracts and positions the ring. Te user then pushes the control button, the hook closes, catches the ring, and lifts the load without any additional handling. Te system works with cable slings, chain slings, master links, textile slings, and even big bags. Needless to say, the concept is constantly evolving, and the success of Elebia has increased accordingly. But the history is still the bedrock from which this company grows—a story that Fillol looks back on with great pride. “We owned several different companies, one of
which processed big stones and rocks, and sold them to construction companies as materials,” he explained. “We were purchasing some cranes and I noticed that there was nothing on the market in the way of fail-safe, autonomous hooks—for connecting and disconnecting.” After he showed the sketches to his brother (who
approved immediately), they applied for a patent (in 2007). For the next two years, the duo traveled to exhibitions to get feedback from users. Simultaneously, they were developing the product—which they began to sell within the existing company in 2009.
20 SEPTEMBER–OCTOBER 2016 WIRE ROPE EXCHANGE
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