FEATURE | AISTECH 2026 Warren notes that Mazzella will also be
broadcasting a podcast from its booth covering such safety related topics as collision avoidance, smart features and such modernisations as contact controls and LED lighting – all of which can be used in both existing and new cranes to improve mill safety. “We will also be looking to build strategic partnerships with either other vendors or steel companies and distributors and to show customers what kind of return on investment they could expect on their purchases.”
Sharing insights, spreading knowledge Certain companies that supply parts and components for cranes and hoists will also be sharing some insights at AISTech. For example, David Fitzpatrick, senior vice
Steel mill investments are expected to have a big impact on overhead crane and hoist demand.
The 32nd Crane Symposium, to be held 8–10 June, also in Pittsburgh, will have a diverse array of presentations, panel discussions and networking opportunities centered around the theme “Revive, Recharge and Rise: Elevate Your Heavy-Duty Cranes into Industry 4.0.” “I can’t overstate the importance of lifting abilities and capacities within a steel mill. Without overhead cranes there is no steel production. Period,” Ashburn says. “The safety and maintenance of lifting equipment and the ability to detect problems before they arise are immensely important.” This is why the people and companies whose work it is to address those challenges will be in attendance at AISTech 2026, he continues, sharing insights during the technical conference sessions and showcasing solutions on the exhibit hall floor. “AISTech is exciting from the crane supplier’s perspective,” GW Becker’s Piso says, explaining, “We can get steel companies to consider new things relating to their crane usage, including how our cranes could help them with their processes, including expediting their production, creating efficiencies and generally making things easier for them to get their products out of the door quicker.” Piso notes that crane suppliers are having
different conversations with steel companies than they were having 10–15 years ago. For example, with the mills opening up new facilities and adding new types of steel processing lines, they need high capacity and highly functioning cranes – and potentially automated cranes. He states that this comes at a time that, even with the labour issues that they are facing, they are looking to figure out how they can make better products at a reasonable price while also
74 Summer 2026 |
ochmagazine.com
putting in effort into increasing their throughput and production efficiencies. Piso says that at its AISTech’s exhibition booth, GW Becker will be showcasing some of its mill cranes that are either in process or that it has recently been building – Class B, E and F cranes and their various components, as well some preventative maintenance plans that the company is rolling out as certain recent projects. “We won’t just be popping pictures of cranes that we built for the steel industry in the past,” he said, but rather the company will be talking about the things it has been incorporating in its crane designs over the past few years. Jim Warren, Mazzella’s director of service modernisations, notes that mill capacity additions and the general push for higher productivity affect the types of cranes the steelmakers need, given that they generally need to pick up more and heavier loads than they had in the past. Another factor, Mazzella’s Gaydos pointed out, is the desire for automated cranes, which can keep track of where a steel coil is in the production line and if it needs to be moved to a transfer cart, railcar or truck to be shipped or be sent to another part of the plant. He noted that with this automation the cranes can interact or communicate with other mill equipment, including the transfer cart. As it has done in the past, Gaydos said that
Mazzella will be displaying two of its hoists at AISTech – a monorail host and a top running built-up hoist – as well as some of its electrode handling equipment, while also highlighting why the company builds what it builds (1–300t capacity products) and how its equipment compares with those built by other companies.
president for the industrial technologies group of Irwin Car & Equipment, says that his company, which makes wheels, wheel assemblies and rolling stock componentry that keeps cranes on track, as well as a broad array of heavy duty materials handling equipment, has been participating in AISTech shows for 27 years. He says that the company will have some video presentations that show what they do. According to Norm Davis, Cervis’s sales manager, given that his company makes components for the overhead crane and hoists, it is important for Cervis to directly interface with both steel companies and crane builders. He said that is especially the case since certain new radio control technologies, such as video feedback, access controls and distance management technologies, are being used to make crane operations safer and more efficient. Davis said that Cervis plans to demonstrate several of its technologies at the AISTech show. One is live video capabilities, which allows crane operators to get better vantage points while operating cranes.
He said that the company also has security
systems that ensure that only authorised individuals have access to the crane’s radio controls, making them more secure and keeping unskilled or untrained workers from operating the cranes. Cervis is planning to talk about its technologies
related to making sure that the operators are at the proper proximity to the crane – neither too far away nor too close – creating a “keep out” zone to keep the operators safe. It is also planning to discuss its technologies that enable operators to control two cranes simultaneously in applications where more than one crane is needed. He explained that this ensures that both cranes come to a safe, controlled stop should any problems occur. Ashburn said that given that the steel industry wants technology partners and solutions providers and not simply equipment merchants, “AISTech’s myriad of networking opportunities are a great way for overhead crane and hoist companies to demonstrate how they can be a technology partner to the steel mills”.
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87
