WEPCO, Inc. announces the new SmartLifter™ for Pails automated vacuum lifter. The tool that revolutionized carton lifting is now available to grip, balance, and stack heavy pails from the side with fingertip pressure. Palletizing or de-palletizing 5-gallon pails that can weigh up to 50 lbs. has always been a back breaker. Traditional vacuum lifters that grip from the top can’t be used because of the danger of pulling the top off, causing a mess, work stoppage, and possibly a hazard or injury.

WEPCO’s new SmartLifter for Pails (Patent Pending) solves this problem by safely gripping pails from the side and lifting them with the touch of a finger – virtually eliminating product loss due to top seal failure.

Perfect for building pallets at the end of a line, it reduces worker strain, increases productivity, stacks pallets more snugly, allows for easy reconfiguration of lines, handles a range of pail sizes and weights (up to 50 lbs.), and has a clean, virtually maintenance-free design. It can handle any pallet configuration, and even short operators can easily stack a 9’ pallet.

Perfected with client input, “SmartLifter for Pails is a great example of how, when the customer is included in the development process, everyone wins,” says Chris Paulsen, WEPCO’s CEO.

Here’s how it works: When the SmartLifter for Pails is placed on the side of the pail, the vacuum engages automatically. As it is lifted, exclusive SmartBalance technology senses and adjusts to steady the load, eliminating tipping. The force-sensing handle provides fingertip control and is ergonomically designed to give workers increased freedom of position, visibility and control. When the operator places the pail, the vacuum releases automatically.  

The SmartLifter for Pails device is powered by Gorbel® G-Force® and made of anodized aluminum. It can lift pails up to 50 lbs., allows for 360° rotation, and has boom reach up to 12 ft radius. When mast-mounted on WEPCO’s BigFoot™ portable base, it is easily moved with a pallet jack or fork truck. The underhung model, mounted on a monorail, can serve multiple production lines. A patent is pending.