Smaller operators latch onto benefits of new handler

Ken Mouritzen (left) shakes hands with Tom Schults, the designer of the Mobicon which works well on lightweight surfaces or tarmac and even ramps. TERRY HUTSON AN AUSTRALIAN innovation with the potential to reinvent the way smaller container handlers operate is being marketed and distributed by Durban-based Big Lift Trucks. The system is the Mobicon, a versatile and economical straddle carrier with a difference, designed specifically for smaller operators who need to lift, stow and move all sizes of containers without the expense of heavy equipment. Ken Mouritzen, director of Big Lift Trucks, told FTW that the Mobicon, which has found wide acceptance in Australia and New Zealand and is now being introduced to Europe simultaneously with South Africa, is half the cost of a reach stacker. “The Mobicon works well on lightweight surfaces or tarmac and even up ramps.” Mouritzen said that with the lowest operating costs (a 60hp engine compared to 350hp for equivalent stackers) the Mobicon is ideal for smaller operators who don’t want the expense of heavy equipment. Weighing a mere 3 tons unloaded, it can take a load of 33t and any size of container between 16ft and 52ft including open top, tank boxes and flat racks. Fuel consumption is minimal – 5 litres an hour compared to 22 l/hr for other machines. The Mobicon is also highly manoeuvrable in tight spots, as was demonstrated to FTW in Durban recently. Said to have the lowest axle load of any equivalent equipment, it offers a whole new way of handling containers inside warehouses and out in the open.