A Dubai company’s innovation could spell the end of a dangerous industrial practice that has afflicted the global welding sector for almost a century. ‘Bear Hugging’ (lifting) and ‘Churning’ (rolling) of 90kg-plus gas cylinders has exacted a heavy injury toll on generations of welders – and cost the industry untold millions in ‘downtime’.

But now EFP-Middle East, a British-run company headquartered at Dubai Investment Park, has invented a customized lifting apparatus following two years of painstaking research in collaboration with top industry and safety professionals. The result is ‘Cylinder-Lifter’, an aptly-named “safe, simple and inexpensive piece of kit that can change the industry”.

EFP’s Managing Director, Stuart Kriskinans, explained: “Hugging and Churning is an industry term for what can only be described as a primitive industrial practice that has been the accepted way of moving gas cylinders to and from mobile weld sets for far too long.

“With almost no customized lifting apparatus available, we decided to design  and manufacture a device that would banish forever the notorious ‘lifting and moving’ hazards responsible for thousands of back injuries, hernias and other ailments – not to mention the crippling cost to the industry of  lost man hours and compensation claims”.
Mr Kriskinans added: “In short, Cylinder-Lifter is a game changer. It’s a win-win for employees, employers and the global welding industry. Not only that, it is a purely mechanical device with no running costs. So it is an inexpensive product that pays for itself instantly and many times over”.

Inspiration for the product came from EFP executive John Jones who spent more than 30 years as a welder and “personally experienced all the debilitating aches and pains associated with bear-hugging and churning”. He said: “After wrestling with these cylinders year after year, one day I pulled my back and thought: ‘There must be a better way of doing this’. Now, at last, there is!”.

Cylinder-Lifter is a surprisingly simple lifting and moving apparatus comprising a frame and  carriage ‘trolley’ designed to lift large gas cylinders (230mm diameter) whose mass represents “a significant manual handling risk”. It will safely lift cylinders of up to 97kg in weight to and from platforms up to 250mm in height – with “very little effort by the handler” says John Jones. “It is quick, easy – and, above all, safe”, he added.

Cylinder-Lifter has been rigorously tested at Lloyds British and Caparo Innovation Centre. It is patent-protected, CE compliant and conforms to HSE manual handling guidelines. Many in the industry believe it is only a matter of time before these guidelines are enforceable by law. Said Stuart Kriskinans: “EFP is particularly proud to launch the product in Dubai which has made great strides in terms of workplace Health & Safety in recent years.

“Once UAE companies only adopted safety measures when forced to do so by regulation. But now they take Health and Safety very seriously indeed. The UAE has just become the first GCC state to join the ILO (International Labour Organization) and is leading the way in employee welfare – particularly in Construction and associated sectors which deploy welding equipment”.

EFP Middle East is the largest independent fabricator in the Gulf, supporting the region’s construction sector with architectural cladding and curtain walling from its 100,000 square foot, state-of the art factory in Dubai. The company also has a plant in the U.K Midlands and recently launched EFP ME-UK Ltd in London which is currently enjoying a construction boom.

Manufactured at both the Dubai and U.K factories, you can learn more about Cylinder-Lifter and see the device in action at its own dedicated website www.cylinderlifter.com