Home » News » Cummins unleashes the power with Nu-Star Super Pusher

Cummins unleashes the power with Nu-Star Super Pusher

Cummins Engine Company recently took delivery of their first Nu-Star Super Pusher unit at their site in Daventry, UK for moving the engine blocks during the build process.

Cummins Engine Company are one of the world’s largest designer and manufacturer of diesel engines with key markets in off-highway vehicles, industrial equipment and power generation. Cummins has manufacturing plants in 14 countries, over 23,000 employees and a global turnover of approximately $6 billion.

At their site in Daventry, Cummins manufactures high horse power diesel engines ranging from 900hp to 3000hp, for the marine, generator, construction and gas markets.

The engines are mounted on dedicated engine trolleys during the manufacturing process, and can weigh from 7,000Kg to 12,000Kg depending on the model and stage in the build process.

Mr. Eddie East (Kaizen Improvement Technician) explained; “A specific requirement within the manufacturing process, necessitated the need for a new design engine trolley and the current movers were not suitable for this new design. I had to source a new type engine mover and after intense investigation of the market, I came across the Nu-Star Super Pusher. After explaining our needs to Matt Smith, Managing Director, he visited our site and demonstrated the Super Pusher, which met and exceeded our requirements to the full. After a weeks exhaustive trial, Cummins made the decision to purchase the Super Pusher, which has been in constant use ever since. We are extremely pleased with the product, and the professional manner in which it was presented to us.”

Nu-Star manufacture a range of pedestrian operated, electric tugs specifically designed to improve shop-floor productivity, eliminate the manual effort traditionally associated with the movement of heavy wheeled loads and often replace larger and more expensive fork lifts / tractor units, freeing up valuable shop floor space as a consequence.

Home » News » Godwin Pumps improve shop-floor safety & productivity with Nu-Star Super Pusher

Godwin Pumps improve shop-floor safety & productivity with Nu-Star Super Pusher

Godwin Pumps Ltd. (a Cotswolds based manufacturer of industrial pumps for use in construction, industry, oil refineries, chemical plants, mines, heating and ventilating, irrigation, and water distribution & part of the Xylem Corporation) recently took delivery of a Nu-Star Super Pusher for moving their large HL130 – HL250 Dri-Prime pump units around the manufacturing and testing facilities.

The pumps are mounted on skid-bases as they are built up in the factory and the finished product can weigh up to 5800 Kgs and measure up to 4.2m x 2.1m.

Kevin Waldron (Godwin's assembly shop supervisor) explained, “We have to move the pumps between several different shop-floor locations during the manufacturing process and this was taking up to 8 people on the biggest pumps. Not only was this unproductive, but it also represented a Health & Safety risk to our staff. By using the Super Power Pusher with it's Steering Arm, one person is now able safely push, pull and manoeuvre the pump all round the factory and also into the test area and paint facility.”

Nu-Star manufacture a range of electric tugs all specifically designed to eliminate the manual effort traditionally associated with the movement of heavy wheeled loads.

Measuring just 1.4m long and 760mm wide, the Super Pusher is constructed around a 10mm chassis, 1.5Kw electric motor, maintenance-free gel batteries & a multi-voltage on-board battery charger. It's pedestrian operation means there is no requirement for operators to have a driving licence and minimal running costs make the Super Pusher significantly cheaper than the costs associated with a forklift or other ride-on product.

Home » News » Second PowerTug for HMP Winchester for moving heated food trolleys

Second PowerTug for HMP Winchester for moving heated food trolleys

HM Prison Winchester has just taken delivery of their second Nu-Star PowerTug for moving around their new Corsair heated food trolley.

HMP Winchester approached Nu-Star regarding the daily problems they were experiencing when trying to manoeuvre their heated food trolley from the kitchens to the female wing of the prison.

The weight and size of the laden trolley, combined with the route that had to be followed from the male wing of the prison to the female wing, was causing a manual handling issue that required some sort of specific mechanical assistance in order to prevent further risks of injury.

Nu-Star designed and manufactured a bespoke attachment for their PowerTug that enabled it to precisely connect on to the chassis of the Corsair food trolley and enable a single operator to manoeuvre the load with ease. Following extended trials in early 2003, the prison facilities department purchased their first machine in June that year.

More recently, Winchester Prison has benefited from an upgrade to the kitchen facilities and an additional heated food trolley was purchased. After the continuing success of the first unit, Nu-Star were asked to supply a second PowerTug.

Corsair is an approved supplier of catering equipment to HM Prison Service and currently supplies the majority of food trolleys to establishments in England and Wales.

The PowerTug is a self-contained electric tug unit specifically designed to eliminate the manual handling risks associated with moving rolling loads with 4 swivel castors, up to 3.5 tonnes in weight. Power is provided by maintenance free gel batteries and an on-board, waterproof battery charger (ideally suited for damp conditions or where there is a risk of liquid splashing onto the machine) which enables the machine to be recharged from any available 110V or 240V power supply.

All the controls are finger operated on the hinged tiller arm and the unit is fitted with Emergency Reversing to prevent the operator becoming trapped. The digital control system is fully programmable and Nu-Star set up variables such as top speed and acceleration at the time of delivery when they also carry out full operator training and certification.

Home » News » Prysmian Cables take third Cable Drum Pusher at Wrexham

Prysmian Cables take third Cable Drum Pusher at Wrexham

Prysmian Cables (the UK’s largest manufacturer of both high and low voltage power cables) have recently taken delivery of their third Hi-Torque Power Pusher ® at their site in Wrexham for pushing large cable drums.

The Power Pusher is a pedestrian operated, battery powered, tug unit designed to push, pull & manoeuvre rolling loads up to 40,000Kg in weight. Measuring only 1.4m long and 670mm wide, the Power Pusher is both highly manoeuvrable and completely self-contained with no trailing wires or air lines. It improves shop-floor productivity and reduces the likelihood of back injuries associated with the manual pushing, pulling and manoeuvring of heavy loads in the workplace.

In this particular application, the Power Pusher is fitted with a bespoke roller attachment (adjustable to cater for different diameter drums) which enables the operator to push up against the drum flange in order to roll the drum on the shop-floor. Wooden chocks are used to stop the drums at the desired position.

David Lloyd, Safety Engineer at Prysmian explained; “Cable drums with flange diameters up to 3200mm and weighing up to 16 tonnes are generally moved in the factory using overhead cranes. Problems arise when drums have to be moved across bays where there is no crane cover. Historically drums were rolled manually or using a fork trucks in these areas, both methods are unacceptable because of the high risks of personal injury or equipment damage.

The Nu-Star Power Pushers have proved to be a cost effective solution to this problem and have eliminated the risks of injury due to manual handling.”

Nu-Star's Sales Director, Colin Bearsby, commented; “We were delighted to provide Prysmian with this aid to their Health & Safety compliance and improve their efficiency when moving the cable drums. It is especially pleasing to see how quickly the Prysmian staff have taken to the Power Pusher.”