attachments Archives

Gripping Forks

Posted on 22 December, 202229 July, 2025 by David Priestman

David Priestman met with an Australian manufacturer of forks and forklift safety products celebrating its 10th anniversary.

GenieGrips, based in Melbourne, launched a prototype product at a trade show a decade ago. “Fifty people said, ‘we need those’,” Director Louise Inglese tells me. So they set to work, initially with self-adhesive stick pads for forks, made from disposable rubber, that prevent scratching the stainless steel.

The company’s launch in the UK was in 2019. This was hampered by the pandemic causing the cessation of trade shows – which are key for new business generation for GenieGrips. IMHX Birmingham in September 2022 was therefore a relaunch and Inglese is delighted that exhibitions are back.

It is a family-owned firm, with Louise’s husband Michael providing the engineering expertise. Together they spun the company out of CRP Industries, with specialist capability in bonding rubber to metal. “We get customer feedback regarding pain points in managing their forklifts,” Louise Inglese explains, “which leads us to invent and make new products.” For example, the company now offers mats with adjustable hooks, rather than static.

GenieGrips offers 5 product ranges:

· Mats – the top seller, available in various lengths and widths
· Caps – for protecting the tips of forks
· Cushions – which are attached vertically to the uprights of the forks
· Sticker Pads – adhesive, 8 in a box
· Loading Mirrors – acrylic, reflective and adjustable to provide a wide or slim view so that the driver can see in front of the load when loading and unloading (bulky loads obscure the view)

There are about 20 distributors worldwide, including TVH (exclusively so in Mexico). GenieGrips also supplies products to OEMs, including fork attachment suppliers like B&B and forklift manufacturers like Crown and Hyster-Yale, for sale to the final customer, if requested. The products’ good reputation leads to high re-order rates. Keith Waterman runs the British subsidiary. He tells me: “Since having been given the opportunity to promote and distribute this great product customers are showing a lot of interest in GenieGrips, which helps and makes the job a lot easier. The feedback from customers is always positive, no matter what they are moving.

Fork coverings

“Our website is having a lot of interest with existing customers ordering more products to put on the rest of their fleet of FLT’s, which is always satisfying. My ambition is to see the bright yellow fork coverings and loading mirrors on all FLT’s across the country, knowing that the work place is a safer environment and that companies are also protecting their products and reaping the financial rewards too. And what’s better is representing and working for a wonderful team at GenieGrips.

The mission of Genie Grips is to improve safety in working environments throughout the world with their high-quality range. To achieve that goal in Europe, they decided to cooperate with C&H Maastricht, based in south-east Netherlands. The official European introduction happened during LogiMAT 2018 in Stuttgart. C&H Maastricht executed a pre-exhibition marketing strategy to inform the market of their presence at the show. This resulted in interest and orders from all over the world, giving GenieGrips a successful foothold on the European market. Now, C&H Maastricht operates as the European Sales Support Office and official agent for GenieGrips in Europe.

What of the next steps for the company? Louise Inglese: “We strive for continual improvement. Over the next six months there will be a release of the GenieGrips® Mats and Cushions with new and improved features. We design our products with convenience in mind so that our customers can remain active and profitable. Even though, as an Australian business, we believe in producing our products with the highest standard possible, we endeavour to keep our products affordable and relevant.”

BlockMaster takes centre stage at BAUMA

Posted on 11 October, 202225 July, 2025 by David Priestman

B&B Attachments and partner KAUP are exhibiting together at the 33rd edition of the world’s leading construction trade fair BAUMA 2022. The globally renown exhibition will be held at the Messe München convention centre from the 24th – 30th October.

The show has yet again sold out, booking 200,000 sq m of indoor space and 400,000 sq m outdoor to more than 3,000 exhibitors from 60 countries.

The two material handling specialists will be on stand B5 304 exhibiting a range of attachments designed specially to improve material handing in the construction industry.

KAUP and B&B Attachments have worked together in attachment development since 1980. Together, their shared knowledge and expertise continue to advance the material handling industry. Bauma is the perfect platform for both industry giants to show their latest innovations. This includes the K320, which is part of B&B’s BlockMaster range (pictured), made uniquely for specialist applications within the construction industry. The range is designed to assist with the complex task of safely moving bricks, blocks and tiles.

B&B Attachments will also exhibit its Beam Grab. This attachment has been manufactured by B&B to assist in the unloading process of pre-cast concrete floor beams. Designed to fit crane delivery vehicles, the beam grab can lift varying sized beams and profiles and handle up to six beams in one single lift.

KAUP will be exhibiting its T413 heavy duty bale clamp. This attachment can be used to handle waste bales in the recycling industry. It is an example of how KAUP attachments can easily be fitted to many different types and styles of vehicles throughout many different industry sectors. The variety and range of attachments ensure that the correct handling solution can be offered for many different applications.

“We are delighted to be exhibiting at this year’s Bauma. The exhibition is the construction industry’s largest event, and its return has created quite a buzz. The team are looking forward to meeting with customers and showing our products to a global audience,” comments Mike Barton, Managing Director at B&B Attachments.

UK attachments firm to exhibit in Oman

Posted on 24 January, 202225 July, 2025 by David Priestman

B&B Attachments, a leading UK material handling manufacturer, will exhibit for the first time at the BIG Show (Builders International Gathering), together with its official dealer for the region; GOTRADE of the GORICA GROUP. The BIG Show takes place on the 14th – 16th March at the Oman Convention and Exhibition Centre, Muscat.

Mike Barton, Managing Director at B&B Attachments, explains the importance of the Middle Eastern market: “It is very encouraging to see that the construction industry in Oman is expecting rapid growth once again in coming years. It plays an important role in the economic uplift and development of the region. This market provides B&B with an abundance of new prospects, as our BlockMaster range becomes more sought-after within the industry.”

The BlockMaster range manufactured by B&B Attachments in Northumberland, England comprises a collection of specialist forklift truck attachments designed for material handling within the building products industry.

The BIG Show is an annual international exhibition that caters to the building and construction industry in Oman, the Middle East, and global markets. The event features an extensive range of the latest building materials, construction equipment, wood machinery, interior furnishings and other products, equipment and technology for building and construction operations.

The BIG Show is incorporated with Oman’s Design & Build Week. It is the biggest and most important building, construction, and interior design event in Oman.

Bolzoni opens portal for rental and used attachments

Posted on 13 December, 202125 July, 2025 by David Priestman

As an alternative to the purchase of a new attachment, the Bolzoni rental and remanufactured product range is now available on a new European web portal.

Especially in times of shortages in logistics chains and extended lead times when investing into new equipment, alternative options, such as rental and used products, become more important than ever.

In the case of seasonal peaks, an unexpected breakdown or, simply to cover an additional fleet requirement, to rent an attachment or to buy a reconditioned unit can be a good alternative rather than purchasing a new one, in particular because of its prompt availability.

The Bolzoni Group supports customers with solutions to save money on investments without renouncing Bolzoni’s equipment efficiency and quality. The new portal offers a wide range of Bolzoni Auromo and Meyer original equipment.

Each attachment is carefully checked and refurbished after every hire. Each used or rental product is inspected, reconditioned and tested according to the highest quality standards, becoming a convenient alternative to purchasing a new product.

After the reconditioning process, the attachment will have the appearance and quality as expected from an OEM with a guarantee of a 12-month warranty.

Whether the need is to purchase a reconditioned attachment or, to face a short- or medium-term rental, Bolzoni says it provides the best solution to meet all industries special requirements.

Through the European-wide network of workshops with support and aftersales service, Bolzoni is able to offer a localised 360° support, from commercial consultancy to preventative maintenance, throughout the period of use. Bolzoni is the qualified partner not only to purchase or to rent used and brand-new products, but also to sell and to trade-in no longer used attachments. Instead of being wasted, the used ones will be reconditioned to replenish the Bolzoni Rental & Used fleet.

Choosing the Bolzoni’s Rental & Used service means a fast and efficient way of solving downtime or bridging peak demands within production facilities and logistic chains. A wide range of attachment on stock is available for shipping either the same day or within 24 hours.

The reconditioned attachments follow a strict multiphase process to fit in the quality standards that characterise Bolzoni’s products. Upon return, every used unit undergoes a reconditioning process, which includes cleaning and preliminary inspections. Once the equipment overall conditions are taken into consideration, the appropriate level of maintenance to refurbish and replace all wear parts is defined. Finally, in the painting and assembly phase, each product receives its final touch that makes it almost impossible to be distinguished from a new one.

And only after having successfully passed the stringent tests of the Bolzoni quality process, the attachment is placed back into stock ready for its next assignment.

Bespoke handling solution for building materials manufacturer

Posted on 28 April, 202125 July, 2025 by David Priestman

Materials handling solutions expert B&B Attachments has provided building materials manufacturer Aggregate Industries with a prototype forklift clamp, leading to gains in efficiency and safety.

Aggregate Industries manufactures and supplies a range of heavy building materials, primarily aggregates such as stone, asphalt and concrete, to the construction industry and other business sectors. With over 200 sites and around 3,700 dedicated employees, Aggregate Industries supply products to help businesses work sustainably, safely, professionally, and profitably.

The Concrete Products Division at Aggregate Industries based in Callow, Cheddar, identified there was a requirement to standardise the most efficient loading method across the fleet, irrespective of trailer type, while maintaining safety expectations.

Aggregate Industries building block sites had traditionally used a forklift fitted with a pivot-style overhead clamp attachment to load packs of concrete building blocks onto flat beds and crane lorries. However, there is insufficient clearance between the top of some block packs and standard curtain sided trailer roofs to lift the clamp clear, preventing direct loading of curtain sided trailers.

As a result, Aggregate Industries Concrete Block Factories had been using a far less efficient and time-consuming process which involved placing its block packs on to pallets and then loading by a conventional forklift. This loading method was more than double that of flat and crane vehicles loading times and associated costs, plus created a reluctance to take advantage of additional payload and potential backhaul loads that the network fleet of curtain sided trailers offered, and have a premium cost for use, as there is little scope for back haul of other goods.

It became necessary to find a solution to prevent double handling of loads, ensuring that the load travels straight from the yard storage to the curtain sided vehicle.

Neil Spratt, Aggregates Industries Regional Operations Manager approached B&B Attachments with a proposed forklift clamp concept that would create space to enable the twin clamp to lift clear of block packs after they had been loaded onto a curtain sided trailer.

B&B Attachments is a leading specialist in material handling solutions in the UK and Ireland. The company designs, manufactures, and supplies forklift truck attachment solutions. Its design department converted the concept into reality.

Following numerous meetings, a prototype TK45-TEL clamp was manufactured. This model would not only work as a standard twin consolidating overhead block clamp, but also have the added key benefit of being able to load packs directly onto curtain-sided vehicles. As the TK45-TEL had an additional leg retraction selection. Considerable time was spent to eliminate potential incorrect function selection by forklift operators.

This added safety innovation allows its hydraulic system to work independently for each clamp, enabling the operator to clamp, load, and withdraw easily and safely when loading a curtain sided vehicle.

B&B Attachments describes the BlockMaster TK45-TEL as a new, first-of-its kind innovation.

“The clamp preforms all the other duties expected of a twin consolidating clamp,” says Richard Smith, Business Improvement Manager at Aggregate Industries. “The retractable legs and hydraulics control interlocks in this new attachment, provides efficient direct loading of concrete products efficiently on to curtain-sided vehicles. It also opens the door to exciting haulage efficiency opportunities previously not pursued.”

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