A TCM forklift rests on a plastic cremation urn in a durability demonstration.

Granger Plastics Co has positioned a TCM forklift on three lb. (1.35 kg) burial and cremation urns to create an extreme durability test video.

Jim Cravens, president of the custom rotational moulder and metal fabricator, had the idea to demonstrate that a plastic urn can withstand the weight of a forklift or backhoe commonly used to dig cemetery plots and lower caskets and vaults into the ground.

Metal, wood, stone, glass or ceramic are typical urn materials, although biodegradable urns are available. Granger’s rotational moulded urns use certified virgin prime linear low density polyethylene resin.

"After working closely with [several] leaders in the funeral services industry, one of the initial concerns of a rotationally moulded burial and cremation urn was its ability to withstand the weight," Shawn Cravens, general manager, says.

The TCM in the video has a lifting capacity of 6,900 lb. (3,105 kg).

"We recognise that the forklift actually weighed more than 5,000 lb. (2,250 kg) but, when the weighted end of the forklift was placed on our scale, it maxed out a 5,000 lb. scale, so we were conservative and left the weight claim at 5,000 lb," Cravens says.

Middletown-based Granger owns more than six forklifts and boom trucks, with most from TCM America Inc.

Forklift dealership Swisshelm Equipment Co Inc, of Cincinnati, Ohio, sells machines to Granger and services the firm’s forklifts.