 Explosion-proof installation on Miretti private-label diesel-powered forklift |
Operations of Miretti SpA are marketing a new line of converted flame-proof and explosion-proof counterbalance electric and diesel forklifts in the western hemisphere through its USA subsidiary and in Australia through another entity.
The subsidiary Miretti USA established a 12,000 sqft (1,080 sqm) Fairfield facility for sales and forklift conversions in late 2008.
Miretti has a distribution agreement with Australian Flameproof Services Pty Ltd of Fountain Gate, Victoria, near Melbourne.
Based in Limbiate, Italy near Milan, Miretti SpA has more than 35 years' experience with custom-engineered conversions for diesel and electric forklifts, transportation equipment, nautical vessels, military applications and industrial machinery.
The US operation imports the new converted forklifts from Limbiate, pursues a direct-distribution business model for now and is willing to set up US dealer relationships, says Ash Bansal, managing director of Miretti USA. "Any truck by any manufacturer is a candidate, and we will convert it," Bansal says. "We offer a solution to every piece of industrial equipment."
For the new line, "all our private label trucks come from one of the largest manufacturers of forklift trucks in the world", Bansal tells
Forkliftaction.com News. The identity of the forklift maker was withheld.
"The standard trucks are assembled in a plant of the manufacturer and get converted to explosion-proof state at the Miretti plant in Limbiate," Bansal notes. "At this time, all Miretti-brand trucks are intended only for the Americas (North and South) and Australian markets."
Miretti says those forklifts comply with Class 1, Division 1 requirements for explosion-proof and flame-proof conversion technology and allow operation in hazardous environments or where there is an explosion risk.
To achieve compliance, Miretti seals the forklift engine, battery and wiring that connects these components to the ignition system and makes the tyres and operator seat static-proof. For a diesel-powered truck, Miretti installs a cooling system that can reduce the temperature of extremely hot exhaust gases.
Bansal explains the critical need for "customised solutions to ensure that every mechanical or electrical process that could potentially trigger a spark is explosion-proof and flame-proof."
Starting at 3,000 pounds (1,350 kg), the new electrics have a lifting capacity range to 9,000 pounds (4,050 kg) and the diesels to 10,000 pounds (4,500 kg).
Miretti is an approved supplier of explosion-proof conversions in Europe for forklifts from KION Group GmbH's Still brand, Jungheinrich AG and Mitsubishi Caterpillar Forklift Europe BV. Miretti is certified under the European Union's ATEX directive 94/9/CE.
In addition, Miretti has approval from Nacco Materials Handling Group Inc to handle conversions in Limbiate through the NMHG Hyster and Yale dealerships in Europe.
In comparison to the US market, "those (original equipment manufacturers) in Europe are more amenable to give us permission" for making the forklift conversions, Bansal observes. He is making direct contact with US forklift manufacturers in an effort to increase awareness about the technology and the US Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) program dealing with explosion-proof equipment. "OSHA is tightening enforcement but is still lax," Bansal reports.
Miretti USA also targets explosion-proof conversions for potentially combustible petrochemical-carrying barges.
In addition to the Limbiate location, Miretti has offered equipment conversion services in Wissous, France, near Paris although "the company is winding down the Parisian (conversion) operation and will maintain a sales office in Paris", Bansal says. Other Miretti sales sites include those in Langenhagen, Germany and Helmond, the Netherlands. A joint venture in Shanghai, China deals with sales and on-site conversions.
In the US, some other explosion-proof forklift-related activity involves converter Pyroban Corp of Bloomfield, New Jersey, a unit of England-based Pyroban Group Ltd; custom-manufactured Gregory Industrial Trucks from Excalibur Equipment Leasing LLC, also of Fairfield, New Jersey; specialty forklift maker Rico Manufacturing Inc of Medina, Ohio; and certain models of the Drexel SwingMast forklift from Landoll Corp of Marysville, Kansas.