Manufactured Lean in the USA

Rollability Tips

Ergonomic considerations are always top of mind. As the U.S. workforce ages and workmen's compensation costs climb, selecting a caster with high rollability is a smart choice to reduce stress on joints, prevent back injuries, and better accommodate staff. Wheel size is the single biggest factor in rollability. Larger wheels are easier to push or pull under load. Test data is available to determine what size and tread type is best for any given load and ergonomic parameters.

Capacity Selection Tips

Be sure to add the weight of the cart, trailer, or AGV in addition to the weight of the load. Also consider the possibility of overload, shock loading, abuse or poor floor conditions into your calculation. Then it may seem obvious to divide the maximum load weight by four casters, but this can lead to heavy miscalculations. Why? Because most loads don't maintain an even weight across the length and width of the vehicle. An off-center load could overload even the most durable casters.

Shock Loading Tips

Shock loading occurs when a load is dropped onto the trailer. Or when a rig rolls over a bump, like a concrete joint, door jam, dock plate or leveler. In some cases, shock loading can force a wheel to bear more than three times the weight of the load.

Operating Environment Tips

Where is it rolling? Environmental conditions must be considered when choosing a caster or wheel. For example, if excessive noise is an issue, Hamilton offers quiet-rolling wheels with high load capacities. Extremely hot or cold applications may require special caster and wheel materials, and bearing lubricants, to withstand the conditions.

Abuse Tips

Abuse takes a toll on casters. We like to believe that everyone uses them as intended, but we also understand that's not always the reality. Sometimes workers move too quickly, take short cuts, or even take out frustrations on them. Keep this in mind when selecting equipment.

The Effects on Floors

Poor floor conditions can cause a caster or wheel to fail, but don't underestimate the effect wheels can have on floors, too. Very hard wheels, such as cast iron or forged steel, roll easily and carry higher capacities than resilient tread wheels. But, they can damage concrete floors and lead to costly repairs.

Rollability Tips

Ergonomic considerations are always top of mind. As the U.S. workforce ages and workmen's compensation costs climb, selecting a wheel with high rollability is a smart choice to reduce stress on joints, prevent back injuries, and better accommodate staff. Wheel size is the single biggest factor in rollability. Larger wheels are easier to push or pull under load. Test data is available to determine what size and tread type is best for any given load and ergonomic parameters.

Capacity Selection Tips

Be sure to add the weight of the cart, trailer, or AGV in addition to the weight of the load. Also consider the possibility of overload, shock loading, abuse or poor floor conditions into your calculation. Then it may seem obvious to divide the maximum load weight by four wheels, but this can lead to heavy miscalculations. Why? Because most loads don't maintain an even weight across the length and width of the vehicle. An off-center load could overload even the most durable wheels.

Shock Loading Tips

Shock loading occurs when a load is dropped onto the trailer. Or when a rig rolls over a bump, like a concrete joint, door jam, dock plate or leveler. In some cases, shock loading can force a wheel to bear more than three times the weight of the load.

Operating Environment Tips

Where is it rolling? Environmental conditions must be considered when choosing a wheel. For example, if excessive noise is an issue, Hamilton offers quiet-rolling wheels with high load capacities. Extremely hot or cold applications may require special wheel materials, and bearing lubricants, to withstand the conditions.

Abuse Tips

Abuse takes a toll on wheels. We like to believe that everyone uses them as intended, but we also understand that's not always the reality. Sometimes workers move too quickly, take short cuts, or even take out frustrations on them. Keep this in mind when selecting equipment.

The Effect on Floors

Poor floor conditions can cause a wheel to fail, but don't underestimate the effect wheels can have on floors, too. Very hard wheels, such as cast iron or forged steel, roll easily and carry higher capacities than resilient tread wheels. But, they can damage concrete floors and lead to costly repairs.

Next time you flip a light switch, think of Hamilton. A major energy company uses our custom trailer to haul industrial control valves that manage massive steam turbines at a power plant.

But unlike other custom trucks that only handle gigantic or awkward-sized loads, this trailer is built to operate in smoldering temperatures and crushing pressures. We can't reveal the specific conditions, but to put things in perspective, it withstands temperatures hotter than the surface of Venus, and more pressure than the deepest ocean.

Inside the power station, the steam turbines attach to a fossil or nuclear generator that pumps electricity for industrial and commercial needs.

When Bob Latimer joined Hamilton back in 1977, Apple Inc. had just been founded and Jimmy Carter became the 39th President of the United States. Plenty has changed since then. But 35 years later and now our Truck Team Leader, Bob is still with us. At least now he doesn't have to use snail mail to handle orders.

Here's more on Bob, our seasoned sales veteran who's sold more trucks than anyone in Hamilton's 105-year history:

Favorite Part of the Job: Helping customers get what they need. It might sound cliche, but it's the truth. Because of my experience in trucks, I know almost every industry and application, and that helps simplify even the most complex custom orders. And at Hamilton, we go to great lengths to make sure the truck we build is perfect for the job.

Just last month the whole crew was involved in a custom order. Everyone from Hamilton's truck designer to the plant engineer, foreman and president. We even went to the customer's factory to make sure we nailed the execution.

Hobbies: I love cutting the grass. For me, it's therapeutic. I live on a 65-acre farm. But even with my Massey Ferguson, I don't try to tackle it all at once.

Pets: My wife has two cats. I'd love a dog, but I'm at the office too much!

Favorite Book or TV Show: I love sports, especially University of Kentucky basketball. In college I played on scholarship at LeTourneau University in Longview, Texas.

What Most People Don't Know About Me: Between Larry (my brother, also in sales at Hamilton) and me, I'm the better looking one!

Best Qualities of a Hamilton Sales Engineer: We have a saying at Hamilton: "We stand behind our products, not in front of them." We're realistic about load capacities, even with the highest in the industry, and we don't cut corners to cheapen an order. We'll even do a quote for free.

Want to learn more about Bob, or talk trucks and trailers? Call him directly at 888.435.1488.

In our "Toughest Casters on the Planet" ad series, we showed you how major shipbuilders depend on Hamilton. That got us thinking: What's the biggest ship ever built?

The crown goes to the Seawise Giant, a now-defunct oil tanker that was longer than the Empire State Building and hauled more than half a million tons. Fully loaded, she weighed 724,239 tons and spanned 1,503 feet, nearly 200 feet longer than the next closest vessel.

Her rudder alone weighed 230 tons. The anchor 50 tons.

Built in 1979, the ship was so large it couldn't pass through major waterways like the English Channel and the Panama Canal. After a 31-year career of transporting crude oil, she was purchased and scrapped in India in 2010.

Although we never had the pleasure of gracing her presence, there are plenty more ships at work in the shipping industry for Hamilton's heavy-duty casters, either building vessels, or carting containers on and off them.

Every branch of United States culls up Hamilton's heavy-duty expertise. Whether it's a custom trailer to haul aircraft wings for the Air Force, or a custom truck for the Army to operate in sandy conditions thousands of miles away, Hamilton does its duty.

Here are four ways our trucks and casters support the military:

For an extremely high-heat application at an Air Force base, we built a custom kingpinless, Enhanced Precision Super Duty (EPSD) caster capable of handling 5,000 lbs. and temperatures up to 700 degrees F.

To haul a squadron of aircraft parts around a factory, the Air Force needed 75 custom Hamilton trucks of various sizes.

It took one of our most unique, custom designs to build a truck to carry awkward-sized aluminum extrusions for a defense contractor.

To roll 3-ton oil tanks (not the weapons) around a factory for a defense supplier, we designed a custom cradle truck with steel tubes on the side for forklift entry.

At 4.75 inches, even a standard wheel dwarfs our new Son of Mini-Mite Low Profile Caster Series. But don't let its pint size deceive you. These low-rider casters can handle up to 6,000 lbs. each, more than any low-profile caster on the market. They're perfect for applications that require low height and high capacity, like moving CNC machines. To achieve such a low height, our engineers borrowed technology from kingpinless Super Endurance casters.