Automatic duplex slab tong for the world's largest aluminium recycler
A purpose-designed 25-tonne automatic duplex slab tong, specified by name by an Indian aluminium recycler already operating Somers equipment — joining a fleet built on two decades of proven performance.
Client: Confidential — aluminium sector, India
Challenge
In high-throughput aluminium recycling, slab handling is a critical bottleneck. Slabs arrive from the melt shop across a wide range of dimensions and must be moved quickly, safely and repeatedly between process stages without causing surface damage or generating unplanned downtime. The forces involved are substantial, the operating cycles are intensive, and the consequences of equipment failure ripple directly into production output. This customer already had Somers Handling equipment in service within the facility. When capacity requirements grew and additional handling capability was needed, the end user specified Somers by name. The brief was clear: a further automatic duplex slab tong, designed to complement the existing fleet, built to the same standard of robustness and engineered to minimise downtime in one of the most demanding recycling environments in the world.
Engineering response
Somers Handling designed an automatic 25-tonne duplex slab tong to handle the full range of slab dimensions in use at the facility. The tong accommodates slab widths from 1,200 mm to 2,200 mm and lengths from 3,000 mm to 7,000 mm, with slab thickness ranging from 600 mm to 650 mm. The ready position of 2,500 mm allows the tong to clear slabs during transit and position accurately for pick-up without manual adjustment. The duplex configuration provides positive mechanical clamping across both faces of the slab simultaneously, ensuring a secure grip throughout the lift and transfer cycle. Automatic operation removes the need for manual intervention at each pick-up, reducing cycle times and eliminating the variability associated with operator-dependent adjustment.
Outcome
The tong has been delivered to the customer's facility in India, joining the Somers equipment already in continuous operation. It adds to a growing installed base in the global aluminium sector and reinforces Somers Handling's position as a preferred supplier to operations where reliability of design, not price alone, drives equipment selection.
In high-throughput aluminium recycling, slab handling is a critical bottleneck. Slabs arrive from the melt shop across a wide range of dimensions and must be moved quickly, safely and repeatedly between process stages without surface damage or unplanned downtime. At the scale of this operation, the margin for error on lifting equipment is vanishingly small.
Specified by name
This customer already had Somers Handling equipment in service. When capacity requirements grew, the end user specified Somers by name — a direct reflection of the track record built through the existing fleet already in continuous operation at the site. In a facility of this scale, equipment reliability is not a preference, it is a production requirement.
Engineering highlights
- 25-tonne safe working load, designed for the full range of aluminium slab dimensions in use at the facility.
- Slab width range: 1,200 mm to 2,200 mm; slab length range: 3,000 mm to 7,000 mm.
- Slab thickness: 600 mm to 650 mm.
- Ready position of 2,500 mm for clearance and accurate positioning without manual adjustment.
- Duplex configuration providing simultaneous mechanical clamping on both slab faces.
- Automatic operation removes manual intervention at pick-up, reducing cycle times.
- Tong weight approximately 8 tonnes, providing structural rigidity at this safe working load.
In service
The tong has been delivered to the customer’s facility in India, joining the Somers equipment already in continuous operation.
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