Gravity scissor tongs
Hands-free latch-open / latch-close scissor tongs that grip on lifting and release on touchdown. Ideal for hot-slab handling where operator proximity must be minimised.
UK manufactured
Slab handling equipment: tongs, grabs and bespoke solutions.
Purpose-built tongs, grabs and motorised lifters for slab handling in primary steel, aluminium and iron-foundry environments. UK-engineered and designed for heavy-duty cycle counts.
Slab handling is one of the most demanding lifting applications in industry. Loads are hot, heavy, and handled at high cycle counts across environments that are hostile to electronics, paint systems and moving joints. Somers Handling designs and builds slab handling equipment, including mechanical scissor tongs, motorised grabs and bespoke lifters for primary steel mills, aluminium rolling lines and iron foundries.
Where slab handling equipment is used
Slab handling equipment is specified wherever semi-finished metal stock needs to move between a caster, a cooling yard, a reheating furnace, a rolling mill, or a shipping bay. In practice that means:
- Continuous-caster slab yards — high-SWL tongs handling slabs at elevated temperatures.
- Aluminium rolling-mill entry bays — gentler-contact grabs designed to avoid surface marking on soft material.
- Iron and steel foundries — hot-line tongs with shielded jaws.
Types and configurations
Slab handling equipment are supplied in the following common configurations. Bespoke variants are engineered to order.
Mechanical lifting tongs
Classic lever-action slab tongs with manually-set jaw travel. Robust and service-friendly for mixed slab sizes.
Motorised slab grabs
Powered electro-hydraulic jaw mechanisms for variable-geometry slabs and high-cycle automated lines.
Bespoke slab lifters
Purpose-designed lifters for non-standard slab geometries or integrated onto a gantry system as part of a complete handling line.
Technical capabilities
Standard capabilities below — higher capacities, longer spans and non-standard finishes available on request.
Standards
- BS EN 13155
- LOLER 1998
- CE / UKCA
| Safe working load (SWL) | 1 t – 150 t Higher capacities on request. |
|---|---|
| Slab width range | 500 mm – 2,200 mm typical Adjustable jaw sets available. |
| Operating temperature | Ambient – 1200 °C |
| Standards | BS EN 13155, LOLER CE / UKCA marked. |
Industries
Where slab handling equipment are specified.
- SectorSteel
- SectorAluminium
- SectorFoundry
- SectorNon-magnetic materials or steel above Curie temperature
Slab handling equipment — frequently asked questions
What's the difference between scissor tongs and motorised grabs?
Scissor tongs rely on gravity — the load's own weight clamps the jaws — and a latch system that toggles between grip and release as the tongs are set down and lifted. They have no electrics or hydraulics, which makes them ideal for hot or hostile environments. Motorised grabs use a powered actuator for jaw travel, which gives you more flexibility across variable slab widths but introduces electrical/hydraulic systems that need maintaining.
How are slab tongs proof-load tested?
Every Somers slab lifter is proof-load tested to 125% of SWL in our works before dispatch and supplied with a declaration of conformity and a test certificate. Tongs used in accessory-rated applications or in safety-critical environments are typically re-examined on a 6-month interval under LOLER.
Can you supply tongs for hot-line applications above 500 °C?
Yes. High-temperature tong variants use refractory-shielded jaws, heat-resistant pins and bushes, and coatings validated for continuous hot-line service. Tell us the thermal profile (slab temperature, contact time and ambient) at enquiry and we'll specify accordingly.
Do you integrate slab tongs with our crane control system?
Common. Motorised grabs are regularly wired into overhead crane control systems via festoon, cable-reel or wireless interfaces. For greenfield installations we can also supply the crane, monorail or gantry alongside the grab as a complete handling line.
Need slab handling equipment engineered to your application?
Send a short description of your load, environment and duty — a Somers engineer will respond within one working day.