New rigid chain system for various hoisting and conveyor applications.

With the Marathon Lift, the family-company from Hagen, Germany, one of the world's leading manufacturers of industrial chains and sprockets, is exploiting a new market segment. "The Marathon Lift is designed as a powerful and particularly economical alternative to previous chain-based or hydraulically operated lifting systems," says Dr. Stephan Gerber, CEO Wippermann junior GmbH. The compact system can lift loads of up to 2.0 tonnes precisely and smoothly up to a height of 2 metres within 10 seconds.

Expertise of the market leader 

The core of the system is the Marathon chain: a proven high-end product that is successfully deployed in industry wherever reliability and freedom of maintenance are required. "We know from a large number of projects that interruption-free work processes are becoming increasingly important in highly efficient industrial manufacturing," Dr. Gerber explains. "It was a logical step for us to use the outstanding properties of the maintenance-free Marathon chain for a drive system that is designed for hundreds of thousands of movement cycles without cost-intensive maintenance intervals." Wippermann's know-how in the manufacturing of special sprockets also integrated into the Marathon Lift: A specifically adapted gearing of the sprocket reduces wear on the loaded drive components.

First maintenance-free rigid chain lifting system

The Marathon Lift from Wippermann combines the advantages of rigid chain systems with a maintenance-free high-performance chain: A space-saving chain box allows the system to be deployed even in places where hydraulic lifting systems would take up too much space. Loads are lifted evenly and smoothly and can be positioned with millimetre precision. Thanks to the maintenance-free Marathon chain, the Marathon Lift does not require additional lubrication and thus saves valuable time and money in the work process. 

Double patented solution

The innovative lifting system incorporates two patented innovations: the rigid chain with its adapted innovative U-profile, that transforms the flexible chain into a highly stable outer column during the lifting phase, and the deflection system, that allows the unique interaction between the chain feeding from the chain box without load and the push phase under heavy load. The chain is deflected load-free on specially shaped guide rails and is decoupled from the lifting movement.

Flexible for a wide range of applications

"The Marathon Lift is designed for a range of applications, i.e. from industrial manufacturing such as automotive production to applications in logistics and stage technology through to dynamic building elements such as car parking lifts," says Dr. Jakob Küpferle, head of the engineering department at Wippermann. In consultation with Wippermann Engineering, individual solutions can be developed for many fields of application.