18.03.2013

Research grant for Hiab

Loader crane company Hiab has received €1.4 million from the European Union to help fund a three year research cooperation project with three academic partners in Poland and Sweden. The project has been dubbed iLoad and the first meeting has already occurred.

The project is intended to boost research and development related to more sustainable load handling equipment. Under the project, a new approach to control systems will be developed, in order to improve operational safety conditions and the efficiency of load handling equipment.

The project will also involve the creation of design strategies for advanced light materials applied to load handling structures, in order to reduce their weight and fuel consumption at the same time.

The academic partners were chosen on the basis of their knowledge, experience and infrastructure. The West Pomeranian University of Technology in Szczecin, Poland will contribute its competencies in electrical engineering, mechanical engineering and mechatronics. The Silesian University of Technology from Poland will add its know-how in structural engineering, especially the strengthening of structures, while the Lulea University of Technology in Sweden will contribute its experience and skills related to robust industrial sensor technology.
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The iLoad project team members meet up to get to know each other

Hiab vice president, Research & Development Rafal Sornek said: "Innovation requires out of the box thinking and this project is like an innovation incubator. By combining our decades of experience in fulfilling our customers' needs for professional load handling, with the latest academic knowledge from various disciplines, together we can achieve better results in terms of more-sustainable load handling than would have otherwise been possible."

"The project will involve taking a multidisciplinary approach to crane construction and we will promote the mutual transfer of knowledge between academic and industrial partners, as well as between academic partners from different countries."

The project receives funding from the EU, it is part of its Industrial and Academy Partnerships and Pathways (IAPP) and seventh framework programme. IAPP promotes innovation and knowledge transfer between industry and academic partners throughout the EU.