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Doleco’s Charlotte location will house manufacturing, product testing and warehousing, while offering new custom production services for straps, slings, tie-downs, decking beams and textile chains.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (April 24, 2024) — Doleco USA, the nation’s fastest-growing manufacturer of lifting sling and load-securing technologies, including the DoNova® PowerLash Textile Lashing Chain, PowerLift Textile Chain Sling, LayerLok Double-Decking System, Level Deck Self-Leveling Decking Beam and ConnectedDeck Double-Decking System with Integrated Platform, announced the grand opening of its new state-of-the-art manufacturing, warehouse and distribution facility in Charlotte, North Carolina.

“This expansion signifies a strategic enhancement of Doleco’s onshore production capabilities and customer service efficiency, putting us on more than equal footing with other major U.S.- based cargo securement equipment manufacturers,” said Ralph Abato, president and managing director of Doleco USA. “Our ability to produce and test high-quality, custom-designed slings and load securement equipment in-house will significantly enhance our agility and responsiveness to customer needs.”

Working with Vestian, a leading global advisory firm exclusively dedicated to representing occupiers, Doleco acquired the new 33,000-square-foot facility, which is strategically positioned near major transportation hubs, including seaports, airports and interstate highways, providing optimal access to raw materials while speeding shipment of finished goods to all U.S. markets. Equipped with advanced manufacturing technologies, the plant will focus on the custom production, fulfillment of traditional orders and delivery of Doleco’s renowned products, including straps, slings, tiedowns and the innovative DoNova® Textile Chains, Level Deck and ConnectedDeck systems.

Custom Production and Technological Advancements
Highlighting Doleco’s commitment to technological innovation and its new focus on custom solutions, the Charlotte facility features an advanced sewing operation capable of producing specialized textile cargo securement products tailored to individual customer specifications. Unique equipment will also allow Doleco to manufacture round slings, continuous 30-foot loop slings with polyester jackets and fiber cores. The company will also be able to customize its revolutionary DoNova® Textile Chains. Made of high-performance Dyneema fiber, the ultra-high molecular-weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) material that when made into chain, is 15 times stronger than steel and up to 85 percent lighter.
Testing and WLL Certification
The facility’s centerpiece is a massive 224,000-pound-capacity, computer-controlled, electrohydraulic servo, horizontal tensile testing machine. The device will allow Doleco to validate tensile strength according to specific product requirements. The fully automated computer-controlled system displays test force and results, processing test data according to test method requirements. The machine enables rigorous testing and certification of products to ensure they meet required working load limits (WLL) and the highest standards of safety and durability.
Economic Impact and Job Creation
As part of its initial operations, Doleco has hired a team, including sewers and warehouse workers, under the leadership of a seasoned industry veteran, Rob Snyder, operations manager for the Charlotte location. With plans for significant future expansion, the facility is expected to employ up to 30 skilled workers within the next five years, contributing positively to the local economy. The building offers the potential for Doleco’s expansion to 100,000 square feet.
Community and Economic Engagement
Doleco leveraged the company’s international origins by collaborating with the German American Chamber of Commerce throughout the process. As it establishes itself as one of Charlotte’s newest corporate citizens, Doleco plans to weave itself into the fabric of the Charlotte community, promising not just economic contributions but also a commitment to local engagement, corporate responsibility and growth.
“We’re looking forward to inviting key customers to Charlotte to tour the new facility, to show off our new technology and capabilities — and to enjoy the city,” said Abato. “We think they’ll like the city of Charlotte, but we know they’ll love what they see at our new location and the depth of what we now have to offer them.”
Doleco USA products are available in the U.S., Canada and Mexico through the company’s Master Distributor network, which includes over 6,000 distribution points. For information on sales and distribution of Doleco USA products, call +1 (203) 440-1940 or email sales@doleco@usa.com. To access high-resolution images of Doleco’s new Charlotte facility and its products, please visit https://doleco-usa.com/images.

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Textile Lashing Chains Making Cargo Securement more Efficient at Bay Crane

In this article on cranehotline.com you read about Bay Crane and their use of our textile chain DoNova®. Show the full text by clicking here or the photo below.

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The DoNova® in American Cranes & Transport: “Embracing Change in Load Securement”

In the latest issue of American Cranes & Transport Jesse L. Krum, Transportation Projects Manager for Bay Crane, writes about the use of the Doleco textile chains and the cooperation with Doleco’s managing director Ralph Abato. You can check out the full issue here.

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Ralph Abato for “Fleet Equipment”: Cargo securement tips for International Roadcheck 2023

Our managing director Ralph Abato published an article in the latest issue of “Fleet Equipment” to offer some insight on cargo securement tips ahead of the International Roadcheck 2023. Head over to the “Fleet Equipment” website to brush up on your knowledge about cargo securement and read the full article here.

Source: www.fleetequipmentmag.com

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Simply safe, simply easy – DoNova® PowerLash

The perfect application for the DoNova® PowerLash! The company Bolk Transporte from the Netherlands is faced with the challenge of transporting four huge storage tanks, each 38 yards in diameter and almost 22 yards long, from Germany to Luxembourg.

The huge stainless steel tanks are secured with our DoNova® PowerLash textile chain. Thanks to its outstanding properties, the valuable cargo is well secured: The chain made of the high-performance fiber Dyneema® is as light as a feather, but secures the storage tanks, which weigh several tons, in a very strong manner.

We are pleased to be able to make the world of transport simply safer with our textile chain: Easy and back-friendly work when securing loads thanks to the chain’s low weight and guaranteed safety for the load thanks to certification and strict testing.

If you also want to secure your load simply and easily, contact us. Together we will find the best solution.

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User Story DoNova® Interview with Mr. Beckert, Rohrleitungsbau Fritz Heidel OHG

Michael Beckert is the site manager at Fritz Heidel OHG in Glött in Bavarian Swabia. Since March 2020, he has been using our DoNova® PowerLash textile chain and the DoRa ratchet load binder optimized for the DoNova®.

Time enough to put our patented textile chain made of the high-performance fiber Dyneema® to the test.

We are pleased that Mr. Beckert took the time for an interview with us and shared his experiences with the DoNova® PowerLash.

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Mr. Beckert, how long have you been using the DoNova® in your company? Are you satisfied with the product?

We are very satisfied. We were looking for an alternative to heavy steel chains. I had heard the term “Dyneema chains” for the first time at a trade show. Your field service manager, Mr. Längle, then informed us that the DoNova® was part of your standard product range.

Is the DoNova® fixed on a vehicle or is it in use in various situations?

We decided to give the chain a try.  So, we have been using it since March 2020. Normally, we have the textile chain for the heavy lumps on our large low-loader. Of course, there are exceptions.

Are there other advantages besides the significantly reduced weight?

Ultimately, the focus was that we wanted to give our employees some relief. When the truck driver is alone, he really starts to sweat when he has to handle steel chains and hooks. Then he has to lash them down – that’s all quite strenuous. With the much lighter DoNova®, this is considerably more easy.

Load securing is also faster with the textile chain. For example, the DoNova® can be easily shortened using the chain links with hooks. If you have a steel chain there, you always have more difficulties with a chain shortener.

Is there any feedback from colleagues?

Yes, they are happy too. Colleagues say it all fits.

You were kind enough to provide us with pictures as well.

In these pictures you can see how a water shaft is secured for a larger water pipeline. The water pipes are connected in the shafts. Additionally, there are still tapping points and vent lines.

Was that a particularly difficult challenge?

The dimensions were special. But the weight of the water shaft is similar to that of a large construction machine. The shaft weighs about 20 tons. Our large crawler excavator is about 22 tons.

Mr. Beckert, normally where there is shadow, there is light. Have you or your colleagues been able to discover any disadvantages of the DoNova®?

Not really. We were told that the only thing to avoid is dragging the DoNova® on the ground behind you. The fibers could break. That’s what we’ve instructed our employees to do.

When I look at the chains now, after 2 years: They are no longer as nice and light gray as they looked when they were delivered. They have had their 2 years on the building site since then. They have become a bit darker. But otherwise they still look really good.

Our biggest fear was that the chains quickly splice or that the fibers would hang down, so you have to throw them away quickly. But that has not been confirmed. They can really take a beating.

Would you recommend the DoNova® to others?

Unreservedly yes! We have already ordered new chains with your new DoRa ratchet tensioners, which are already in stock here. We will probably also equip the small low-loader with them.

Mr. Beckert, thank you very much for your time and the interview!

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Grasping – in more than one way

Employee product training with the DoRa

Grasp, try out, experience with all senses – that was the motto of our internal employee product training. All coworkers should be able to experience the interaction of the new telescopic ratchet load binder DoRa with the DoNova® textile chain.

For this purpose, a training trailer was prepared on our company premises. First, a steel chain was tensioned with a standard binder, then our textile chain with the DoRa binder. In teams of two (Covid-tested and with masks) we were able to understand and – literally – experience for ourselves how much easier and more efficient load securing can be when the right products are used.

We learned:

• Working with steel chains and standard binders is exhausting and energy-sapping (even for fit and athletic colleagues)
• The textile chain DoNova®, on the other hand, is almost as light as a feather!
• The DoRa saves strength and time: The DoNova® lashing chain does not have to be pulled so tightly when hooking in. Due to the long tensioning distance, there are often tensioning- “reserves” so that the binder must not be removed in order to retension.
• DoRa and DoNova® together are an impressive and noticeable reduction in difficulty!

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The peculiarity of a Flemish Eye

Our content-editor visits the ropery

Whenever I come to the ropery, I feel as if I have entered a very special world. A distinctive smell hangs in the air, it is a mixture of steel and grease. The roar of the machines and the sound of a hammer can be heard. The main role here is played by steel cables – meters long, thin, and thick, shiny or matt.

They lie coiled on large wooden reels on the shelf, waiting to be processed. In contrast to the fine ropes workshop next door, in which delicate work is required on ropes from 0.8 to 6 mm in diameter, steel ropes from 6 mm in diameter are processed in the rope shop. In addition to a lot of know-how, real strength is also required.

Making ropes is craftsmanship in the literal sense of the word. 12 colleagues are currently employed here, and young talent is hard to find. Most of the colleagues in the rope factory have been with the company for a long time, some of them for almost 50 years!

Waldemar Ptok is the master of the ropes. He has been working in the Dolezych rope factory for 31 years, starting as an apprentice. In no time at all he shows me how to make a Flemish eye, a particularly safe and long-lasting wire rope connection for sling ropes.  It is a relatively thin rope of 20 mm with which he demonstrates this to me – upwards of 24 mm rope diameter teams of two must work on the rope. This rope termination is possible for ropes between 8 mm and 32 mm.

The Flemish Eye

Flemish eyes are particularly safe. This is due the special way in which they are made, but also attributable to the fact that in Germany, steel ropes with a steel core (instead of a fiber core) and a steel ferrule are usually used for Flemish eyes. The steel core makes Flemish eyes particularly suitable for use in hot areas up to 400° Celsius. A fiber core would burn at these temperatures – undetectable to the user. Consequentially, the rope would become hollow inside. The fiber composite would collapse and would therefore no longer be able to support the load. The specified load capacity of the rope could then be negatively affected. However, this danger may not be noticed during a visual examination!

Due to the eyelet formation by splicing and crimping, the Flemish Eye offers 100% safety for the minimum breaking load for all 6-stranded constructions. The special design of the of the Flemish Eye guarantees a symmetrical distribution of the force. A steel pressure clamp ensures that Flemish eyes are more wear-resistant than ropes with aluminum pressure clamps.

The slim, conical shape of the steel ferrule, which tapers towards the bottom, prevents the rope from snagging when pulled under loads or when bundling. The Flemish eye is 100 percent manual work! Splicing the rope, reconnecting the strands in opposite directions as an eye and then to evenly wrap the strand ends around the load-bearing rope so that the steel clamp can be slid over it – yes, this is where pure rope craftsmanship is required!

Practice makes perfect

Waldemar Ptok estimates that it takes two to three months before the individual steps are really internalized. “You have to repeat the process over and over again, it takes practice.” With 31 years of experience, it looks foolproof, but I, for whom these steps are still new, get lost in the individual strands. “Simply bending” doesn’t work, steel needs muscle power and a Flemish eye requires a particularly structured approach.

No wonder a lot of training is needed for this. But this work and the responsibility that goes with it satisfies Waldemar Ptok. The ropes with the Flemish eyes are tested in our test laboratory, as are all our products so that safety is guaranteed.

A personal summary

The visit to the rope factory has (once again) impressively shown me the responsibility that the colleagues in production bear every day. As in our other production departments, it became clear to me that the human hand is irreplaceable for some processes and that this is what makes the products unique.

We have captured the operations in the ropery photographically.

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