Air-Powered Dock Leveler … A More Environmentally Conscious Alternative

Carrollton, Texas – Kelley introduced air-powered dock leveler technology in 1995 and provided customers a value added alternative to conventional dock levelers; especially more expensive hydraulically powered models. Today, the Kelley aFX is the most popular dock leveler in the world. That popularity is growing even more due to the increasing focus on sustainability and environmental awareness.

While the aFX is recognized for providing safe, reliable operation and a low lifetime cost of ownership, it is also gaining attention as a more environmentally conscious powered dock leveler.

By using a simple yet durable, low voltage fan motor, the aFX dock leveler is able to raise and lower without the need for hydraulics pump/motor, cylinders or fluid. The aFX, as do all Kelley dock levelers up to 50,000 lbs. capacity, also includes the patented SafeTFrame sub-frame structure.

The SafeTFrame design adds structural strength to the rear of the dock leveler – the area most often subjected to impact as a fork lift transitions from warehouse floor to the deck of the dock leveler. The four vertical uprights of the SafeTFrame design allow the dock leveler to be properly leveled with the warehouse floor – providing full lateral support, a level interface with the warehouse floor and eliminating the need to have steel shim positioned and welded during installation. The installation of shim at the rear of the dock leveler is time consuming and often done incorrectly.

The Kelley aFX with SafeTFrame eliminates the need for shim and therefore reduces the installation time of each dock leveler by slightly over 20 minutes. This time savings also equates to less time running internal combustion engines on welders and less cumulative emissions from those welders and welding rods. Considering the number of dock levelers produced and installed per year, the cumulative benefit of this design change is significant.

Kelley offers a complete line of dock levelers, vehicle restraints, dock seals & shelters, lift products and dock accessories and is one of the industry leading brands owned by 4Front Engineered Solutions, Inc.

4Front Engineered Solutions based in Carrollton, TX, is one of the world's leading manufacturers of branded truck and rail loading dock equipment. The Company owns some of the industry’s leading brands: Kelley®, Serco®, LoadHog®, TKO® Dock Doors, and APS Resource®. 4Front offers warehousing, manufacturing, retail and distribution center customers, participating in a variety of end markets, one of the most comprehensive lines of highly engineered loading dock systems in the material handling industry. The Company's competitive advantage is supported by a network of more than 130 independent distributor locations worldwide and cost-effective manufacturing centers strategically located throughout North America.

<< Back to news articles