Clark gas forklifts in application at the Schmäke art foundry

The fact that forklift trucks sometimes have to prove their skills off the beaten track is demonstrated by their hard work in a Düsseldorf art foundry. Here, two Clark forklift trucks work daily with great sensitivity and precision to complete valuable art objects in bronze or aluminium. In addition to transporting raw materials and auxiliary materials, the forklift trucks don't just have to flex their muscles for classic transport tasks...

The Schmäke art foundry has a long and traditional history in the foundry trade. The company has been based in Düsseldorf-Oberbilk for over 95 years. The family business was founded in 1926 by Gustav Schmäke. With Prof. h.c. Karl-Heinz Schmäke, the 3rd generation of the Schmäke family brought the company international renown at the end of the 1960s. As a close partner of art, he not only expanded the business, but also taught the craft at the Düsseldorf Art Academy. Today, the art foundry is run in the 5th generation by the cousins Dominik and Gillian Schmäke, who are among the youngest masters in Germany.

The Schmäke art foundry and its team of employees are recognised worldwide for their first-class work. An international customer base has been loyal to the traditional family business for years. These include well-known artists such as Ida Ekblad, Tony Cragg, Eva Hild and Markus Lüpertz. Museums, churches and local authorities also commission sculptures by renowned artists from Schmäke or commission the Düsseldorf-based specialist company to restore works of art. As a training company, Schmäke also wants to inspire the next generation for the traditional craft and trains young people to become metal and bell founders and chisellers. Depending on the order situation, 20-30 employees work on enriching the world with another unique work of art.

"The artist comes to our workshop with a model of their artwork. This is either made of wood, clay or plaster," says Dominik Schmäke, a trained metal and bell caster, explaining the creation process. "Our job is to create the model in bronze or aluminium using the sand casting or lost wax process." The models are either enlarged on site or, if desired, in the artist's studio, or are taken over true to scale. The artist is free to choose from any conceivable material, be it plaster, polystyrene, clay, wood or wax. The wax casting process is particularly suitable for sculptures that are difficult to mould or where particularly high demands are placed on surface accuracy and sharpness. After casting, the chisellers put the finishing touches to the art objects and thus realise the work entirely in the artist's spirit. "The size doesn't really matter," explains Dominik Schmäke. "For example, we realised a bronze art project for the Norwegian artist Ida Ekblad in the Kistefos Sculpture Park in Norway. The 200 m² (7.03 m x 10.1 m x 5 m) object called "A deadly Slumber of all Forces" consisted of 200 individual parts, which we assembled and welded together on site. This was not only a logistical challenge, but also unusual in terms of assembly." Over the years, Schmäke has also made a name for itself in the assembly of art objects in addition to art casting. In co-operation with renowned art shipping companies, the company delivers and assembles the artworks worldwide. Thanks to this many years of expertise, works such as Markus Lüpertz's "Hercules" and Tony Cragg's "Turin Towers" and "Montpellier" have been created at the Schmäke art foundry.

Schmäke uses two Clark GTS30 and GTS33 LPG forklifts with a load capacity of 3 and 3.3 tonnes to transport raw materials, auxiliary materials or even finished works of art. "For us, the vehicles not only have to transport large and bulky loads," says Dominik Schmäke, "but often also very valuable sculptures. In addition to a stable driving style, a great deal of sensitivity is also required when controlling the vehicle, especially when valuable works of art are on the forks." The Clark forklift trucks are the ideal choice here, as they are characterised by a very stable driving style and sensitive load handling. Clark has also equipped the forklifts with a separate gearbox. This reduces vibrations at the driver's seat and guarantees smooth driving behaviour even in the outdoor area of the art foundry when materials or works of art have to be transported between the halls. Together with the stable, vibration-free steering axle and the ergonomic driver's workplace, the GTS series is not only robust and reliable, but also extremely comfortable and safe. Thanks to the nested mast profiles, the operator has a very good view of the forks and the load through the mast. The heavy-duty, nested mast profiles also offer high strength even with heavy loads, which is the order of the day at Schmäke. For low-noise and smooth lifting operations, the trucks are equipped with lift mast damping as standard. This ensures that the transition between the individual mast profiles is smooth. This protects both the lift mast components and the load.

Another advantage is the encapsulated, oil-cooled multi-disc brakes, which ensure smooth operation by eliminating downtime and additional maintenance costs. Compared to drum brakes, multiple disc brakes require a good 50 % less braking force. Another advantage is that a dusty or wet environment - such as when used in a foundry - has no negative impact on the encapsulated multiple disc brakes. They achieve their full braking effect even under these operating conditions.

As the vehicles are used both indoors and outdoors in the Schmäke art foundry, the vehicles are equipped with a partial cab and exterior mirrors. This consists of a glass roof, a front and rear windscreen and a rain cover for the sides. "We are not only very satisfied with the Clark forklifts in terms of their driving style and robust design," says Dominik Schmäke "The ergonomic driver's workplace, which gives the driver plenty of head and legroom, and the intuitive operation of the forklifts also ensure a high level of safety in our operations." The art foundry has leased the vehicles from Clark's contractual partner, Gabelstapler Finger from Wermelskirchen. Gabelstapler Finger is also responsible for the maintenance and servicing of the vehicles. "With Finger, we have an extremely reliable partner who supports us in word and deed and always keeps an eye on the maintenance intervals of our vehicles." And because the Clark vehicles are so robust and reliable, Schmäke also uses them for art in the truest sense of the word. To extract the material for the refractory mix, the forklift trucks have to crush stones with their weight. The Clark forklifts have also proved their worth in this somewhat unusual task.