Bale Clamps
Palletless handling of baled product
Bale Clamps are designed to handle baled products such as cotton, wool, synthetic textiles, scrap metal, and recycled paper without the need for pallets. This attachment uses powerful hydraulic arms to securely grip and transport large, bulky loads, significantly increasing handling efficiency.
A bale clamp grips a bale between two flat hydraulic arms and carries it without a pallet. Because the arms are wide and the clamping force is spread across the face of the bale, compressed product can be lifted, stacked several high and loaded into a trailer without a frame or a cradle underneath it.
It is the standard attachment in ginning, wool handling, textile production and recycling — anywhere product arrives compressed and baled and leaves the same way. Removing pallets from that flow removes the cost of the pallets, the space they take in a store and the double handling involved in getting product on and off them.
Also known as: Bale handler · Cotton bale clamp · Waste bale clamp
Benefits
- Eliminates the need for pallets, reducing cost and storage requirements
- High-strength steel construction for maximum durability and clamping force
- Excellent visibility through the frame for safer operation
- Gentle yet firm grip to prevent damage to baled materials
Where it is used
- Cotton ginning and seed-cotton handling through the season
- Wool and textile bale storage and despatch
- Baled recyclate, scrap paper, plastics and metal in waste operations
- Loading baled product into containers and curtain-siders
Specification
- Handling
- Pallet-free
- Arms
- High-strength steel
- Visibility
- Open frame
Capacities, jaw ranges and rotation are model-specific — the exact figures are confirmed against your truck and load when we quote.
Fits ISO Class II, III and IV fork carriages
In service on Toyota, Linde, Hyster, Jungheinrich, TCM, Manitou, JCB, Feeler, Yale and Komatsu trucks across the region.
- Hydraulic attachments run off the truck’s auxiliary services; where a truck has too few, an additional service or a solenoid selector can be fitted.
- Mechanical attachments slip over standard fork arms and need no hydraulic connection at all.
- Fitting an attachment changes the truck’s rated capacity, so the derated capacity plate is confirmed as part of the quote.
South Africa & Zambia
Attachments are supplied from Nelspruit for South Africa, Botswana, Namibia, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Eswatini and Lesotho, and through the Kitwe branch for Zambia, the Copperbelt and the southern DRC corridor.
- South Africa — head office, warehouse and service in Nelspruit, with stockholding in Johannesburg
- Zambia — branch office and warehouse in Kitwe, plus a supply depot in Solwezi
- Cross-border freight and documentation arranged per consignment where the destination requires it
Bale Clamps — questions
- 01How many bales can a bale clamp lift at once?
- That depends on bale mass and the truck’s derated capacity with the attachment fitted. Single and multi-bale arm configurations are both available, and we work the arithmetic back from the truck rather than the arms.
- 02Can the same clamp handle cotton and recycled paper bales?
- Usually yes, provided the bale dimensions are comparable. Clamping force is adjustable, which is what allows one attachment to hold a soft cotton bale and a dense paper bale securely.
- 03Does ETEQ supply bale clamps for agricultural contractors?
- Yes. Bale clamps are supplied to ginners, farms and contractors from Nelspruit for South Africa and the neighbouring territories, and through Kitwe for Zambia.