Slippery Rock Gazette

by Peter J. Marcucci

Photos Courtesy Slab Caddy and The Countertop Shop

Projects Designed and Built Inc. (PD&B) has been a custom designer and builder of mechanical and robotic manufacturing equipment for over 25 years. Located in Toledo, Ohio, the company is comfortably positioned to serve six major cities within five hours drive time: Detroit, Michigan; Chicago, Illinois; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; Indianapolis, Indiana and Columbus and Cincinnati, Ohio. Founded by Ken Martin and now operated by mechanical engineer and son Jack Martin and his wife Dana, PD&B has been the place to get manufacturing equipment into production and out the door to global customers throughout Europe, South America, and China. That said, even though PD&B is not a new kid on the block, the design and production of their very own Slab Caddy is.         

Designed in cooperation with Mike Langenderfer, the owner of The Countertop Shop located in Monclova, Ohio, the patent-pending Slab Caddy represents countless hours of rigorous testing in real-world conditions, and offers safe, movable slab storage, explained Product Manager Dana Martin.

 “When Mike Langenderfer asked my husband Jack for a solution, he was really only asking for a solution to increase safety at the saw. His guys would overstock the standing A-frame there, and he was very worried about it from a safety stand point. Yes, slabs were being moved around the shop using push carts, but it was not very efficient.” 

Designed to tow heavy loads, the battery-powered Slab Caddy tug is simple to operate.

Dana and Jack Martin at TISE 2024

Iteration after iteration, the prototype turned from a simple storage vehicle, to one that offered so much more, she continued. “Jack was on a flight going somewhere, and he saw an airplane tug moving a plane around and thought, ‘Hmm, Why don’t we move carts around like that?’ So he started looking up tugs that were already on the market, so he wouldn’t have to reinvent the wheel. Jack was also told to pare down the original cart, which was way overbuilt, to make it more cost effective. He then developed a fixed-point-hitch on the tug that would ascend and descend into the cart, and we were in business!”

A System Built for Safety, Efficiency, and Fewer Mistakes

At this point, you might be thinking that what you’ve just heard is someone else’s problems and not yours, right? But you’d be wrong. There are lots of potential problems moving material around with a forklift – too many to list. Suffice it to say that most fabricators have seen or heard the scenarios about some type of forklift/slab mishaps or a-frame related accidents due to wind, human error or carelessness. When do they happen, they are dangerous, life-threatening events, besides being costly and halting production. 

Just imagine what it looks like to the client who just witnessed their slab break into pieces. That said, most accidents are preventable.

Now imagine, if you will, this scenario: Your forklift or crane unloads slab after slab off the delivery truck and onto a cart that’s just a few feet away–up to eight slabs, stacked in order or by the job. Then, when loaded, the cart is simply and safely trundled away, securely stored and tagged. A heavy- duty version cart will hold two bundles of slabs.

Then when it’s time to produce that job, instead of a forklift or crane bringing each slab one by one to the saw or CNC, that cart is trundled to where the material is needed, locked in place and disconnected. The operator can now load his machine by himself, while the tug is on its way to protect and serve on another mission. As a plus, cut material can now be stacked on that same cart or an additional empty cart, and tugged to the next machine or fabrication work area. Once fabricated, carts can now be used to hold finished work until ready for delivery – Super efficient, and super safe. 

Slab Caddy carts can hold up to eight slabs, and can be customized for special needs, like full-bundle carts, remnant carts, and even a special hopper to hold scraps.   Photos (4) Courtesy The Countertop Shop

According to Dana, the powder-coated Slab Caddy carts are over-engineered for strength, fitted with casters rated at 5,000 pounds each. As for the battery powered tug, it only needs one operator, will handle slabs up to 136 inches long and has 24 hour tech support. Furthermore, as an additional plus for shops in cold areas of the country, slabs can be brought in the day before cutting and staged, letting them acclimate to ambient temperature and avoiding condensation that can mask flaws, such as unpolished areas and fine cracks. 

Slab Caddy carts are serviced and warranted strictly through PD&B, keeping the manufacturer/customer relationship simple, close and reliable. Dana also noted that custom versions of their carts are also available for special needs, such as full-bundle carts, carts for remnants, shops doing glass work or a hopper to hold scraps, adding, “We’ve engineered it, tested it, and we build everything in-house. We’ll then ship it where ever it needs to go. I think our biggest hurdle, is getting people to think that this is not an apple to apple comparison, because we are not just replacing a standing a-frame with a bigger a-frame. We are changing the actual work flow, and from what we’ve come to realize, once that shops grasp that, they’ll see that the Slab Caddy is a much bigger advantage than just an a-frame. Additionally, when shops are considering a second forklift, adding the Slab Caddy will take the place of that purchase. Yes, you still have to load our carts with a forklift or crane, but you can use our tug and carts in every part of the workflow.” 

Unloading and moving incoming slabs to storage is simplified and safer with the Slab Caddy. The high load capacity allows one operator to safely move several full slabs at once.

The ease of bringing in new slabs directly to a greenboard photo station is one workflow improvement the Slab Caddy offers.

A System Worth a Look-See

To recap, the Made in America Slab Caddy completely eliminates a-frame related accidents, drastically reduces forklift/boom or clamp related accidents, increases work flow efficiency due to increased mobility, makes better use of warehouse or yard space, and reduces in-door forklift traffic and its associated exhaust and dust.  It only needs one operator, will help keep your shop organized and safer, and its ability to offer movable, scalable storage will save oodles of space in an ever-changing environment. Your bottom line is increased, your people are safer, and your company image has increased by a couple of notches. 

PD&B is a member of the International Surface Fabricators Association and the Natural Stone Institute.

For more information, visit their website www.slabcaddy.com or give Dana a call at 419-726-7400.