Product Review
Hopper Trailer Opener Improves Efficiency and Safety for Employees

For more than two decades, The Arnold Company has manufactured its Door Demon line of hopper gate and boxcar openers.

Earlier this year, the company introduced its latest innovation, the patent-pending Door Demon HTO (Hopper Trailer Opener) for opening truck trailer hopper gates/traps.

“The HTO was designed specifically to open truck hopper gates,” explains President Albert Middeke. “Our challenge was finding the perfect combination of torque, speed, and weight. Our target was to design a product that would improve safety and productivity for the employee, while also being accepted by the trailer owners. We think we’ve done just that.

“The HTO has enough non-impacting torque to open the tougher hopper gates, but it is also lightweight and controllable for safe all day use,” he adds. “It was designed as a handheld unit, not only for maximum flexibility and mobility, but also to signal the user when they’ve reached the end of the gate track thereby avoiding gate damage.”

According to Middeke, “The Arnold Company has spent the last year in the field with key customers designing and prototyping this product to develop the best combination of features.”

From September/October 2017 GRAIN JOURNAL