The Lift Gate Assistant can make your bar both functional and fancy with a flip-up bar counter.Since 1909, Weber Knapp Co., based in Jamestown, NY, has worked closely with its customers to design, develop and manufacture innovative mechanical hardware and kinematic motion control devices. The company’s engineering design team utilizes its 85-plus years of combined experience creating and custom engineering products for a large number of applications ranging from multi-link concealed refrigerator hinges to counterbalance hinges.
Weber Knapp began by making exclusive hardware and hinges for local furniture manufacturers to include on dressers and wardrobes. As the market changed throughout the decades, the business grew, expanded and diversified to include motion control solutions for commercial foodservice operations, such as:
- Smoker & grill lid support hinges
- Food prep table hinges
- Commercial kitchen appliance hinges
- Flip-up bar top hinges
- Pass through countertop hinges
No matter what the appliance, if it’s got a hinge, Weber Knapp has a motion control solution to make you stand out from your competition.
“Weber Knapp is now heavily involved in the counterbalance market within many industries, including the LiftGate Hinge, which is specially designed for hospitality applications,” says Jody Osgood, Weber Knapp’s sales account manager.
With counter balancing, a force offsets or reduces another weight or force, to increase safety during use.
“For example, if a counterbalance component is used on a 45-pound lid, it will make it feel like it weighs just 5 pounds,” Osgood explains. In the hospitality industry, counterbalanced hinge systems are commonly and successfully used with lift up bar tops or countertops.
“Many of these surfaces are changing to quartz, granite and other heavier materials that dramatically increase the weight,” Osgood says. “We saw a need to develop a product to address this niche market, which is where our LiftGate Hinge can serve as an effective solution.”
Counterbalance hinges designed for countertops and bar tops don’t just provide added safety by protecting staff from heavy materials falling on fingers or heads, but also are convenient and reliable.
The LiftGate Hinge offers three options for restaurant operators to accommodate their needs.
“We realized we needed to have a hinge system that can handle different weight classes, so we broke it down into three different models,” Osgood says. “In addition to weight, restaurant operators need to consider the top’s material, depth, length and width, when determining the counterbalance hinge that will work best.”
Weber Knapp has made choosing the appropriate hinge easy. Restaurant operators simply enter the countertop or bar top’s length and weight into the LiftGate calculator to determine the appropriate counterbalance hinge.
“They also can call us directly, and we will recommend the best product for them,” Osgood says.
When it’s time for installation, Weber Knapp provides extensive assembly instructions.
“We pride ourselves on making our hinges easy to install; it typically takes less than an hour,” Osgood says. “We also provide support, if needed.”
When it comes to service life, LiftGate hinges are designed to last. This product has been tested to last beyond 100,000 cycles and comes with a limited five-year warranty that covers manufacturing defects.
“Weber Knapp’s LiftGate hinges can withstand extensive use,” Osgood says.