Premium Bulk Material Logistics

Industrial Hoppers — Material Handling Hopper Solutions

Apex’s material handling hopper lineup is engineered for heavy-duty industrial processing. Our storage, self-dumping, and surge hoppers provide high-capacity solutions with seamless material discharge to maximize your facility’s operational throughput.

Premium Spec Engineering

ENGINEERED EQUIPMENT

Types of Industrial Hoppers

Self-Dumping Hoppers

Engineered for forklift integration, these hoppers automatically dump when the bumper release contacts the side of a dumpster, returning to a secure, upright locked position.

Crane Buckets

Designed for overhead crane transport in construction and casting environments. Features heavy-duty structural steel rigging points and a secure manual bottom-gate release system.

Scoop Buckets

Optimized for forklift or loader attachment to efficiently scoop up loose sand, gravel, and metal scrap directly from the floor, maximizing aggregate management workflows.
INDUSTRIAL APPLICATIONS

Material Handling Hopper Applications

Industrial hoppers are critical vectors for improving plant safety and physical process efficiency. Selecting the correct engineered release system prevents manual handling hazards and streamlines high-capacity workflows across multiple industrial domains.

Our Industrial Hopper Products

Engineered for maximum worksite safety, durability, and high-capacity material handling. Need to store bulk material instead of dumping it? Apex also builds stackable metal bins to your specification.

Self-Dumping Hoppers

Heavy-duty steel hoppers engineered for safe, automatic hands-free dumping via forklift.

Crane Buckets

Heavy-duty lifting buckets designed for clean overhead crane transport of concrete and bulk aggregates.

Scoop Buckets

Easy slide-on forklift scoop attachments, perfect for moving sand, gravel, and loose debris.

Forklift Attachments

Specialized worksite attachments including heavy-duty push brooms, lifting booms, and work platforms.
Published Specifications

Capacities & Sizes

Apex publishes standard sizes for every line and builds outside them on request. The figures below are the standard configurations across the industrial hopper range, so you can compare capacity, load rating and lifting method in one place instead of page by page.

ProductStandard capacitiesMax load ratingConstructionLifted by
Self-dumping hoppers1/4 through 5 cubic yards8,000 lbsHigh-quality steel, reinforced welding, Solid Plate Rocker designForklift
Crane buckets1/2, 1 and 2 cubic yards, plus custom8,000 lbsHot rolled mild steel, reinforced in critical areas, 100% MIG weldedOverhead crane
Multi-Dump Buckets1, 1-1/2 and 2 cubic yards, plus customQuoted to your loadHot-rolled mild steel with continuous welds; reinforced inside bottom corners, outer lip and drop doorLift truck or overhead crane
Bulk bins3/4, 1, 1-1/2 and 2 yardsQuoted to your load and stacking requirement3/16" steel with a 2" x 2" x 3/16" angle around the top edgeForklift — 2-1/2" x 7" fork pockets standard; crane-lifting eyes optional
Scoop bucketsSB50 at .50 cubic yardsQuoted to your loadHeavy-duty reinforced steelForklift, telehandler or pallet forks
Tow-N-Dump hopperQuoted to your application1,500 lb constant brake hand winchSmooth hopper interior for full dischargeTowed by a lightweight vehicle

Where the table says “quoted”, it is because Apex does not publish a single figure for that line: plate thickness and reinforcements are quoted against your actual load and stacking requirement rather than fixed at one rating. Apex is the leader in custom designs and will modify any standard hopper to fit your application.

Two products in the range are attachments rather than containers. The forklift scoop bucket weighs 550 lbs at 45" wide in the SB50 configuration, and the forklift push broom comes as the PB/400, PB/600 and PB/800 — 4, 6 and 8 rows of bristles at 227, 250 and 280 lbs, all built at a 60" sweeping width.

Fabricating Since 1946

Why Apex Industrial Hoppers

Built In-House in Cleveland

Apex Welding and Fabrication Inc was established in 1946 in Cleveland, Ohio, designing and producing custom steel fabrication. Every hopper is still manufactured in-house at Apex’s own facility there.

One of the Oldest in the Nation

In the nineteen fifties Apex designed the Overhead Crane Dumping Bucket, which became a standard product still sold today. The Self Dumping Lift Truck Hopper followed in the early sixties and remains the key component of material flow and control in bulk material handling.

Built to Your Specification

Apex is especially qualified and established in the fabrication of specialized, custom-manufactured units. Stacking, fork pockets, drains, casters, crane-lifting eyes and paint are quoted alongside the base hopper.

Materials and finish. Products are made using high-quality, durable materials and domestic steel, with corrosion-resistant options such as galvanizing and stainless steel for use in harsh conditions. Apex serves any industry that uses forklift trucks or overhead cranes to collect, store, transport or dump bulk material.

Where They Go To Work

Industries We Serve

Apex supplies any industry that uses forklift trucks or overhead cranes to collect, store, transport or dump bulk material — industrial, construction, agricultural, manufacturing, automotive, landscaping, governmental, and waste and recycling.

Manufacturing & Stampings

Collecting and discharging scrap steel, stampings, glass and production byproduct without manual handling. Common in machine shops, automotive work and steel mills.

Construction & Aggregates

Moving various aggregates and construction debris on site, including the concrete and rubble work covered by the reinforced concrete hopper configurations.

Waste & Recycling

Solid waste, grit and screenings across recycling plants, waste water treatment and scrap yards, using the self-dumping release rather than tipping by hand.

Wood, Agriculture & Landscaping

Sawdust, rubber, coal and ash in high volume, plus the agricultural, landscaping and grounds-maintenance work Apex has supplied since 1946.

Common Questions

Frequently Asked Questions

What is a material handling hopper?

A material handling hopper is a heavy-duty industrial container built to store, move, and discharge bulk material — scrap, waste, aggregates, or production byproduct — without manual handling. Apex's material handling hopper lineup includes self-dumping, crane bucket, and scoop bucket configurations, each built to integrate with the forklift or crane you already have on site.

Self-dumping hoppers run 1/4 through 5 cubic yards, crane buckets 1/2, 1 and 2 cubic yards, and Multi-Dump Buckets 1, 1-1/2 and 2 cubic yards, with custom sizes built on request. Self-dumping hoppers and crane buckets carry a maximum load rating of 8,000 lbs.

In-house at Apex's own facility in Cleveland, Ohio. Apex Welding and Fabrication Inc was established there in 1946, designing and producing custom steel fabrication, and every hopper is still manufactured on site.