About us – The inventors of the pneumatic rail hook
For more than four decades a single product has been at the centre of our work: the pneumatic rail hook for LPG loading on rail tank cars. We didn’t adopt it. We invented it.
For more than four decades a single product has been at the centre of our work: the pneumatic rail hook for LPG loading on rail tank cars. We didn’t adopt it. We invented it.
Some products are born from a market analysis. The pneumatic rail hook was born from an event no one forgot.
A tragic accident with a fatality during tank car loading painfully revealed a critical gap in the technology of the time: in hazardous situations there was no reliable way to close the tank car bottom valves quickly and from a safe distance.
From this insight came an idea – and from the idea a product: the first pneumatically controlled rail hook. A component that understands the rail hook not just as a mechanical holder but as an active part of the safety chain of the loading station. The first rail hook was sold in 1982. The principle has proven effective ever since and remains the basis of the Protector S49-I.
What distinguished the pneumatic rail hook from the beginning was a simple but consistent thought: the safety function must not depend on someone having to manipulate the tank car itself.
In normal operation the rail hook holds the bottom valves open via the pull rope. In case of a malfunction, leakage or activation of the emergency stop system the safety chain can trigger so that the bottom valves close and the transfer process is secured – without anyone having to approach the hazard area.
This combination of mechanical robustness and pneumatic control logic was new at the time of its development. It remains so at its core today: the Protector S49-I continues this invention in its mature form.
On 17 August 2026 MS Sicherheitstechnik GmbH celebrates its 25th anniversary as a company. A quarter century built on over four decades of product experience, founded by the inventor of the pneumatic rail hook.
This continuity is no coincidence but a deliberate strategy. We never expanded our offering arbitrarily, created product families or branched into unrelated fields. When you contact us, you speak to people who know this one product, its application and its limits inside out.
For operators, planners and technical purchasers this means: short lines of communication, precise answers and a contact person who knows LPG loading on rail tank cars from practical experience.
MS Sicherheitstechnik is deliberately not a general provider of safety or explosion protection technology. Our claim is different: the best product for a clearly defined, safety-critical application.
Three things underpin this specialisation:
The first rail hook was sold in 1982. Since then the product has been continuously developed and adapted to the requirements of modern loading stations.
The Protector S49-I is TÜV-tested. Test report, data sheet and product-specific documentation are available – the declaration of conformity accompanies every delivery.
The origin of this product reminds us daily what it is about: protecting people at the loading station. We have been committed to this mission since day one.
Would you like to learn more about the Protector S49-I or check whether it is suitable for your loading station? Talk to us directly – we will reply from 25 years of company and over 40 years of product experience.