Hilti, a global leader in systems and solutions for the professional construction sector, has launched a new screw magazine to fill the gap in the drywall installation market for a screwdriving system that maximises productivity while keeping costs down.

“With the new SMD 57 screw magazine, calculations couldn’t be easier: it drives screws twice as fast and cuts working time by half,” says Mutaz Al Maani, market segment manager at the Hilti Regional Office.
The company had set up its regional office in the Jebel Ali Free Zone, Dubai, more than two decades ago to look after the Middle East and South Asia region.
About the SMD 57, Al Maani says: “Not only does it allow screws to be driven at an astonishingly fast rate but also perfectly. In addition, this new Hilti screw magazine is easy to handle and thus becomes a decisive productivity factor in the drywall installation trade.
“With the launch of the SMD 57, Hilti becomes the only supplier of a high-grade screw magazine that has been tested worldwide under the most severe conditions. It can be taken apart for cleaning and maintenance without need for tools.”
Despite its advanced mechanism, the magazine is ruggedly built - like all Hilti products - and is designed to withstand hard jobsite use, Al Maani says.
He continues: “The remarkably short length of the SMD 57 screw magazine ensures easy access in tight corners and - thanks to its overall compactness - the magazine becomes virtually an integral part of the screwdriver. The result is a level of ergonomic perfection and balance previously unattained with a system of this kind.”
The highly practical Hilti SME magazine extension for comfor-table overhead screwdriving (no need for ladders) is also available as an accessory.
The SMD 57 screw magazine perfectly complements two new screwdrivers launched simultan-eously by Hilti for the drywall trade: the SD 5000 and the similarly designed SD 2500.
While the SD 5000 – a universal 710 watt drywall screwdriver – has a speed of 5,000 rpm and torque of 9.5 Nm – covers all typical applications such as screwdriving on drywall panels on ceilings and walls as well as fastening tracks (metal framing), the SD 2500,  with its speed of 2,500 rpm and high torque of 19 Nm, is clearly recommended for heavier, more demanding work such as driving screws in wood.
Both tools feature the unique downward air deflection system that keeps dust away from the operator’s face.