Access rental specialist goes large with first spider boom

[RENTAL SPECIALIST Anglia Access Platforms has invested in its first Hinowa tracked spider boom – and sent it straight out on hire for a tree management project.

Anglia Access has strengthened its hire fleet with a bi-energy lithium-diesel Hinowa Lightlift 33.17 Performance IIIS, supplied by Hinowa’s UK and Ireland distributor, Access Platform Sales (APS).

With a maximum working height of 32.5m, the Hinowa Lightlift 33.17 is the largest tracked boom lift in the Hinowa range. Mark Allison, managing director of Anglia Access, believes it will prove popular with clients.

He said: “We’ve cross-hired Hinowa spider platforms until now, so it was a natural next step to invest in them. They’re becoming increasingly popular, and essential, for many working at height projects.

“Our new Hinowa 33.17 is an exceptional spider platform and gives us premium rental rates. Assisted by APS’s excellent after-sales support, I’m confident we’ll do very well with it. It’s ideal for tree management, building inspection, and working on wind turbines and telecoms masts.

“As a true bi-energy spider platform, the Hinowa Lightlift 33.17 can be used for indoor and outdoor working, so we can offer a full range of hire options and our clients get the flexibility and productivity they’re increasingly looking for.”

Anglia Access Platforms, based in Barford, just outside Norwich, has a hire fleet of cherry pickers with working heights ranging from 10m to 38m and scissor lifts from 4m to 22m.

APS major accounts manager Linda Betts said: “We’re very pleased to have supplied such a capable spider platform to Mark and his team at Anglia Access Platforms.

“The Hinowa Lightlift 33.17 can work in spaces and reach locations at height other platforms just can’t. And because it has the same operating system as other spider platforms in the Hinowa Performance range, clients will be very comfortable using it.”

The Hinowa Lightlift 33.17 has a maximum horizontal outreach of 16.5m. A new, larger basket has an unrestricted basket capacity of 230kg, minimising the need to reposition the platform to continue working.

With a travel width of just 1.69m, it can be tracked through a standard double door and operated across rough and unstable terrain.

Those attributes were vital for the platform’s first project – the removal of a stand of tall poplar trees on land adjacent to a main railway line in Northamptonshire.

Working from a platform was essential because the close proximity of the railway line meant there needed to be guaranteed tight control of the tree removal process.

The spider platform’s exceptional reach also allowed the tree surgeons to place the platform on the most appropriate ground, even if it was well away from the tree being worked on.

The Hinowa Lightlift 33.17’s smooth, proportional controls and articulating jib made it easier to position the basket to reach branches safely and work productively. The spider platform’s powerful and long-lasting lithium batteries and electric motor means it can be operated indoors – for example in large atriums or warehouses – or on sites where low-noise and zero fumes operation is essential, such as hospitals, schools and care homes. The low-emissions diesel engine can be used to rapidly recharge the battery while the platform is working. The platform can also be operated using mains electricity. The Hinowa Lightlift 33.17 shares smart features with other Hinowa platforms that enhance safety and productivity. They include one-button functions to set up outriggers and level the platform, and to return the boom to the stowed position. The Lightlift 33.17 is also the first of Hinowa’s tracked booms to provide negative reach, so it can operate lower than the level of its tracks. This expands its uses to include carrying out dockside maintenance and under-bridge inspection.

APS supplies Hinowa spider platforms with maximum working heights starting at 13m. They include the new Hinowa TeleCrawler range – telescopic tracked spider platforms that can be operated in particularly tight spaces with smaller outrigger footprints. q • For further information visit www.accessplatforms.co.uk