Stertil Koni Mobile Column Lifts Boost Workshop Operations
17th August 2018
A set of four Stertil Koni mobile column vehicle lifts has provided a leading UK vehicle solutions company with a perfect combination of performance, reliability and flexibility.
Longmarsh is a family-run company, established in 1956 in Wellingborough, which now provides various vehicle solutions including rental, sales and maintenance complemented by an MOT station. Today, the business operates from four sites in the East Midlands. The first vehicle rental branch was opened in 1983 and, following steady expansion, the company has opened additional branches in Bedford, Corby and Milton Keynes. Longmarsh now provides a huge variety of vehicles for rental including cars, vans, dropsides, tippers, caged tippers, tail lift vehicles and minibuses plus trucks up to 18 tonnes.
The company opted for the latest Stertil Koni mobile, wireless column lifts, type ST1075FWA, to support a comprehensive range of servicing, repair, inspection and MOT preparation operations. Importantly, the lifts were supplied complete with adjustable forks to safely and effectively accommodate the many different tyre sizes fitted to vehicles in the Longmarsh fleet.
Positioning of the wireless columns is flexible, enabling them to be used in any configuration around a vehicle. Each of the four mobile columns provides a lifting capacity of 7.5 tonnes which means that the combined capacity of the set is an impressive 30 tonnes. Also, each column incorporates Stertil Koni’s revolutionary eBright Smart Control System which allows workshop staff to operate the columns individually, in pairs or in any other configuration from any column in the set.
Incorporating wireless mesh network connectivity and full-colour touch screen consoles, the eBright Smart Control System has been designed and developed to simplify operation by providing maximum visual information about every lifting operation – all at the fingertips of the workshop engineers. For added safety and performance, the eBright Smart Control System also shows how many columns in the set are being used plus the battery status of each column.
Long-life deep cycle batteries power the lifts for at least a week on average before recharging is necessary. Also, battery life is prolonged due to the fact that, unlike a screw-lift, power is only used to raise the vehicle therefore less time is spent recharging the lift which is carried out via a 230v single phase supply. With no cables on the workshop floor, the risk of tripping is removed, providing valuable health and safety benefits and, with no wired power supply, the system can be used safely inside or outdoors.
The absence of power and communication cables also means that set-up time is drastically reduced thereby making the system fully operational much more quickly. Significantly, the lift’s unique synchronisation system ensures a smooth lifting and lowering cycle, even in the event of extremely uneven load distribution.
To cater for engineers of all heights, the ST1075FWA provides a maximum lifting height of 1.85 metres which is reached in just 75 seconds thereby making it one of the fastest commercial vehicle lifts available. This is an important feature of the new lifts which support workshop activities throughout a six day working week and are used to safely raise and lower up to 10 vehicles a day.
The columns incorporate Stertil’s maintenance-free, synthetic runner wheel system, which is self-lubricating, and the system is covered by a lifetime guarantee.
“The Stertil Koni mobile lifts are easy to operate and have given us the flexibility we were looking for,” says Terry Mayne, manager of the Longmarsh depot in Wellingborough. “We like the fact that the lifts are wireless so there’s no restriction on where we position them and there’s no danger of tripping over trailing cables. It was also helpful that Stertil Koni were able to supply the lifts from stock.”