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ACCESS in ACTION
ACCESS IN ACTION • AUGUST 2015
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The open day was for both suppliers
and customers, with Niftylift welcoming
visitors from around the world to take
their first look at the 28,000m2 state-
of-the-art facility. It houses Niftylift’s
Sales & Marketing, Finance, Research &
Development and Machine Production
functions, with just Service, Spare
Parts and Refurbishing remaining at its
Stonebridge facility.
Niftylift, represented in Australia by
the Nifty team lead by John King,
manufactures hydraulic work platforms
with working heights ranging from 9m
to over 21m mounted on trailer towable,
self-propelled, self-drive, track drive, static
base and vehicle chassis. The company
was founded in 1985 and has production
facilities near Barnsley and in Milton
Keynes in the UK.
According to reports in UK media, the
company has been gradually moving
production across town from its old plant
in Stonebridge and at the time of the plant
opening, had six of its eight assembly lines
installed in the massive new building.
The old facility in Stonebridge was
purpose built in 1994 but the company
had outgrown the site as demand for its
boom and trailer lifts has grown. Niftylift
will retain the Stonebridge facility for used
equipment, repairs, service and rebuilds.
In addition to the two facilities in Milton
Keynes the company has a fabrication
plant in the Nottingham area. The
company said the production move
went relatively smoothly, and production
efficiency and product quality - as
measured in faults picked up at the end of
the line - have both improved significantly.
Visitors to the open day were able to view
and operate examples of Niftylift’s entire
product range, including Niftylift’s award-
winning Hybrid range.
There was also an indoor exhibition where
visitors could learn about the business,
its innovations and interactions with
the marketplace and local community.
Inside the main hall there was an
extensive display covering all aspects of
the company and its history. The display
included a competition to test your skills in
Lean Production assembly techniques.
Niftylift’s new world headquarters & plant
Niftylift has space earmarked for future
development on the Shenley Wood site,
with a dedicated R & D Centre and Visitor
/ Training Centre already planned. The 12
acre site has been planned to manage two
more phases of expansion, adding to the
current 12,000 square metres under cover
– with seven acres (28,000sqm) of the site
currently covered with building and yard.
Bringing cutting-edge technology together
with environmental consciousness, the
new Shenley Wood headquarters is the
embodiment of Niftylift’s business ethos,
the company said. It will open the doors
to new employment opportunities within
the region and give Niftylift the ‘room to
grow’ it needs to continue to develop its
reputation as a successful, sustainable
British manufacturing company and
compete on the world stage.
One key objective was to bring all the
offices together and offer a better work
environment. The environmental aspects
of the building include automated lighting
that constantly adjusts to make the
maximum use of natural light.
It has been reported the new state of the
art facility should take production up to
around 80 units a week, with capacity
expected to be around 130 units a week.
Visit:
www.niftylift.comUK based EWP manufacturer, Niftylift celebrated the opening of its new greenfield
production facility and world headquarters by hosting a special open day at the facility
in Shenley Wood, Milton Keynes in early June.
The new building covers 12,000 square metres of the 28,000 square metres developed space
The production hall will eventually house all eight assembly lines