Hire and Rental News - February 2019

ACCESS IN ACTION Australia leads the world with new Telehandler Standard Australia will become the first country to adopt a new design standard for telehandlers aligned to the current ISO Standard. T he new Australian Standard will be designated ‘Rough terrain trucks – Safety requirements and verification – Part 1: Variable-reach trucks’ and will be a modified adoption of the ISO standard of the same name. It was released for public comment at the beginning of December, with the public comment period typically lasting nine weeks. This standard will replace AS1418.19 – 2007, the current design standard for variable reach trucks. The new design standard follows the hard work of the ME026–04 committee over the past 12+ months and the committee is keen to see the much anticipated publication of AS 10896.1. Robbie Wilkinson from Wenn Wilkinson who helped steer development of the new standard as Technical Director of the TSHA Board said: “Upon publication, Australia will become the first country to adopt this standard, and in my opinion we will be leading the way. It is recognised alignment with ISO is the goal. “The new Standard will be a modified adoption at this stage. The modified adoption of ISO 10896.1 is required to satisfy local requirements and includes an appendix ZZ which includes requirements for indicating and limiting devices, load chart presentation, differences in stability testing and requirements for air conditioning,” Robbie said. “The long term goal is to have such changes incorporated into the relevant ISO standards so local requirements can be minimised and eventually eliminated. Recently I was accepted as a member of the ISO committee TC–110 SC–4 which is responsible for drafting standards relating to rough terrain variable reach trucks. I have also been accepted as convenor of WG3 (working group 3) which is responsible for drafting ISO standards relating to freely suspended load attachments. The next meeting of this committee is April in the US. “The support of the TSHA has been invaluable in achieving these goals and the ongoing benefits.” n Visit: www.tsha.com.au New national retailer for Athena bi-levelling tracked scissor United Forklifts and Access Solutions is the new Australian retailer for the Athena bi-levelling tracked scissor lift manufactured by Italian scissor lift company, AlmaCrawler. U nited Equipment’s Managing Director David Maxwell said AlmaCrawler products are respected across five continents for their quality, excellence of engineering, manufacturing and service backup. “Their quality and service ethos strongly complement our own, and the power of this partnership means the Athena scissor lift range and future AlmaCrawler products will benefit from United’s expansion,” David said. The Athena scissor lifts line up comprises several working height models including the Athena 850 (8m), the Athena 1090 (10m) and the tallest model, the Athena 1470 (14m) which are all offered in variations including: • HE – compact dimensions and reduced weight; • EVO – includes a high-powered diesel engine and proactive and dynamic levelling; • Bi-Energy – features a whisper-quiet engine which makes it possible to operate the machine indoors. “A conventional scissor lift is usually limited to inclines of only 2–4 degrees and a levelled surface is required to raise and operate. The Athena can easily handle rough terrain and operate on inclines up to 20 degrees. The scissor lift will automatically level on its two axes to allow operation on even the most challenging terrain and slopes,” David said. “The Athena is believed to be the first scissor lift in the world with its unique capabilities, being able to level on its axis in longitudinal and lateral directions to operate on slopes and undulating terrain where conventional scissor lifts cannot operate. The Athena scissor lift handles terrain variations up to 50cm front and back and 38cm side-to-side on uneven terrain. “Previously businesses would have been forced to erect scaffolding or use all terrain boom lifts on difficult sites, however the compact Athena solves this problem. The variety of Athena models available also provides businesses with greater flexibility to suit the application and site conditions. AlmaCrawler has also recently opened its first branch in Sydney, under the name Almac Pacific and will allow AlmaCrawler to service and support the Australian market. AlmaCrawler General Manager Andrea Artoni said the Australian market’s appreciation of the company’s products have from day one made Australia its first market. “It was very important to identify a high-quality partner to service and support the retail market. United has always been very receptive to our products and produce the same level of quality work. “United will be a great resource to further strengthen Athena and future AlmaCrawler products in the market. For us this was a natural agreement as we definitely share the same unique approach to the way we do business.” United first introduced the Athena 850 into its product line in 2016. Since then, the Athena has made a large impact in the market and won international and national awards for its outstanding design and performance. This includes the international (IAPA) and Australian New Product of the Year awards (HRIA). These were followed up in Australia last year with the Safety Solution of the Year win in the Endeavour Manufacturing Awards. n Contact: 131 607 or visit: www.unitedequipment.com.au The Athena 850 is recognised as a site safety asset and workplace problem-solver. Mr Andrea Artoni, left, and Mr Maxwell celebrate the new Exclusive National Retailer agreement for the Athena scissor lift in Australia, where the machine has added to its international awards with a national safety award in this country P30 ACCESS IN ACTION FEBRUARY 2019