April-May 2022

www.accessinternational.media
A KHL Group publication

Discussing
a new era
in access
Karin Nars, IPAF president

INTERVIEW
Ken McDougall, Skyjack

WINNERS

OFFICIAL MAGAZINE
OF IPAF

COMPACT SCISSORS NORTH AMERICA RENTAL REPORT

Energy efficiency Market trends Sustainability drive
 FROM THE EDITOR

Volume 29 | Issue 3
April-May 2022
Streamlining the sector
T
he turmoil in Ukraine has been at the top of people’s minds in
STAFF LIST many parts of the world as the humanitarian crisis deepens and The move
Editor
Euan Youdale the growing number of sanctions placed on Russia changes the
euan.youdale@khl.com longer-term relationship the world has with the country. to more sustainable
Editorial Director The response from the access industry to the Ukrainian plight is the
Murray Pollok focus in our special News extra feature in this issue. operations is no
Staff Writers Often, crisis drives greater efficiencies; a requirement that our industry
Lindsey Anderson, Andy Brown, has got used to over recent years as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic longer a choice,
Alex Dahm, Steve Ducker, and other factors.
Mike Hayes, Niamh Marriott, Skills shortages and supply chain constraints have lead to companies it has become a
Cristián Peters, D.Ann Shiffler,
optimising production processes and looking at technology to fill the
Belinda Smart
IPAF News Editor gaps that have been left. necessity and a
Peter Douglas The move to more sustainable operations is no longer a choice, it has
Events & Creative Director become a necessity and a requirement of the industry. In this issue we requirement of
Saara Rootes look at trends in the rental sector and how companies are introducing
Print Production Manager a range of initiatives to improve their environmental impact, very often the industry.
- KHL Global through the use of technology and data to help pinpoint and streamline
Anita Bhakta those goals. In many ways sustainability is not just one of the trends, it
anita.bhakta@khl.com
has become the trend.
Digital & Print Production
Manager - KHL Global This can be seen across the manufacturing sector too. For example,
Charlotte Kemp compact scissor lifts, a product type covered in the pages of this issue, are
charlotte.kemp@khl.com increasingly ‘electric’ and maintenance free. Hydraulic oil is becoming a
Production Assistant thing of the past and there is a move towards lithium batteries.
Ana Garcia No doubt, full electric drive is the direction of travel as technology
Junior HTML Executive works its way up the capacity and working height ranges.
Morgan Potter Following that path, it also makes sense to reduce costs and
Group Design Manager environmental impact by manufacturing closer to the customer. Apart
Jeff Gilbert
from anything else, it goes some way to addressing the increasing level of
Group Designer
Jade Hudson import duties.
Event Design Manager Skyjack has just announced its first manufacturing facility in China –
Gary Brinklow see the interview with Skyjack president Ken McDougall. And, it is likely
Brand Manager we will see more manufacturing in Eurpe and North America by Chinese
Ollie Hodges manufacturers in the near future.
ollie.hodges@khl.com Overiding all these topics is safety. On that subject, IPAF held its
Office Manager annual summit in the UK, in March, alongside the IAPA awards,
Philippa Smith co-organised by AI . The focus of the summit was safety, which itself is a
Digital Media Director
key component in driving efficiency across the industry.
Peter Watkinson
Head of Data and See pictures of all the IAPA winners in this issue.
Audience Development
James Taylor Euan Youdale
Audience Development Editor
Deputy Manager
Anna Philo
Finance Team
Carole Couzens, Kate Trevillion
ACCESS PORTFOLIO Correspondence or comments
MAGAZINES SPECIAL REPORTS should be sent to:
Chief Financial Officer NI
VERSA
www.accessinternational.media

The Editor, Access International,

AN

RY

A KHL Group publication

Paul Baker
YEAR
www.accesslifthandlers.com

Chief Operating Officer Discussing

April-May 2022
www.accessinternational.media
A KHL Group publication
ACCESS ■ TELEHANDLERS ■ MASTS AND HOISTS ■ BUSINESS REPORTS
MARCH-APRIL 2022 ■
■ PEOPLE
A KHL Group Publication
MARCH 2022
www.internationalrentalnews.com
A KHL Group Publication
Southfields, Southview Road,
Telescopic

Trevor Pease
a new era
in access
Karin Nars, IPAF president
‘boom’
State of the
industry
Wadhurst, East Sussex
TN5 6TP, UK.
Low-level

Chief Executive Officer access

James King T: +44 (0)1892 786214

INTERVIEW
The world’s largest access
Ken McDougall, Skyjack

WINNERS
INSIDE: SCAFFOLD &
ACCESS MAGAZINE
MARCH-APRIL 2022
Electrification INTERVIEWS equipment rental companies
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www.accessinternational.media APRIL-MAY 2022 | ACCESS INTERNATIONAL 3

 CONTENTS

The official magazine of

6 NEWS 17 COMPACT
the International Powered Manitou production expansions, Skyjack expands to SCISSORS
Access Federation
China, CTE restructures, JLG grows North America The trend for micro and compact
footprint, Kiloutou acquires in Denmark, CMC scissor units is growing in the
increases Italy presence workplace and therefore in
KHL OFFICES manufacturers’ product lines too.
UK Head office
KHL Group 10 NEWS EXTRA: UKRAINE
Southfields, Southview Road, The humanitarian disaster that continues to unfold in 32 PRODUCT LAUNCHES
Wadhurst, East Sussex TN5 6TP, UK. the Ukraine has sent shockwaves across the world. AI A round-up of product launches over recent weeks,
T: +44 (0)1892 784088 shares the reactions of access industry to the crisis. from the ‘Robolift’ to all-electric models and
F: +44 (0)1892 784086
components.
access@khl.com
www.khl.com/ai 12 INTERVIEW:
USA Office KEN McDOUGALL, 34 GLOBAL RENTAL TRENDS
KHL Group Americas LLC SKYJACK PRESIDENT Sustainability and technology in the rental sector
3726 E. Ember Glow Way, Skyjack is set to manufacture access are intrinsically linked. AI discovers how a range of
Phoenix, AZ 85050, USA.
equipment in China for the first time, companies are integrating these topics.
+1 480 6590578
americas@khl.com with a major new factory development.
South America Office AI Speaks to Ken McDougall, Skyjack’s
KHL Group Américas LLC president about the venture.
Av. Manquehue Sur 520, of. 205,
Las Condes, Santiago, Chile
+56 9 7798 7493
cristian.peters@khl.com
China Office
KHL Group China
Room 769, Poly Plaza, No.14,
South Dong Zhi Men Street,
Dong Cheng District,
Beijing 100027, P.R. China. 38 SCAFFOLDING
+86 (0)10 6553 6676 How is the sector is adapting to the
cathy.yao@khl.com requirements and challenges in the
KHL Sales Worldwide: modern age. AI finds out.
BRAND MANAGER
Ollie Hodges 22 IAPA WINNERS
+44 (0)1892 786253 The winners of the 13 IAPA awards were revealed to 43 MEWP
ollie.hodges@khl.com a record crowd in London, in March – see pictures ELECTRIFICATION
NORTH AMERICA Tony Radke and comments from the event. Noble Zhang, C&D Trojan’s general
+1 602 721 6049 manager for Asia Pacific shares his view
tony.radke@khl.com
UK Eleanor Shefford 27 INTERVIEW: of electrification and battery technology
+44 (0)7850 313 753 KARIN NARS, in the access sector.
elanor.shefford@khl.com IPAF PRESIDENT
EASTERN EUROPE, Karin Nars has become the first 46 NEWS
AUSTRIA & SWITZERLAND female president of IPAF. Here, Nars All the latest initiatives from the International Powered
Simon Battersby
+49 711 34 16 74 70 discusses the vision for the federation Access Federation (IPAF).
simon.battersby@khl.com and her goal to attract more women
GERMANY/SPAIN Petra Kaiser to the industry. 49 REGIONAL REPORT:
+49 711 34167472 NORTH AMERICA
petra.kaiser@khl.com
THE NETHERLANDS/BELGIUM
30 IPAF SUMMIT REPORT The NA access industry is on the brink of substantial
LUXEMBOURG/SCANDINAVIA Around 350 attendees gathered for the IPAF growth as rental companies and access manufacturers
Arthur Schavemaker Summit in London, UK, to hear presentations on the ramp up to meet demand.
+31 547 275005 theme of The Evolution of Safety.
arthur@kenter.nl
FRANCE Hamilton Pearman
+33 (0)1 45930858 April-May 2022
www.accessinternational.media
A KHL Group publication

hpearman@wanadoo.fr Discussing
ITALY Fabio Potestà a new era
in access
+39 010 5704948 ON THE COVER Karin Nars, IPAF president

info@mediapointsrl.it Karin Nars was named as

TURKEY Emre Apa the new president of IPAF in INTERVIEW

+90 532 3243616 Ken McDougall, Skyjack

emre.apa@apayayincilik.com.tr March. Discover her views WINNERS

JAPAN Michihiro Kawahara on the industry in this issue. OFFICIAL MAGAZINE

OF IPAF

COMPACT SCISSORS
Energy efficiency
NORTH AMERICA
Market trends
RENTAL REPORT
Sustainability drive

+81 (0)3 32123671

kawahara@rayden.jp
CHINA Cathy Yao
+86 (0)10 65536676 MEMBER OF Access International, ISSN:1352-7517, is published
cathy.yao@khl.com monthly by KHL Group c/o SPP, Emigsville, PA and
KOREA Simon Kelly additional entries. Periodicals postage paid at Emigsville,
+44 (0) 1892 786223 PA. Postmaster: send address corrections to Access
simon.kelly@khl.com International c/o SPP, PO Box 437, Emigsville, PA 14318.
VP GLOBAL SALES Printed by: Buxton Press.
Alister Williams
+1 843 637 4127 ISSN No: 1352-7517
alister.williams@khl.com © 2022 Copyright KHL Group

www.accessinternational.media APRIL-MAY 2022 | ACCESS INTERNATIONAL 5

 WORLD NEWS
KILOUTOU
ACQUIRES
IN DENMARK
French rental company Kiloutou is
making its first entry into Denmark
with the acquisition of leading
Danish rental company GSV from
private equity firm Catacap.
Terms of the transaction have
not been disclosed, however it
is understood the deal is valued
at around €300 million ($328
milion), making it Kiloutou’s largest
acquisition to date. 
GSV is Denmark’s largest rental
company. It has 20 depots and
a 22,000-strong fleet including
aerial lifts – booms, scissors,
spider lifts, truck mounts, trailer
lifts and low level platforms, along
with telehandlers, mast climbers,
earthmoving machines and
compaction equipment.
Its fleet also includes modular
buildings and site cabins, with 485
employees and revenues in the
region of €130 million ($142 million).  MEWP facility in March, located
GSV chief executive Dan Vorsholt
will take an executive position on
Kiloutou’s board. The plan is to look
at further greenfield expansion,
while growing the GSV rental fleet.
The business will retain the GSV
brand, which has a high level of
recognition in Denmark.
GSV has grown in recent years
through a number of mergers and
acquisitions.
Its acquisition by Kiloutou will
be funded from cash reserves and
other sources. There are also plans
for a new public funding round to
give Kiloutou and GSV employees
the opportunity to invest.
IN BRIEF
■ US-based Herc Rentals has
entered an agreement to acquire
Cloverdale Equipment, a full-
service general equipment rental
company with 120 employees.
Cloverdale supplies MEWPs,
telehandlers, forklifts, rough terrain
and industrial cranes, boom trucks,
portable air compressors and other
construction equipment.
■ Wales-based A&M Group has
been appointed as Bobcat’s new
authorised for the South, West
and Mid-Wales regions. A&M,
which was founded in 1986 and is
headquartered in Bridgend.
6 ACCESS INTERNATIONAL | APRIL-MAY 2022
Manitou production
facility expansions
M
anitou has opened
a new €26 million
($28 million) factory
in Northwest France, for the
production of its rough boom lifts,
and is making mahor investment
in its US factories.
The opening of the new
northeast of Nantes in Candé,
marks a key stage in Manitou’s
efforts to develop and modernise
its industrial facilities around the
world.  in 2019. The site covers an area
Sylvain Jaguelin, vice president
of the AWP Production Unit, said,
JLG grows North America
manufacturing base
JLG will begin producing booms,
scissor lifts and telehandlers
from a new facility in Jefferson
City, Tennessee, the company
announced. It also has increased
manufacturing capacities at its,
Pennsylvania plants in Bedford
and McConnellsburg, as well as its
Mexico plant through the addition
of new lines.
The 60,000 square foot Jefferson
City facility, which is being
leased from parent company
Oshkosh’s Defense segment, will
produce booms, scissor lifts and
telehandlers, JLG said.  million) equipment order
The expanded production efforts
will help JLG navigate its record
$3.6 billion in backlog, while also
addressing inflationary pressures,
labour constraints and supply
chain disruptions, according to the
company.
“We have been pursuing a
“The aerial work platform market
is a key opportunity for growth for
the group.
“This modern factory gives us
a very important and scalable
production capacity that will
accompany us in the long term.
To support our development, our
recruitment needs will be adjusted
as the activity evolves.”
Built in collaboration with the
Legendre Group, construction of
the manufacturing plant began
of 80,000m² and its industrial
buildings offer 18,000m² of
number of initiatives to establish
a more agile and stable business
model to support long-term,
sustainable growth,” said
Frank Nerenhausen, executive
vice president Oshkosh
Corporation and president JLG
Industries. “The investment
in additional manufacturing
UK powered access specialist
AFI Group has added over 50
hybrid boom lifts to its fleet,
with a £2 million (US$2.61
placed with Niftylift.
The investment is part of
the rental company’s drive
to increase the availability
of hybrid and electric aerial
platforms, for which demand
in the country is continuing
Inside Manitou’s new
Candé boom lift factory.
space. It houses two automated
production lines, a test centre,
dedicated logistics facilities, and
will initially be run by a team
of 80.
Manitou is also to invest €70
million (US$80 million) in its two
North American manufacturing
facilities South Dakota, USA.
This investment is to be spent
on the extension of its sites in
Yankton and Madison and see the
development of new equipment
ranges related to its €460 million
($530 million) ‘New Horizons
2025’ strategy.  AI
space and technology-rich
manufacturing lines is indicative
of our commitment to supporting
customer needs in.
JLG’s new Tennessee facility
and the additional manufacturing
lines in Pennsylvania and Mexico
are operational and in the process
of ramping up to full capacity. AI
www.accessinternational.media

IN BRIEF
■ JBHXR, a provider of extended
reality (XR) learning solutions for
Australian businesses, has taken
on exclusive rights to distribute
Serious Labs’ MEWP virtual reality
Operator Training Simulator in
Australia and provide training with
them. “We’re thrilled to be working
with an industry leader like Serious
Labs to provide this kind of leading-
edge training and equipment,” said
Ian Tennant, COO of JBHXR. “The
MEWP VR Simulator is a whole new
way of doing MEWP assessment,
learning, and verification of
competency, with capabilities that
have never been available before.”
■ An agreement has been signed
for international crane and
engineering maintenance specialist
Sparrows Group to be acquired
by Altrad Group. Sparrows’ wind
energy business Alpha is part of the
transaction with industrial services
provider Altrad. Terms of the
deal were undisclosed. Sparrows
said it will be run autonomously
by its existing management as a
separate entity in Altrad. A benefit
will be access to the Altrad global
network, multi-industry expertise
and resources, Sparrows said.
■ TGM Wind has placed a large
order for several Bronto truck
mounted aerial platforms. The
order from the US-based company
includes the first 341ft working
height Bronto S341HLA’s in North
America. The order will increase
the fleet of Kardie Equipment,
which is part of TGM Wind, by more
than 65% and is to date one of the
biggest Bronto Skylift deals in North
America. It also mens that with
the first S341HLA delivery, Kardie
will be the sole owner of North
America’s tallest aerial platform.
Niftylift HR28.
www.accessinternational.media
Skyjack set
to open Asia
plant in China
C
anada-based Skyjack will
begin manufacturing
its access equipment in
China to expand its presence
in the country and wider Asian
markets.
Initially, Skyjack will utilise
manufacturing capability and
facilities within parent company
Linamar Corporation’s existing
Tianjin plant, with the focus
Haulotte logistics partner
Haulotte Scandinavia has
partnered with Norwegian
logistics equipment rental
company and service provider
Jungheinrich to enhance the
manufacturer’s presence in the
country.
The arrangement will also see
Jungheinrich entering the lifting
market for the first time. Robert
to grow.  partner for us.”
The self propelled units,
some of which have already
been delivered, include
Niftylift’s 28m HR28 4x4
and 17.2m HR17 4x4 hybrid
platforms, along with the
HR21 4x4, which offers a
maximum working height
of 20.8m. Also on the list is
the battery-powered electric
HR12N.
being on DC scissor lifts.
In addition to manufacturing
capability in China, Skyjack is
increasing its sales and service
operations to promote its products
to China’s growing rental industry.
Chan Tran has been appointed as
vice president of operations, Asia-
Pacific to lead the activities.
See the interview with Skyjack
president Ken McDougall. AI
Robert
Magnusson,
general
manager
of Haulotte
Scandinavia
and Fredrik
Høyer-
Dahl, sales
manager of
Jungheinrich
Norway.
Magnusson, general manager
of Haulotte Scandinavia, said,
“Jungheinrich and Haulotte have
a similar business model, where
safety and quality take precedence
over everything else.
“Both companies are moving
towards fully electric solutions in
an environmentally friendly way.
Jungheinrich has a very dense
network in the Norwegian market,
which is also why it is the ideal
As Haulotte explains,
partnering with Jungheinrich will
allow the company to move into
smaller customer markets, such as
logistics companies which often
need MEWPs in warehouses.
Fredrik Høyer-Dahl, sales
manager of Jungheinrich Norway,
added, “We saw a demand among
our existing customers for aerial
platforms, this type of equipment
was missing from our offering. AI
APRIL-MAY 2022 | ACCESS INTERNATIONAL
WORLD NEWS
CMC INCREASES
ITALY PRESENCE
Tracked platform specialist CMC
has expanded its presence in Italy,
appointing Effemme Piattaforme
(Rappresentanze) as its official
distributor for the Lombard region.
Equipment provider Effemme
specialises in the sale of new
and used truck mounted aerial
platforms, articulated and
telescopic booms and spider lifts. It
was founded by Filippo and Mauro
Rimondi and is located north of
Florence in Viadana, just outside
Bologna.
Fulvio Quercioli, CMC’s sales
director for Italy, said, “We
are really proud to welcome
two professionals with proven
experience such as Mauro and
Filippo Rimondi to our sales
network.”
CMC, which in January
introduced a new range of
insulated platforms with the launch
of the i23 spider lift, said the dealer
appointment was part of its plan to
expand and consolidate its sales
in Italy.
DIARY
2022
VERTIKAL DAYS
11-12 May 2022
Peterborough, UK
www.vertikaldays.net
JDL EXPO
22-24 June 2022
Beaune, France
jdlexpo.com
BAUMA 2022
24-30 October 2022
Munich, Germany
www.bauma.de
AI NEWSLETTER
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7
 WORLD NEWS

PEOPLE NEWS
■ Norty Turner has
CTE restructures PEOPLE NEWS
■ Daliborka (Dali)

I
left United Rentals after taly-based CTE has Ribeiro has been
serving 3.5 years as the announced a new company named as JLG’s
company’s senior vice structure to help it address the director of product
president, services and ambitious plans it has for the years management for its
advanced solutions. ahead. SkyTrak telehandlers, including the
The Company Strategic company’s rotating and agricultural
■ Multitel Pagliero Development Plan was announced Marco Matteo models.
has appointed at its sales workshop this month, Govoni Bonfiglioli
Mirko Rebuzzi as entitled ‘Towards a New Era’, at ■ JLG has also
its new distribution which CTE’s management laid for the development of strategic appointed a new
manager. He joins out its vision of a more modern and commercial expansion director of product
the Italian manufacturer from JLG approach for the company. activities and the other focusing management for its
and previously CTE. To achieve these goals, two on operations. They will be led scissor, vertical and
division have been created; one by Marco Govoni, vice president low level access lift product lines,
sales and marketing director, and Bob Begley.
ALP TO DISTRIBUTE FOR ZOOMLION Matteo Bonfiglioli, vice president
operations, respectively. The ■ Snorkel has
Specialist rental company Alp Lift has been appointed by Zoomlion as its official objective is to review all business appointed Jonathan
equipment dealer for Northern Germany. processes and manufacturing ‘Jonno’ Tulitt as
Alp Lift, which has been producing its own line of material lifts for over 30 with the aim of a more dynamic the new managing
years, is already a distributor for the manufacturer in its home country of the company, offering maximum director of its New
Netherlands. efficiency and quality. Zealand manufacturing facility. He
Its expansion into Germany, which led to its appointment as Zoomlion’s dealer Lorenzo Cipriani, CTE replaces Rob Theunissen, president
for the region, will see the opening of new branch to the south of Dortmund. founder and executive vice of Snorkel New Zealand, who
Jacob Goeman Borgesius, CEO of Alp Lift, said, “With this new branch office, president, said, “In the last two retired in December 2021. 
we can facilitate our international growth even better and continue our pleasant years the world has undergone a
partnership with Zoomlion.” sea change. Before the pandemic
Known as Alp Lift Germany and located in the town of Witten in the Ruhr and then the crisis in international challenges that the current market
district, the new branch will offer a range of the manufacturer’s access relations, also due to the well- requires.”
equipment - including scissors, telescopic booms and articulated booms. known events in Europe, the rules Cipriani added, “The new
Equipped with office space and an aerial platform display hall, Alp Lift said the of the game are changing. business plan and the new
branch would also work closely with its Netherland branch in Utrecht to provide “Hence the desire to review organization were born from these
machine maintenance services. our organisation through a more arguments and will be the tools
Alp Lift Germany opened 1 March, 2022, and is run by manager Michael current production process and a that will lead us in the coming
Badura. more efficient company structure, years to become more a point of
to be in line with the new reference in the lifting market”. AI

FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS
■ Spain-based GAM grew by 26% in 2021, doubling its profit. Turnover increased ACCESS SHARE INDEX (ASI)
by 26% to €168.3 million, with sales for ongoing services up by 36% to €32.4 1700 1700
1600 1600
million. The company said Covid-19 restrictions impacted business in the first part 1500 1500
1400 1400
of 2021, with supply chain blockages also a factor. Delays – about five months on 1300 1300
1200 1200
average – meant a significant part of the company’s Capex investments took place 1100 1100
1000 1000
in the second part of the year. 900 900
800 800
700 700
600 600
■ The latest updated quarterly American Rental Association (ARA) forecast 500
400
500
400
says construction and industrial equipment rental revenue is expected to lead a US 300
200
300
200
rental industry rebound to exceed pre-Covid levels this year, with a 12% increase 100
0
100
0
in 2022 to $38.9 billion. Despite supply chain driven delays in fleet deliveries, the 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022
ARA has also forecast a 36.7% increase in investment in inventory to reach $14.4bn 21 June 2002 = 100 base
in 2022. This exceeds the previous annual high of nearly $13bn spent in 2019. START DATE PREVIOUS CURRENT %
COMPANY CURRENCY 21/6/02 28/02/2022 06/04/2022 CHANGE
■ H&E Equipment Services reported fourth quarter 2021 equipment rental Acces Industrie € 1.34 – – –
revenues for the period ending Dec. 31, 2021 of $203.7 million, an increase of Aichi Corporation YEN(¥) 208 880 878 -0.2
$40.8 million, or 25.1%, compared to $162.9 million in the fourth quarter of 2020. Ashtead Group £ 0.47 48.02 45.33 -4.6
Rental revenues for Q4 were $182.0 million, an increase of $36 million, or 24.7%, Kanamoto YEN(¥) 2277 2000 -12.2
Haulotte Group € 9.0 4.38 3.98 -9.1
compared to $146.0 million during the previous year.
Oshkosh Corp US$ – 116.32 97.26 -16.4
Tanfield Group £ – 0.02 0.02 0
■ Sales revenue was €1,841 million (US$ 2,067 million) for the Palfinger Group Terex Corp US$ 23.08 41.68 34.06 -18.3
in 2021, up 20% from the €1,533 million ($1,721 million) in 2020. The Austrian Ramirent € 15.0 – – –
manufacturer said it achieved all time highs for revenue, EBIT, consolidated net United Rentals US$ 21.47 309 341.84 -1.6
result and dividend. EBIT was €155 million, up 55% from €100 million in 2020. ASI INDEX 100 1443.92 1386.57 -4

8 ACCESS INTERNATIONAL | APRIL-MAY 2022 www.accessinternational.media

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 NEWS EXTRA UKRAINE
Access industry
I
t is the clear the turmoil caused to people’s
lives will continue long after the war in
Ukraine is over, as will the effects of it on
businesses and livelihoods. Those effects also
reverberate across the borders of Russia and
the Ukraine as companies based in other parts
of the world weigh up their response to the
situation.
A common reaction from a large number of
businesses is to cease their operations in Russia
as a reaction to the war.
Others, like Skyjack, had very limited
business connections with Russia before the
war, and the company says that there will be no
activities in the country in the future.
In a recent interview with Skyjack’s president
Ken McDougall, he told AI, “We don’t do
business in Russia. We’ve looked at it a few
times - the trade and the risk. We were never a
big fan of taking those risks.”
McDougall clarifies, “So, we have not traded
and will not trade into Russia or into Belarus.
We did minimal business and we will not
do that either, especially given the current
situation. Even at the best of times we were
wary.
“But the biggest impact we’re seeing outside
of obviously the horrific humanitarian issues
that it’s causing, is we were starting to see some
positive trends on commodity pricing, heading
back down after the pandemic and now that
has skyrocketed back up, along with the price
of fuel and everything else. So, it’s difficult to
control costs.”
Company statements
In a statement to its employees, the executive
chairman and CEO of Skyjack’s parent
company Linamar, Linda Hasenfratz, said,
“Linamar’s founder Frank Hasenfratz left
Hungary in 1956 after having taken up arms
against Russians occupying his country in the
Hungarian Revolution. He was a freedom
fighter and as such we can’t help but feel
we need to support the freedom fighters in
Ukraine.”
The corporation has also vowed to support
the Ukrainian cause through donations and
sponsorship of refugees.
Another company to have limited
connections to Russia is JLG.
The closure of JLG’s Moscow-based facility
and the dissolution of its Russian entity began
last May and is now in its final stages, and
the company does not have any employees in
Russia or Belarus.
Since the onset of the conflict in the
Ukraine, JLG has also suspended equipment
shipments into Russia and Belarus.
In addition, JLG’s parent company
10 ACCESS INTERNATIONAL | APRIL-MAY 2022
The humanitarian disaster that continues to
unfold in Ukraine has sent shockwaves across
the world. AI shares the reactions of the access
industry to the crisis.
Oshkosh Corporation has been working with
several organisations and agencies to support
humanitarian efforts on behalf of all its
business segments, including access.
US-based access equipment manufacturer
Snorkel has stopped all its business activities
in Russia since the start of the war and is
providing support where it can.
“In regards to Russia, we chose to freeze
our business activities in the region when
the invasion began. Subsequently, the global
sanctions have eliminated any business
opportunities,” said the company.
“We are providing any and all support,
wherever possible, to our business contacts
within the region.”
On a financial level, Snorkel said that there
had already been cost increases following
Russia’s invasion of the Ukraine. “Energy
prices have already increased in relation to the
situation,” adding, “As yet, steel has not been
directly affected by this crisis.”
Other companies, including Haulotte says
its subsidiary in Russia continues to support its
customers for service in the country but points
out that there is no question of being able to
ship machines to the country under the current
circumstances.
Fundraising campaigns
Genie said globally, its team members have
expressed a desire to help the people of
Ukraine, and the company is working to aid
donations and support to the region.
“We also are focused on supporting team
members and dealers in Eastern Europe
wherever needed, however we can. That said,
direct impacts to the Genie team have been
very limited. As for business impacts, it’s too
soon to be able to comment on the full effect of
this ongoing situation,” said the company.
In many cases fundraising is all that
companies can directly offer. Netherlands-based
rental company Riwal, which has operations
throughout Europe, including Poland, together
with its parent company Prodelta, has started
a fundraising campaign to support victims and
refugees from Ukraine through PAH - Polish
Humanitarian Action. “In times like these,
we as a company must take responsibility and
do what we can to minimise the suffering of
refugees. With this action we hope to motivate
others to set up similar actions and to help the
victims where possible.”
For those in the access industry living in
countries that border Russia, the shockwaves
have been felt from the outset of the hostilities.
They include employees of Dinolift, which is
based in Finland, a neighbouring country of
Russia.
The company confirmed that it will no
longer sell its products or spare parts in Russia
or Belarus. Karin Nars, managing director of
Dinolift told AI, “This will of course have an
impact on both Dinolift and its customers.
But that is a small price to pay compared to
the price that the Ukrainian people and the
ordinary Russian people are paying because of
this war.”
Close to home
Dinolift has a dealer in Ukraine,
Technopodjem, based in Kharkiv, but as of
early March had not heard from them since
the beginning of the attacks. “Our thoughts
are with them and we wish them all possible
courage in this terrible situation.
Nars added, “As for Russia, the war is making
it very hard for companies and the people in
Russia. Maybe that will be the beginning of a
change in the country.”
Speaking on a personal
level, Nars explained that
for the Finnish people,
the Russian invasion
in Ukraine brings back
memories of its historic
conflicts with Russia.
”Our grandparents
fought in the Winter
War against Russia.
It was a similar
situation where
a small country
was fighting for
its independence
against a much larger
neighbouring country.
”The Russian army was far bigger than
the Finnish, but we had the fighting spirit,
the courage, and the perseverance to keep on
fighting. In Finnish we call it sisu, never to give
up.”
Nars continued, ”We managed to defend
www.accessinternational.media

reactions
our independence against Russia, and today
millions of Finns, like people in the rest of the
world are supporting Ukraine in their fight for
their independence and the safety of the whole
world.”
Assessing the situation from a business
perspective, Nars highlights the importance of
not being too dependent on a single country
whether it is raw materials or energy or other
critical materials.
”As individuals, companies and countries, we
now need to speed up the transition towards
green energy. That calls for large investments
also in infrastructure and quick decisions on
government level. We need cooperation in
Europe more than ever, and maybe that is
one positive side effect of the war, that there
is a will to make quick decisions and to work
together in Europe.”
Nars added that the company expects costs
of components and lead times to rise as a result.
“They will of course go up, as will other raw
material prices. Supply chain logistics will be
even more difficult than they already were.”
In another Scandinavian country, Sweden-
based mast climbing and hoist equipment
manufacturer Alimak said it has put a hold on
sales and deliveries to Russia.
“The war in Ukraine is a human tragedy and
our thoughts and concerns are with all those
affected by this horrible situation.
“At Alimak Group, we are continuously
monitoring the developments. We are also
monitoring the implications this might have
for our employees, partners, customers and
operation. Consequently, we have decided
to stop all deliveries
www.accessinternational.media
to Russia until further notice and we are not
pursuing any new sales.”
Working in the Ukraine
Inside Ukraine the determination of its
citizens to fight back is echoed by some of the
companies that continue to work there.
Aleksander Shapovalov, the CEO of
Ukraine’s largest rental business, NovaRent
says it is still operating where possible; “Today
the offices in Lviv, Rovno, Odessa and partially
in Kyiv are working. In other areas, work is
either difficult or impossible. All employees
who have an opportunity to do so are working
remotely.
“Decisions on whether we can work or not
are made day-to-day, since the entire territory
of Ukraine is subjected to rocket attacks and
active hostilities are taking place in 10 regions.
“Most of the employees evacuated their
families - women, children and the elderly -
to the safer areas, in most cases closer to the
border, while they themselves returned to their
homes and continue to either work or join the
army.”
NovaRent was formerly part of Russian
rental business FortRent, but the owners –
Ramirent and Cramo – sold the Ukraine part
of the business in 2019.
Shapovalov said there was an enormous
need for small diesel generators from 10 to
120 kVA, “This equipment is used both for
private houses and for the needs of territorial
and civil defence. Today we have given out
all our stock of this equipment to the district
administrations.”
He said the company maintains a large stock
of spare parts; “This allows us to continue
working 24/7 in the conditions of hostilities. It
is now very difficult to replenish the spare parts
warehouse, because all logistics are focused on
the army and refugees.”
The equipment rental market
in Ukraine is fragmented, with
the two largest players
are the Finnish
access rental
company
Pekkaniska
and Novarent.
Europe’s
rental industry
has been taking
action in support
of Ukraine, including
Ardent Hire in the UK
and Hungarian supplier
Continest, which has been sending
its foldable containers to the Ukraine-
Hungary border and railways stations
in Budapest.
NEWS EXTRA UKRAINE
Future costs
The long-term effects on the economy and
individual businesses is set to be considerable.
In March, the Economist Intelligence Unit
(EIU) said the war in Ukraine could reduce
European economic growth this year to 2%,
down from the previous forecast of 3.9%. For
the Eurozone it forecasts a reduction in growth
from 4.0% to 3.7%.  Global growth will fall
from 3.9% to 3.4%.
The EIU said growth would be impacted
by disruption in trade and supply chains (the
closure of Black Sea ports and problems in the
overland route from east to west) and higher
prices for commodities and gas and oil. The
company is also forecasting global inflation in
excess of 6% this year.
For Zeppelin Group, a Munich-based
Caterpillar dealer, it amounts to a significant
decline in its 2022 business, and the company
may well have to exit both Russia and Ukraine.
The company generates around 20% of its
€3.7 billion annual sales in those two countries.
The company said, “Depending on the duration
of the war, we are currently able to maintain
business in parts of Ukraine and in Russia, at
least to a limited extent.
“But the more likely scenario for Zeppelin
is that we will be forced to exit: either there
will be nationalisation or an inability to do
business.”
Global uncertainty
In addition to the direct impact in Ukraine,
sanctions imposed against Russia will also have
consequences. Zeppelin Group added, “The
2021 order backlog included significant orders
for Russia and Ukraine.
“If their processing cannot be guaranteed,
which in part is already foreseeable today, this
will significantly impact the expected sales and
earnings for 2022”.
Indeed, the ramifications of the war stretch
far and wide. For example, two nuclear projects
connected to Russia have been left uncertain.
Turkey’s Akkuyu nuclear power plant is
being built by Russia. Just one day before the
invasion of Ukraine, Anastasia Zoteeva, CEO
of the plant, discussed the €18 billion project’s
timeline with Turkey’s NTV news channel,
saying the plan was to complete one of its four
power units each year, between 2023 and 2026.
Russia’s state-owned nuclear energy company
Rosatom has a 99.2% stake in the project.
News reports that the Rooppur Nuclear
Power Plant (RNPP) in Bangladesh could
also be delayed. The plant, which would be
Bangladesh’s first, is to be built with Russian
financial and technical support, with even
the its uranium fuel coming from Russia. The
country will also be involved with the nuclear
waste management of the project. 
Energy expert M Tamim told The New
Nation newspaper, “The war will not impact the
plant immediately but the construction work
may delay if the Russian economy becomes
weak for prolonging the war.” AI
APRIL-MAY 2022 | ACCESS INTERNATIONAL 11
 INTERVIEW SKYJACK

Skyjack is set to
S
kyjack has been weighing up its options
in Asia for some time, with a view to
finding the right manufacturing base. It manufacture access
and has made no secret that using the existing
facilities of parent company Linamar would equipment in China
make sense. That is exactly what Skyjack is now
doing, as well as laying plans for a major new for the first time, with
plant of its own.
Initially, Skyjack will adapt facilities at a major new factory
Linamar Corporation’s Tianjin plant, with the
focus being on its compact scissor lift line. This development. AI Speaks
will be followed by the new plant, of around
50,000 square metres, in the same industrial to Ken McDougall,
zone as the Linamar base.
Linamar entered the China market in 2005 Skyjack’s president,
and has five facilities and one research and
development centre. Skyjack is set to begin about the venture.
manufacturing in those facilities in the first
quarter of 2023.
To start with, manufacturing will cover
15ft and 19ft scissor units, with a move into
telescopic and articulating boom lifts in the
pipeline, although the exact details of those
have not been confirmed.
As Ken McDougall, president of Skyjack,
explains, “We’ve been studying the Chinese

Making
market, as everybody has for decades, and we’re
now utilising the existing Linamar facility
where we will set up our first product line to
give us a little bit more speed to market.”

New approach

its move
Meanwhile the plans for the standalone
Skyjack factory in the same industrial
park, where it has secured land rights, are
progressing. “We’re going through all of the
regulatory approvals and building drawings.
“It depends on construction timing, but
our goal at the moment is to have that up and
running or available for occupancy before the
end of next year as well.” Specifically, that manufacturing footprint into three new manufacturing plan will be an improved
will be the third quarter 2023. regions: the Americas, with its main product flow. “We will still have some cross
While it may appear that the Canadian headquarters’ manufacturing shipping and supply between regions, but we
company is coming late to the plant; Europe, which primarily offers will try to cut down on logistics and duties,
Chinese market, McDougall has been sales, service and distribution, with a which has really been highlighted through the
planning its approach to Asia and limited amount of manufacturing at pandemic.”
the global market since his return to Linamar’s facility in Hungary; and The move into China is also designed to
Skyjack in 2019. Asia Pacific, with its new facilities provide considerable scope for expansion in the
This is McDougall’s second stint in China which will become a central market, which currently accounts for less than
as president of Skyjack. He joined hub for Skyjacks’ entire Asia 1% of Skyjacks’ total global sales.
the company for the first Pacific operations. Putting that into the context of Skyjack’s
time in the early 2000’s One of the global sales map, the company’s home market
as vice president of positive outcomes of North America provides 60% to 75% of sales
operations, before of Skyjack’s volume. Beyond that core market, Europe takes
taking over the
presidency from
2004-2009. He
then moved What we would see over
back to his
automotive time is the facility build up to fully
routes at
Linamar. functioning production of scissors
Skyjack’s
production and boom lifts.
plan will see
the company
separate its KEN MCDOUGALL, president of Skyjack.

12 ACCESS INTERNATIONAL | APRIL-MAY 2022 www.accessinternational.media


THE IMPORT DEBATE
While competition is strong in China for manufacturers from North America, the
same is true for Chinese OEMs looking to expand sales in the US. In October last
year, the US Department of Commerce (DOC) reached a decision following its
investigation into Chinese MEWP imports into the US, announcing import duties
ranging from 12% to 488% should be imposed on Chinese products.
The DOC investigation followed a petition filed in February by the Coalition
of American Manufacturers of Mobile Access Equipment, comprised of JLG and
Genie.
On the subject, Skyjacks’ McDougall has a mixed view. “It’s not something we
would’ve undertaken and did not jump in and endorse it.”
The Linamar facility in Tianjin where Skyjack will start its China-based production.
www.accessinternational.media
INTERVIEW SKYJACK
Weighing it up, he says, “Am I disappointed that the competition has been
weeded down a little bit? No, I’m not.”
However, he adds, “If I was a rental customer, I would be upset because it has
lowered the competition range.
“Ultimately, what will happen is you’ll see more or faster tracking of the
operations [of the Chinese manufacturers] being set up in the US.
“Anyway, our stance is that we need to compete globally and we’re focused on
getting our product to be the best we can make it, to give the best return to our
customers. I’m not so worried about trying to bad mouth the competition, we just
need to be better.”
much of the balance, while the Asia Pacific
is a relatively small market overall, with the
exception being Australia, which is approaching
3% of global sales.
Local production
Traditionally, Asia has been managed from a
senior level in the UK with support directly in
the Asia region. However, there is now a view
that direct management will be an advantage.
“We’d like to see that enhanced by having a
closer to time zone focus on the market, and we
can see that this would allow us a more focused
approach inside the whole region.”
Leading Skyjack’s operations in China will
be another longstanding Linamar employee
Chan Tran, as the company’s vice president of
the Asian Pacific region.
“I’m coming up to my 35th year at Linamar
and I’ve worked with Chan probably for
over 20 years on and off,” says McDougall.
“A good chunk of his career was in Canada,
then he relocated over to China to run parts
of the operation there. We were lucky to be
able to get him. He understands the language,
he’s immersed in the culture and he’s a good >
APRIL-MAY 2022 | ACCESS INTERNATIONAL 13
 INTERVIEW SKYJACK
The 19ft SJ3219 DC drive scissor will be
one of the first units to be produced at
the new production facilities.
business head for us.”
A team is now being created around
Tran, and already includes a couple of sales
representatives and engineers. “With the
pandemic, we have a minimal number of expats
we’re sending, hopefully that will open up and
we’ll then have more ability to send people
onsite,” McDougall adds.
Due to the spread of Covid and the
toughening restrictions in China, the
negotiations for the plant have not been as
straightforward as hoped. It meant that the
signing ceremony between Skyjack and the
local government had to take place virtually. “I
was sitting in a hotel in London early in the
morning doing a virtual signing ceremony. So,
we’re excited to get it going and have Chan
on board – it’s a real blessing to have that
opportunity.”
Asia hub
Expanding on the Tianjin factory, McDougall
explains, “What we would see over time is that
facility build up to fully functioning production
of scissors and booms. And, depending on
what happens with the telehandler market,
development could also be in that area too.
“We’ve made enough provision to produce
that in a very large facility - to cover all of those
products”.
He adds, “Ultimately, we see that facility
being a distribution centre…to supply the
other Asia regions from there as opposed
to the transportation costs and the capacity
constraints of shipping from Canada.”
The plan to first introduce the compact line
to Tianjin was two-fold; firstly, there is limited
floorspace available in the current Linamar
factory, and secondly, “It is a very crowded
market over there and all of the [China]
national companies are kind of in that smaller
scissor market range.”
One thing is for sure, the competition in
China is as keen as anywhere in the world, with
its mix of relatively new and longer established
domestic OEMs, along with the manufacturers
based in Europe and North America.
Commenting on the raft of new Chinese
manufacturers, McDougall says, “There’s a
whole bunch of competition - some of that
may sort itself out because there’s so many. I
think some of them may go or be consolidated.”
Focusing on the challenges found in China,
there are a few; one of them being, “the massive
number of competitors that are in the market.
“And one of the other challenges,” adds
McDougall, “is equipment financing, which is
not readily available.
“We’ve heard the horror stories of some of
the regional players and other international
players that have gone in, made some trade
deals and then they’ve been burnt on being able
to collect. So, we’re fairly conservative - we’d
14 ACCESS INTERNATIONAL | APRIL-MAY 2022
like to get paid.
“There’s been a lot of financing companies
that have been in and out of the market. That
is also something that’s a little different than
other parts of the world.
“And the rental chain isn’t as established and
some of [the rental companies that are], are
partially owned or have been assumed by some
of the other national OEMs.”
An advantage that Skyjack does have is a
good understanding of Chinese culture. “We
just need to make sure that we’re not a North
American company in China. We need to
become a Chinese company that has a North
American partner, because what we may want
here, in terms of design and everything else,
may not fit that market.”
This philosophy may also stretch to
manufacturing. While duplicating assembly
lines around the world and shipping locally
makes sense overall, it may not be right for all
models. “We would look at each model. We
would look at basic return on investment. With
certain models, it may not make sense to set up
them up everywhere. So, you might have a bit
of a mix between both, but yes, it would be the
primary objective that that facility would serve
the Asia Pacific market.”
With the large capacity expansion in China,
there are no plans to reduce production
elsewhere. In fact, the opposite is true. As
McDougall says, the company, “needs more
capacity”.
We need more space
because we’re capped out.
If you go back a couple
years, just prior to the
pandemic, it was probably
our biggest year. It would
be a stretch for us to get
more than that without
adding capacity.
Market growth
Besides the well documented supply chain
issues, as a result of the pandemic, that has led
to pent-up demand for equipment, McDougall
believes there is more room in the market for
general growth, particularly for Skyjack.
“We need more space because we’re kind
of capped out. If you go back a couple years,
just prior to the pandemic, it was probably our
biggest year. It would be a stretch for us to get
much more than that without adding capacity.
“We’re not sitting back being satisfied with
the level that we have, and the goal that I have
is to add that capacity globally, so that we can
make products in the market for the market
and free up capacity in North America.”
Not only are there plans to fill that spare
capacity at the Canadian factory but there are
also plans to expand manufacturing in North
America. McDougall won’t be drawn on where
that extra capacity would be situated, except
that it will be, “somewhere in North America.”
As these plans would suggest, there are also
no plans to reduce the workforce in any of the
company’s locations. “We don’t see us reducing
our staffing levels. We do see that with the
supply chain challenges, you could probably
see us integrating more vertically some of the
things that we put out. But we’re still looking
for, and we’ll continue to look for more staff in
Canada and will continue to look in other parts
of the world to bolster capacities in America,
Europe and Asia.” AI
www.accessinternational.media
SIMPLY
TRANSFORMED
Skyjack’s Next Generation Vertical Mast Lifts
provide a quiet and versatile package with zero
emissions. They deliver benefits in environmental
performance and long-term sustainability.

With a new mast design, direct AC electric drive,

drivable at full height, and less hydraulic connection
points, the SJ12 E and SJ16 E boast increased duty
cycle expectations.

www.skyjack.com

Small solutions
The trend for micro
and compact scissor
units is growing in the
workplace and therefore
in manufacturers’ latest
product lines too.
www.accessinternational.media
T
he world of powered micro scissor lifts
are being brought to a wider audience,
as their safer, more ergonomic qualities
compared to more conventional working at
height solutions are becoming realised.
Advances in technologies are also making
these lifts more viable in terms of cost and
the environment. Electric drive is becoming a
mainstay of the industry, although hydraulics
are still an option. Lithium batteries are
playing an increasing role too, however, as a
universal solution this is still some way off.
Stefan Weber, export manager at Airo,
describes the company’s compact line as
“different”, rather than niche.
As the company points out the machines
are hydraulic drive and designed to be robust.
The Snorkel S3215L
COMPACT SCISSORS
While there is a trend to direct electric drive
and lithium batteries, which the company
offers with a range extender on other models,
the company is remaining in the hydraulic
drive, lead acid battery camp for its compact
units.
Versatile expansions
The Airo micro line incorporates three models
of 7m, 8m and 9m working height - the XS7E,
XS8E and XS9E. A unique feature of the
range is that its maximum capacity is available
across the extension deck.
The same is true for its larger compact
electric X range, which covers the 8m to 16m
working height range. Four models from 8 to
14m are available with a narrow 89cm chassis,
while five models from 8m to 16m working
height have the wider 1.2m chassis. All the
models boast a 1.5m extension deck, with
the full platform capacities available across it.
The most recent addition is the 16m working
height X16EW, with 90°steer and 250kg
capacity for two people in the basket.
Returning to the subject of drive options
and batteries, Weber says, “Given the
business nature of compact scissor lifts, being
considered a commodity, the high cost impact
of electric drive or a lithium battery packs on
one side, the long amortization and the risky
business on a rough construction site, on the
other, voids immediately all obvious advantages
of using a lithium-ion battery pack.” >
Airo’s largest compact lift, the X16EW.
APRIL-MAY 2022 | ACCESS INTERNATIONAL 17
 COMPACT SCISSORS
Optional on Airo’s compact lifts are traction
batteries, and there is increasing demand for
maintenance free AGM batteries from its
customers in countries with high labour costs.
The models are completed with proportional
lift, drive and steer and efficient speed control
of the power pumps.
Snorkel is currently offering compact scissor
lifts with a choice of hydraulic or electric
drive, so that the customer can decide the
requirement for their application.
The company recently commenced
production of its new outdoor-rated
pusharound mini scissor lift, the 5m working
height S3210P, at its Vigo Centre assembly
facility in the UK.
In and out
Shown as a prototype at ConExpo in 2020,
the S3210P is designed for in and outdoor slab
applications or indoor areas which have a wind
loading, such as during the early phases of a
construction build where windows or doors
may not yet be installed.
Measuring 0.81m wide, it
is effectively an outdoor rated
version of the manufacturer’s
S3010P pusharound mini scissor
lift, with a wind speed rating
of 12.5m/s, a lifting capacity of
240kg, and weighing just 470kg.
It can be easily pushed when
stowed between work areas and
carried in a passenger elevator.
Snorkel is now researching the
new 4m platform height scissor
lift segment, with the intention of
adding this to its line of electric
scissor lifts.
Mathew Elvin, CEO of Snorkel
and Xtreme manufacturing, says,
“Direct electric drive offers many
benefits to users of compact
scissor lifts, such as increased
efficiency delivering longer
duty cycles and reducing the
risk of hydraulic oil leaks when
working in sensitive areas.”
Elvin adds that through the
use of direct electric drive, compact scissor
lifts are now being used in industrial and clean
room environments, such as in the medical and
food sectors.
“However,” as Elvin goes on to explain,
“Direct electric drive is more expensive than
a hydraulic drive system which is limiting
widespread adoption by manufacturers, as the
compact scissor lift is highly competitive.”
Lithium-ion batteries are also an alternative
power option to lead acid batteries to power
compact scissor lifts. But will they be more
widely used in smaller scissor lifts? Elvin
believes its is a possibility to extend duty
cycles, eliminate battery maintenance, and
more closely match the charging habits that
we are familiar with, such as on mobile phones.
“While battery cost may reduce widespread
18 ACCESS INTERNATIONAL | APRIL-MAY 2022
JLG’s ES1330L.
adoption currently, it could be
a welcome solution in certain
sectors, such as retail, industrial,
clean room, and hospitality
environments.”
Drive systems
The latest GS-1932m and
GS-1432m micro scissors from
Genie are an example of how the
company’s approach to low level
access is evolving. Introduced last
year, the micro scissors feature fully
sealed and maintenance-free AC
electric drive.
They use Genie’s
E-Drive system, which
the company says
helps reduce the total
cost of ownership
while boosting
productivity. The GS-
1932m and GS-1432m feature a
stowed height that is low enough
to fit through a doorway with its
standard fixed guardrails.
Christian Dube, product manager
at Genie says compact scissor lifts
is an area where we are seeing a
strong push towards electrification.
“That’s because the technology has
reached the point where it can deliver
better jobsite performance, reduced
maintenance, and a lower total cost
of ownership.”
The next step will be to
continue evolving this technology,
including areas like lithium
batteries. “But,” says Dube,
“Just like the first steps toward
The GS-1932m in an installation job.
electrification, it has to be the right technology
at the right time and purposefully designed for
the equipment it is meant to power.”
Echoing the point that micro scissors are
not just aimed at typical low level access
applications such as the replacement of ladders,
Dube says they are also a good choice for other
jobs where you would use a standard sized
scissor lift. With a 227kg capacity, both the
GS-1932m and GS-1432m are rated for two
workers and feature a 0.81m wide platform
and 0.6m extension deck, ensuring good access
to a large range of work locations.
Multi-purpose
As facility owners and jobsites continue to
emphasize fall prevention, use of ladders
is frequently being discouraged, confirms
Mirco Negri, JLG’s senior product manager
EMEAIR, micro scissors are finding uses in
the likes of data centres, while also being rated
for work in outdoor applications.
“Demand for these types of lifts continues
to grow, especially as the trend towards
urbanisation increases, resulting in less open
space and buildings getting taller and narrower.
Negri Continues, “This creates a greater
need for products that have a small footprint,
are lighter weight for use on sensitive
flooring, can fit into elevators and can be
moved between floors for finish and fit-out
construction work or ongoing maintenance.”
JLG’s latest compact models are the 5.8m
working height ES1330L and 6.5m ES1530L,
which both offer direct electric drives and
integrated components, that boast reduced
hydraulic hoses and fittings, again for reduced
operating costs.
For example, these ES series models have
only six hoses, a significant reduction
over hydraulic drive machines,
which reduces the chance of
leaks. Both have a platform
capacity of 227kg and width of
0.76m.
On the electric drive
discussion, Negri explains
they are gaining favour. “For
example, fully electrified models
offer an eco-friendly solution
thanks to having no hydraulics or
oil – these lifts are leak-free and
operate quietly, making them a preferred
piece of equipment for work in
environmentally sensitive areas, as
well as in hospitals, schools, libraries
and office buildings where noise
restrictions exist.”
Their compact footprints also
feature, what JLG says is a unique
zero turning radius for work in
tight spaces. For JLG that also
means a lightweight machine >
Sinoboom’s 1530SE.
www.accessinternational.media
 COMPACT SCISSORS
The Dingli JCPT0707DCM.
that provides operators with
ample space for tools and
materials.
Ultimately, customers
also expect newer compact
models to feature the same
technologies as their larger
counterparts. For example,
ES1330L and 1530L
models feature variable tilt
functionality which enables
a larger work envelope when
operating on slight slopes.
JLG’s micro scissors are
powered by maintenance free AGM batteries,
with no lithium option available at the
moment.
Lithium offering
Sinoboom has gone down the lithium route
with its latest products, those being the
0607SE and recently upgraded version of the
0407SE.
The 0407SE now features an increased
maximum platform height of 4.5m and
has been changed to front wheel drive. The
0607SE on the other hand is more lightweight
in comparison to its sister 0608SE model.
With these new products Sinoboom says it
can now supply Chinese customers with a full
series of machines featuring lithium batteries,
and the overseas markets will follow next.
According to Sinoboom these items are also
uniquely equipped with permanent magnet
motors, commonly found in cars like the Tesla
model 3, and are more energy efficient than
excitation motors by about 20%.
As Peter Peng, Sinoboom’s product
manager explains, the
products adhere to the
trends in the category
of being lightweight,
narrow and with easy
manoeuvrability.
“In a competitive
micro and compact
market, we have been
developing features
to meet specific customer
requirements. Narrow machine
width and light weight are
key factors to help optimise
transportation logistics and costs
– a major consideration in the
equipment rental industry.”
Peng adds, “Reduced maintenance
requirements also help rental
customers to turn equipment
round between hires more
efficiently, which helps to make
these a more cost-effective
solution for working at
height.”
Sinoboom scissor
lifts come with several
20 ACCESS INTERNATIONAL | APRIL-MAY 2022
features as standard, such
as bumper strips which
help protect decals during
transportation and daily use,
and all equipment is treated
with an electrophoretic
primer which protects against
corrosion.
New model
Dingli is also taking the
direct electric drive route
with its Mini Scissor Series
range. The company just
added a new model to make
three in the series. While the
products come as standard with lead acid
batteries, lithium is offered as an option.
The new 6.5m working height, lightweight
JCPT0707DCM can fit into a standard
elevator. The lift has dimensions of 1.43m x
0.76m, and a maximum load of 230kg.
It joins the two other models in the
DC electric drive series; the 5.6m
working height JCPT0607DCM
and the 7.6m JCPT0708DCM.
With the guard rails folded
down, the overall heights of the
series are 1.62m, 1.68m and
1.65m, respectively, while they
weigh in at 920kg, 1150kg, and
1300kg.  of less than 800kg.
Dingli points out that with a
lower purchase price, the rental
cost for mini scissors remains
almost the same as that of standard
scissors, therefore making the rate of
return higher.
Access all areas
Skyjack’s latest addition in
this area is the SJ3014
micro scissor lift
launched last year
for the European
market. It comes with
sealed maintenance
free batteries and DC
electric direct drive, with a focus on
productivity.
And, with a focus also on light weight,
at 820kg, it is designed to tackle
maintenance tasks in commercial and
industrial applications on sensitive floors.
Rafael Bazzarella, product manager
at Skyjack, says, “With these attributes
these micro scissors can start to replace
some traditional means of working at
height by getting to locations that current
machines are not used. If it is just as easy,
and safer, to access the location with a
micro scissor instead of a ladder then the
micro scissor will be used.”
As a result, micro scissors are more
commonly found in the workplace.
The SJ3014 micro from Skyjack.
“Most can fit in an elevator and are light
enough so they won’t damage delicate floors.
As awareness grows, I believe the cost benefit
is related more to safety and efficiency rather
than monthly rental rate.
“A large part of that growth comes from
substituting ladders and scaffold towers with
powered access. That in turn has been spurred
on by working at height regulations that
highlight some of the issues with ladders and
other creative means of working at height.”
On the subject of lithium and electric drive
combinations; while the SJ3014 does not
use a lithium battery, looking forward the
potential does make sense, says Bazzarella,
as it adds up to efficiency and lower cost of
ownership. “From the end users’ point of view,
the machine will be quieter and last longer on
a single charge. For the rental companies it
means less maintenance is required.”
Strong future
Imer will launch compact electric drive units
this year. The two new scissors will
be released by July this year; those
being the IM 4080 and IM 4980.
Their main features will be a 6m
and 7m working height,
respectively, a capacity of
230kg, a platform extension
of 0.6m, electric steering and weight
They will complement
Imer’s most recent micros
in its Easy Up series,
offering low weight and very
compact dimensions, with a
height of 5.2m.
Three models are available;
pusharound, self propelled
and picking, with tray.
Noteworthy in its soon to
be launched products is,
indeed, the electric steering
system, which Paolo
Pianigiani, commercial
director of Imer’s Access
Division says complies with
the green demands of
Imer’s Easy Up today’s industry.
5 Picking. “The new micro
scissor lift models are
occupying a market segment that until
now saw the use of heavier and more bulky
machines or pusharound systems. The search
for technologically advanced solutions has
certainly made it possible to optimize costs.”
Imer has been manufacturing direct electric
drive units since 2010 and has optimised its
systems to fully make use of batteries.
“The batteries are part of the balancing weight
of scissors lifts. Lithium batteries may be
suitable for longterm utilisation requirements
because of the charge they receive, thus
requiring additional counterweights. Today,
evolution of electrification is opening new
frontiers which may be even more evolved.” AI
www.accessinternational.media
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 IAPA AWARDS
The winners of the
International Awards for
Powered Access (IAPAs)
were revealed to a
record crowd in London,
UK, on 10 March.
M
ore than 450 industry
professionals gathered at the
Millennium Gloucester Hotel
in Kensington for the 2021 International
Awards for Powered Access (IAPA), co-
organised by Access International and IPAF.
This was the first opportunity for many in
the industry to congregate in large numbers
since the onset of Covid-19, and it was the
first time the IAPAs had been held as an
in-person event since 2019 in Dubai, which
brought a celebratory atmosphere to the
proceedings, even before they got started.
The date and location of the 2023 IAPAs
and IPAF Summit, which takes place on the
same day as the IAPAs, was also revealed.
The 2023 event will take place 20 April in
Berlin, Germany.
Among the prizes this year was the new
Sustainability Award for a company that has
shown an outstanding contribution to the
environment through its business activities.
This latest addition joined 12 other awards
across a range of product, technology and
safety-related categories.
The winners were chosen by an
independent judging panel of industry
experts from over 140 high quality entries
– the most ever received for these awards.
Here, AI provides comments from the judges
about each of the winners. AI
22 ACCESS INTERNATIONAL | APRIL-MAY 2022
Live in
THE SUSTAINABILITY AWARD
RIWAL, NETHERLANDS
For its Lifting Sustainability strategy
The judges said: Riwal’s strategy encompasses
many initiatives blended to create a new
mindset in the company across internal
communications, product development,
regeneration initiatives and a circular economy
approach to all its workflows.
PICTURED LEFT Alessandro Mastrocgiacomo
(right), export sales manager at CMC, the
event’s Headline sponsor, presents the
award to Riwal’s Pedro Torres and Johan
van Klinken. Also pictured is Ellen Meijer
(centre), ProDelta.Holding.
ACCESS RENTAL COMPANY
OF THE YEAR
JOLY LOCATION, FRANCE
Joly’s entry was based on its work helping
to restore the Notre Dame cathedral in
Paris. Judges were impressed by the range of
equipment and expertise provided, including
large truck mounts and spider lifts.
PICTURED RIGHT Norty Turner, formally of
United Rentals, and immediate past
president of IPAF (left), presents the
award to Lineal Joly of Joly Location.
www.accessinternational.media
 IAPA AWARDS

ACCESS PHOTOGRAPH
OF THE YEAR
Sponsored by
Media Access
Solutions (MAS)

DANIEL OLIVER, UK
Daniel was working for Paramount Platforms
when he took this inspiring shot of a Hinowa
Lightlift 17.75 PIIIS working at the Natural
History Museum in London. It is being used
to clean and check the anchor points of Hope,
a 25.2m long blue whale skeleton hanging
from the celling of the museum.

London CONTRIBUTION TO SAFE

WORKING AT HEIGHT
NATIONWIDE PLATFORMS, UK
The UK rental company’s range of safety
initiatives was outstanding, including
virtual knowledge sharing and training
during the pandemic; digital pre-use
checks; and a remote assistance chat
facility to help tackle technical safety
issues, said the judges.

PICTURED RIGHT Euan Youdale

(right), editor of Access International
hands the trophy to Nationwide
Platforms’ Alana Paterson and
Matt Parfitt.

PICTURED ABOVE Andy Northwood (left),

from Dingli, Gold sponsor of the event, INNOVATIVE
presents the award to Darren Verschuren TECHNOLOGY PRIZE
and Nigel Taylor from Serious Labs. CTE, ITALY
For its S3 EVO stability system
DIGITAL DEVELOPMENT This system, developed entirely by CTE,
AWARD continuously monitors the platform
SERIOUS LABS, CANADA configuration to provide flexibility of
For its VR simulator PAL Card conversion movement and ease of use.
The judges praised its programme to create
a scenario within its existing MEWP VR PICTURED LEFT Michel Petitjean
simulator to allow an operator to renew their (right), IAPA judge and secretary general
PAL Card, with the exact same elements as of the ERA, presents Marco Govoni and
renewing it on a real MEWP. Roberto Berritta of CTE with their prize. >

www.accessinternational.media APRIL-MAY 2022 | ACCESS INTERNATIONAL 23

 IAPA AWARDS
PRODUCT CATEGORIES
PRODUCT OF THE YEAR
MAST CLIMBING
WORK PLATFORMS/
CONSTRUCTION HOISTS
FRACO MANUFACTURING SL, SPAIN,
Torgar PL-20 EXT 2V transport platform
The judges were impressed with the
interchangeability of components and the large
number of options for a single machine.
PICTURED ABOVE Paolo Pianigiani (right),
IAPA judge and commercial director at
Imer Group, presents the award to Alex
Ventosa lazaro and Gabriel Sanchez
Hernandez from Torgar.
PRODUCT OF THE YEAR
VEHICLE/TRAILER-MOUNTED
DINOLIFT, FINLAND
For the 230VTH hybrid truck mount
The judges praised the platform’s all-electric
operation and compactness, combined with
an impressive working envelope, making it an
ideal rental solution.
PICTURED ABOVE Brian Parker (left),
head of safety and technical at IPAF,
presents the award to Karin Nars and
Teemu Ristelä of Dinolift.
24 ACCESS INTERNATIONAL | APRIL-MAY 2022
IPAF MEMBER-ONLY AWARDS
IPAF TRAINING
INSTRUCTOR OF THE YEAR
PHIL DRAYTON, NATIONWIDE
PLATFORMS, UK
Over the past two years, Phil demonstrated
his dedication to the industry by leading
the company’s Covid training response and
ensuring training centres were safe to provide
face-to-face activities as soon as possible,
among a range of other achievements.
PICTURED ABOVE Giles Councell (right),
operations director at IPAF, presents Phil
Drayton with his award.
IPAF TRAINING CENTRE
OF THE YEAR
AST, GERMANY
AST had been singled out by IPAF as a
top-performing training centre in 2021 – an
achievement in itself – but the company also
introduced a range of inspiring initiatives.
PICTURED RIGHT Peter Douglas
(right), CEO of IPAF shakes hands
with winner Karel Huijser from JLG.
PRODUCT OF THE YEAR
SCISSOR LIFTS AND
VERTICAL MASTS
JLG, US
For its DaVinci all-electric scissor lift
The judges described it as an all-electric scissor
with zero hydraulics, and a machine that
maintains full productivity even as the battery
is depleted. They also liked the platform’s
ability to recover energy as its lowers.
PICTURED LEFT Nico Krekeler (right),  The judges highlighted the machine’s self-
IAPA judge and head of design and
development at Ruthmann, hands over
the trophy to Karel Huijser from JLG.
PICTURED ABOVE Ben Hirst, chief
executive of Horizon Platforms presents
Chris Wraith (right) with his lifetime
achievement award.
IPAF/ACCESS
INTERNATIONAL
LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT
AWARD
CHRIS WRAITH, UK
Independent powered access health
& safety professional
Chris has dedicated much of his working life
to improving a promoting safety and good
practice in the MEWP industry. Between
1996 and 2000 he was senior training
instructor at Nationwide Access.
In 2005 he became safety, health &
environmental advisor at Nationwide Access
and in 2008 took on the role of UK QHSE
manager at Lavendon Access Services. In
2011, he joined IPAF as technical & safety
executive, where he worked with national
and international bodies to influence
developments in the safe design and use of
MEWPs and to promote the objectives of
IPAF and its members.
Chris left IPAF in 2018 to continue to
pursue his passion for MEWP safety as
director of consultancy firm Access Safety
Management. He still serves on several IPAF
committees, including the International
Safety Committee.
PICTURED LEFT Jonathan Till (right),
IAPA judge and owner of GTAccess,
presents the award to Angelika Müller
and Matthias Müller of AST.
PRODUCT OF THE YEAR
SELF PROPELLED BOOMS
& ATRIUM LIFTS
JLG, US
For the 670SJ self-levelling boom
levelling chassis that automatically adapts on
slopes of up to 10 degrees in any direction,
while driving at its full height of 20.4m.
www.accessinternational.media
 www.platformbasket.com

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info@platformbasket.com - www.platformbasket.com
 INTERVIEW KARIN NARS - IPAF PRESIDENT

New vision
Karin Nars was elected as
A
s the first female president of
IPAF, Karin Nars has already
the new president of IPAF made her mark at the helm of the
federation’s board.
at its AGM in March. Here, The depth of experience that Nars brings
to the role, along with her vision to make
Nars shares her view of the industry more welcoming to women and
enhance IPAF membership in her home
the Federation and the region, should also ensure her two-year tenure
as president is remembered well into the
access industry. future.
Nars joined the IPAF council in 2010,
almost a decade after her father Lasse
Godenhielm ended his stint as president in
2001, having joined the federation in the
late 1990’s with Dinolift, the Finland-based
MEWP manufacturer that he acquired in
1997.
Roll forward to 2022 and Nars now steers
Dinolift as its managing director, with one
of the company’s gaols being international
growth beyond its core market of Northern
Europe.
Creating value
Reflecting on her election to president
during IPAF’s Annual General Meeting
in March, at which she took over the
position from Norty Turner, formally of
United Rentals, Nars says, “I’m proud to take
on this role and it’s been an honour to work
with IPAF over the years. Being on the board
I have seen how dedicated and passionate the
people who work at IPAF are.”
The role of IPAF president is a voluntary
one and, as with the rest of the board and
wider IPAF council, it serves to oversee and
provide support and guidance to the paid
executive team, led by its CEO and
managing director Peter Douglas.
Nars says, “The president is like an
ambassador who is there to contribute
to the objectives of IPAF. I’m very
much a team player, and there is a really
professional team of employees at IPAF that
are doing most of the work.
“The council and the board are packed with
hundreds of years of fantastic experience; all
top notch experts in their field. It’s a really
powerful group working for safety in our
industry and it’s a brilliant opportunity to take
everything we can from that group and spread
the word of IPAF.”
By the end of last year IPAF had surpassed
its 1,500 membership milestone, starting 2022
with a record-breaking 1,504 members. “So,
we must be doing a lot of things right, and
creating value for our members,” comments
Nars.
“That is one of the most important things -
we are there for our members and we need to
be sure that we are delivering the benefits that
they are seeking and delivering on our promise
to help them achieve safe working at height.”
To confirm this, the federation carried out
a membership survey last year, and received
encouraging feedback, says Nars, particularly
around its online resources, which were
deemed to be relevant and extensive. “We need
to keep up that good work. We should always
strengthen areas that need improvement but
also focus on areas that we are already strong
in – strengthen our strengths.”
Last year, there were almost 17,000
downloads of online material from IPAF’s
website, such as Toolbox Talks, Andy Access
posters and best practice guidance material. “It
is all developed from data from the accident
reporting portal. So, it’s a really strong set of
resources.
“Of course, there are areas where we can
do better,” Nars confirms. One area that the
federation is focusing on is communication
across its member companies. “There are some
parts of the membership that feel they are
not so close to IPAF. For example, in certain >

I am the first woman to hold this position,

therefore it’s an honour and an obligation
to promote equal rights for women
and opportunities for women in our
industry.
KARIN NARS, the newly-elected president
of IPAF and managing director of Dinolift.

APRIL-MAY 2022 | ACCESS INTERNATIONAL 27

 INTERVIEW KARIN NARS - IPAF PRESIDENT
positions like CEOs or top managers, who
don’t see the work that IPAF does in their
daily jobs, as it is generally being done in the
middle of the organisation.
“All categories of our members need to be
aware of what is being done, therefore we
need to provide the relevant communication
so that the entire company can see the benefit
of IPAF.”
Nars adds, “There were also other member
categories that had lower rates of engagement
and based on those results we have put this in
the 2022 plan to rectify those situations.”
Women in access
Beyond the day-to-day process of supporting
IPAF’s development programme, Nars aims to
use her position to address two personal goals
– promoting gender equality in the access
industry and developing IPAF in the Nordics.
“I am the first woman to hold this position,
therefore it’s an honour and an obligation
to promote equal rights for women and
opportunities for women in our industry. So, I
would like to launch a programme around that
and use my voice as president to talk about the
issue.”
As Nars points out, the level of gender
equality is very different across the access
industry’s global markets, which makes
spreading the message a greater challenge in
some parts of the world. “But,” Nars adds, “I
want to raise awareness and provide examples
of woman who are in leading positions in the
industry wherever possible, to highlight the
options.”
“Young people, who are choosing their
careers are always looking at what role models
there are out there and if a young woman
only sees a bunch a guys in suits, it does not
resonate with them and it creates an extra
hurdle. It’s a case of highlighting career paths
and removing those hurdles.”
Nars provides an illuminating example of
the ingrained mindset that can often be found
in the industry. “We are launching a virtual
factory tour and we created a 3D computer-
generated image of the work that is being
done.
“When I watched it for the first time, there
UKRAINE REACTION
Aa a citizen of Finland, which borders Russia, Karin
Nars has a unique view of Russia’s invasion of
Ukraine.
In reaction to the war, Dinolift no longer sells its
products or spare parts to Russia or Belarus.
“This will of course have an impact on both Dinolift
and its customers. But that is a small price to pay
compared to the price that the Ukrainian people and
the ordinary Russian people are paying.
“We hope for peace, but we fear that the situation
will get much worse before it gets better.”
■ See Nars’ further comments on the war in
News Extra: Ukraine.
28 ACCESS INTERNATIONAL | APRIL-MAY 2022
The new IPAF presidential team,
from left: JLG’s Karel Huijser, deputy
president; Karin Nars, president; and
Partnerlift’s Kai Schliephake, vice
president.
were just men in overalls, and I asked, ‘could
you add some women,’ as we have a lot of
women in our factory.”
“They replied that there were no 3D
images available of women wearing overalls.
That example is really descriptive of how the
industry looks to women.”
The second objective of growing IPAF
membership in Nordic countries could be just
as challenging. One could be mistaken for
believing that Finland and its neighbouring
nations have a large IPAF membership
thanks to their relatively high level of safety
regulations and awareness. They also have a
comparatively large population of MEWPs
to other parts of Europe. However, as Nars
explains, safety awareness is one of the
obstacles.
“There is a strong safety tradition in the
Nordic countries and legislation is really
strong for worker safety, so maybe there is the
idea that they don’t need IPAF.
Nars adds, “We don’t have any IPAF
country councils in Finland or Nordic
countries, and I am the first IPAF president
from the Nordic countries since my father was
president 20 years ago.”
IPAF does have a representative for the
Nordic and Baltic regions, Kent Boström,
who Nars says is doing a good job in a
challenging environment. “We are picking up
members and in recent years there have been
some increases. But there are still very few
considering the number of rental companies
there, and the number of machines.”
With an IPAF president now back on the
ground in Finland, and in close proximity to
other Nordic countries, there is now an extra
opportunity to reduce that deficit.
“What I see is that IPAF brings third party
certification to ensure training is on the same
level, and that means construction companies
in the Nordic countries can see that someone
is trained to a certain level.”
Beyond these key areas of personal interest,
Nars is clear that her role is to support
the workings of IPAF. “We have a really
comprehensive three-year plan in place. There
is no need for me to bring in a whole new set
of objectives.”
There are more than 20 projects that
currently contribute to IPAF’s overall
strategic aim, with many of them being of
a digital nature. One example is the ePAL
app that launched last year in the UK and
is now being rolled out globally, as well as
being continuously updated, making it an
increasingly key tool. “It’s a really powerful
thing which will have a positive impact on a
lot of our strategic aims.”
This includes increasing the level of
reporting on IPAF’s accident reporting portal,
which the federation sees as a vital contributor
to a safer industry. Sharing information about
accidents or near misses will become that
much easier with the ePAL app available on a
mobile phone.
“We have seen in IPAF’s Global Safety
Report that understanding more about near
misses is really important in avoiding serious
incidents. Humans need to have easy access
to report accidents and near misses, and when
you have that capability on your phone that
makes it very simple and fast.”
Back to growth
IPAF’s revenue was hit hard in 2020 when
much of the world went into lockdown when
training centres offering IPAF’s range of
qualifications, including of course the PAL
card, were forced to close as a result of the
Covid-19 pandemic.
“2021 started off with a bit of an unstable
market situation but then training levels
picked up and in the end, we had a very strong
year and went over 2019 levels.”
Focusing on the positives, Nars adds,
“In every crisis you can find something
good. You can learn and focus on the most
important things. We came through it and
www.accessinternational.media

Peter (Douglas) showed incredibly strong
leadership, and the board and counsel were
very impressed how IPAF navigated through
the crisis.”
One of the initiatives during lockdown
was to replace physical events with a series of
webinars that proved incredibly popular, each
having an average of 800 unique viewers. “It’s
been really popular and that’s something we
www.accessinternational.media
INTERVIEW KARIN NARS - IPAF PRESIDENT
will continue doing as a way of reaching out
on an international level.”
It was also vital to keep the communication
channels going between IPAF staff and its
member companies throughout the pandemic.
And, while webinars helped there was also
a great deal of virtual communication with
existing and new contacts.
Global goals
On the subject of new members, IPAF
continues to target two major global markets,
namely Asia and North America. Asia, with
its range of relatively new access markets is
very different overall to the maturity of the
North American market.
For IPAF, the ability to move in at the
beginning of Asia’s emerging access markets
has been a major advantage, compared with
North America, the world’s oldest access
market, which has a range of long-established
training options in place.
Nars says, “In Asia, we have a lot of
different countries with a lot of different
maturity levels. As more safety standards
are put in place, they will become more
homogenised, which then creates more
interest towards IPAF.
“We also see there is a huge growth in
Asian rental and manufacturers and there will
be strong opportunities to grow training. There
is still a lot of work to be done.”
Moving on to North America, Nars
confirms, “North America is a completely
different market with different challenges.
“We still need to increase awareness there.
I know that rental companies are aware of
us, especially as we have had a row of north
American IPAF presidents, but we need to
create more awareness among the customer
base so there is a push-pull effect, in which
rental customers are requesting IPAF training.
Another real option for IPAF in North
America is through closer working with
existing training bodies. “We also support the
creation of partnerships. We don’t want to
compete by saying, ‘who is the best training
provider?’
“Everybody should be the winner when it
comes to safe working at height. So, working
together to form partnerships to work towards
more safety in access, I think, is a good way to
work in North America.”
It seems IPAF has much to be proud of,
not least its 40th anniversary, which it will
celebrate next year. “We are always looking
forward but this will be an opportunity to look
back to see how far we have come, how many
lives have been saved and how many work
opportunities have been created over those 40
years. It’s a chance to really recognise the work
that has been done.” AI
APRIL-MAY 2022 | ACCESS INTERNATIONAL 29
 IPAF SUMMIT

T Safety first
he IPAF Summit 2022 marked a
return to in-person global events for
the federation and event partners Access
International, and marked the first time the
event has been held in the UK since 2017.
First up was Peter Douglas, IPAF CEO and
managing director, who took to the stage to Around 350 attendees Madeleine Abas,
welcome the attendees to the first in-person senior partner
Summit of his tenure, despite him taking up gathered for the IPAF at Osborn
the post at the end of 2019, as result of the Abas Hunt
Covid-19 pandemic. Summit in London, UK, to
Mark Keily, SHEQ director at Sunbelt
Rentals and chair of the IPAF International hear presentations on the
Safety Committee, took to the stage with Brian
Parker, IPAF head of safety and technical, to The Evolution of Safety.
speak about IPAF accident reporting.
Keily talked about the establishment of the
new IPAF International Safety Committee Oana
(ISC), and how pleased he is as chair that the Samoila, key
committee has truly worldwide representation. accounts
Parker challenged the room to consider how sales
valuable reporting of near misses and instances manager,
of unsafe conditions can be, pointing out that AlmaCrawler
for every fatality or serious injury, there will
have been thousands of unsafe behaviours or
near misses that have typically gone unreported.
The IPAF reporting portal is an important way
of gathering accident data across the world. Jonathan
At the Summit Parker launched IPAF’s Dawson,
2022 safety campaign Don’t Fall For It, based managing
on falls from the platform, which over the last director,
six years has been the main cause of serious Power
injuries and deaths, at an average of 17% of all Towers
reported incidents on the portal. Within that, a
staggering 70% of falls were from overreaching,
with 7% down to technical failure, 5% due
to standing on guardrails, and 4% a result of
violation and behaviour – not following the relevant authorities in the event of an accident?
rules. A further 11% was down to not knowing Certainly in cases of fatalities, but often
the rules and the need for pre-use inspections business leaders don’t know what is reportable
and checks. and what isn’t – if you don’t report when you
should it can be a criminal offence, but over-
Study of an accident  reporting when it isn’t obligatory is also not
Madeleine Abas, senior partner at Osborn helpful.”
Abas Hunt, presented a fascinating case study She also talked about legal privilege, and how
of an accident, beginning with the critical hours to conduct both internal investigations and
and minutes after an accident has occurred – risk assessments. “Don’t focus on what went
the “golden hour”. wrong, but emphasis all the good things that
The first critical thing following an accident could have been done to prevent an
should be to make sure it is safe to act, said accident occurring. The same principle
Abas, “I will never forget the first time I applies to risk assessment – it is an
received a call to say there had been a fall exercise in thinking forward, to consider
from height, and that the first person on all the things that could go wrong, and
the scene to assist that person and retrieve make sure all the things we have in place
the materials involved also fell, this time to to prevent it from occurring, and also
their death. We need to ensure we have an ask ourselves, ‘what more could we do to
emergency plan in place, that the area is safe, prevent this happening?’
that the emergency services are informed and
that the appropriate emergency response is in Manufacturers’
place and that they are practiced regularly so perspective 
that if and when the procedure is needed it is Remi Heidelberger, group product
put into practice and people are confident that marketing manager at Haulotte Group,
they know what to do.” gave an equipment manufacturer’s
Then it is important to take control of perspective on designing for safety, focusing
the scene, to investigate it properly, capture on key innovations across the Haulotte
critical information. Abas added, “Have senior product range, and how they fit into the
managers been informed? Do we have to notify company’s longstanding goal to be the

30 ACCESS INTERNATIONAL | APRIL-MAY 2022 www.accessinternational.media


Martin Hall, health and environment
director, Morgan Sindall-Safety
manufacturer of the “safest powered access
equipment in the world”.
Following up on the manufacturer
perspective was Jonathan Dawson, managing
director of Power Towers, part of JLG, who
discussed safety improvements in the industry
and in particular safety at height under 6m.
The A-frame ladder still works and hasn’t
changed much since it was patented in the
1880s, Dawson pointed out, but in a workplace
environment, and when employers have a
duty of care, there are safer and more versatile
solutions available.
Musculoskeletal disorders are estimated to
cost the UK construction industry five
million hours and £1billion per
year, so adjustable low-level access
platforms are quicker, “and if you
work smarter, you tend to work
safer as well,” said Dawson.
Safe behaviour
Dr Shaun Lundy, director
of strategy and innovation
at Tetra Consulting,
presented on safety
and behaviour in, “A
changing workforce
and what it means for
safety”.
Innovation in
health & safety
thinking is a sure
way to reduce incident
rates, which remain
stubbornly high, said
Lundy. Embracing
Peter Douglas, CEO
and MD, IPAF
www.accessinternational.media
generational diversity, new technology and
understanding the negative effects of national
skills shortages and emerging risks are all key,
he said.
In future there should and will be an
increasing focus on wellbeing and mental
health, as well as a business and professional
ethics consideration rather than a regulatory or
legislative onus on safety.
Lundy said people are solutions not part of
the problem. We should focus on positives over
negatives, and ethics over bureaucracy. “We
need to think about why we are doing things,
we need to focus on all risks equally, and not
allow the preponderance of minor risks to leave
a blind spot over major risks.”
Lundy added that engaging people and
having a good leadership culture are key. “It’s
often the leader that gets the credit, but often
it is those first few followers that go with them
that help to make their leadership successful.
You want exemplary followers, not alienated,
conformist or passive ones.”
Safety and storytelling  realise the culture we have created is wrong”; and
After lunch, Oana Samoila, key accounts sales
manager at Italian manufacturer AlmaCrawler,
gave a thought-provoking insight into the
way the human mind learns in “Safety
and Storytelling; pointing out how people
learn through a mix of visual, auditory and
kinaesthetic methods. Samoila asked why
storytelling is so important to training and
safety.
When telling a story, the listener is
instinctively trying to make sense of what
they are being told. Without storytelling,
the human brain often finds it difficult
to put the listener into the context being
explained, which makes retaining
information, such as safety
guidance or training
instruction much harder.
Giving information
in a way that makes it
more relatable helps
retention and lends
the information a
significance that mere
facts or rote learning
does not. Storytelling
also provides an opportunity
for risk-free experimentation,
allowing people to enter
scenarios and consider
“what would you have
done?”
In short, storytelling
creates engagement,
promotes retention and recovery.
Contractor insights  timeline of developments in IPAF training,
Martin Hall, health and
environment director at contractor
Morgan Sindall-Safety, gave a talk
entitled “Safety: A contractor’s view.”
He covered the myriad challenges he
IPAF SUMMIT
PANEL DISCUSSION 2022 
The panel discussion, hosted by KHL events
director Murray Pollok, saw four rental company
leaders discuss safety in the rental sector.
Pedro Torres, CEO of Riwal, said, “We have
safety KPIs, weekly meetings where we talk
safety, we have safety legislation, and we also
have a matrix of safety escalations – but we try
and attach a value to safety, because in the end,
we rent safety, we don’t just rent machines. We
need to improve near miss reporting and in fact
the numbers across accident reporting from all
countries where we operate.”
Andy Studdert, ex IPAF president and CEO, said,
“We have to remember that the culture of work is
changing all the time– and we have to remember
that society is shifting and we have to change the
message and the way we say it accordingly.”
Paul Rankin, CEO Loxam Powered Access
Division, commented, “An open environment is
key, and if speaking out as an operator reaches the
point where it is considered as whistle-blowing,
then we as managers, as individuals, need to
Will Temple, head of Powered Access, Sunbelt
Rentals, pointed out, “You need to create an
environment of communication and trust – it starts
with senior management. If you don’t align with
safety policy on the ground, you won’t achieve
what you are trying to.”
Andy Studdert; Will Temple; Pedro
Torres,; Paul Rankin; Murray Pollok.
has as a contractor, including dropped objects,
combating poor safety practices on sites, and
problems with “skill fade” even among trained,
experienced operators and supervisors.
Another key point is that many users still
struggle to accurately assess risk, and especially
experienced operators who feel that “common
accidents cannot happen to them”.
Hall focused on the risks of dropped objects
and materials, including properly designed
exclusion zones. He added, “Rather than zero
accidents we are shifting the emphasis on to
100% safe.”
Reporting benefits 
Paul Roddis, IPAF training manager, gave a
highlighting the acceleration in new training
courses and digital innovations, particularly
during the pandemic when convenience and
remote learning all helped increase uptake of
IPAF’s global training offering. AI
APRIL-MAY 2022 | ACCESS INTERNATIONAL 31
 PRODUCT LAUNCHES

COMPONENTS
AND DEVICES AI rounds up some of the product launches the
BIM OFFERING access industry has seen over recent weeks.
Manitou has taken another step forward on its
digital transition, by launching freely-accessible

Introducing
3D digital models of its construction equipment for
use with BIM.
The creation of the virtual models, which was
carried out by BIM specialist BIM&CO, can be
found in the BIM library on Manitou’s website and

the RoboLift
BIM&CO’s website. It means that BIM architects,
modelers and designers can now easily download
and introduce Manitou’s machines into their own
digital work environments.
The online product catalogue currently
comprises 11 fixed telehandlers models, including
the MT 733 and MT 1033 machines, and four
mobile elevating work platforms, all of which can
be downloaded for free in BIM format.
Arnaud Boyer, VP marketing and product

development for Manitou Group, said, “Our digital
transformation is accelerating and should enable
our customers to improve efficiency on their sites."
PIPE SOLUTION
Low level access equipment manufacturer Hy-Brid
Lifts has introduced a new heavy duty pipe rack
attachment.
This latest option is for the company’s A92.20
Pro Series scissor lifts. Designed to be easy to
install, it can handle up to 100 pounds (45.4kg) of
materials to maximise the space in the platform.
The pipe rack is conveniently designed to sit on a
scissor lift’s rails and not be obtrusive to operators.
“This pipe rack is designed to help keep the
platform free of unsecured materials. Its capacity
also increases productivity by allowing operators
to bring more materials up at a time,” said Mac
Abfall, Hy-Brid Lifts’ engineering manager.
Fleet managers can add the pipe rack kit
without the need for additional counterweights or
height restrictions. Available immediately, the pipe
rack is a factory option and can also be retrofitted
on Pro Series models generation 5 or later.
R
obotics specialist
nLink has launched a
robotic aerial lift that is
combined with artificial intelligence
to initially be used for high pressure washing
applications.
Based on a Genie S-80 J boom lift, completed in the
provided by MEWP distributor Hybeko, the autumn of 2021,
RoboLift can be used without an operator. showed that it was
The RoboLift project was started by the possible to build a
Norway-based IA programme and nLink in robot that performs
2020, together with Norwegian association facade cleaning.
for the painting and surface cleaning industry Based on the boom
Malermesternes Landsforening (MLF), and lift, a robot arm was
Hybeko, which shared technical information developed to hold a
about the lift allowing nLink to fit the design high-pressure washer.
to the required tasks. The arm is programmed to perform the
The initial idea behind the project goes washing movements.
back to 2016, when nLink launched drilling The Robolift has also demonstrated that
robot Drilly. According to nLink the there are several possible areas of application,
Robolift concept then began out of a need to using other tools, which just require a
streamline work tasks and reduce injuries in software update by nLink. “We are now
the construction industry and in maintenance looking at possible areas such as inspection
projects, like cleaning at height and painting of facades, bridges and ship hulls, sand
applications.  washing, sandblasting and painting,” explained
The first phase of the project, which was Tomas Henninge, project manager and

32 ACCESS INTERNATIONAL | APRIL-MAY 2022 www.accessinternational.media

 PRODUCT LAUNCHES

co-founder of nLink.
“We are in the process of phase
two of the project, where we will
find out where RoboLift makes
the best use of itself - also in the
customers’ value chains and workflow.”
Funds have been allocated for phase
two, which includes market analysis
and technology adaptations. This is what
the company calls an intermediate phase,
where it will establish the areas of greatest
potential for the product. AI
Freestander
Geda has launched a new freestanding hoist
platform that can be used to lift materials and
people up to a height of 12 metres.
The new Geda 1500 Z/ZP F has a platform
measuring 1.45m x 3.3m and has a maximum
load capacity of 1,300kg or up to seven people.
Described as an “all-rounder”, it can
transport materials at a speed of 24m per
minute and carry materials and people at a
speed of 12m per minute.      
The design of the 1500 Z/ZP F, which
is based on that of Geda’s 1500 Z/ZP,
incorporates a 1,700kg base plate that allows
it to be installed on construction sites without
the use of anchors, which are often time-
consuming to install.
“Naturally, when designing a new product,
we not only think about efficient and sensible
vertical transport, but also about logistics to and
from the construction site,” said Geda.
The base of the free standing hoist is
designed to easily fit on a truck so it can simply
be brought to site. Thanks to the flexible roof,
the hoist can be lifted with a specific crane lug
to its destined position.
Standard safety features include limit
switches, speed-dependent safety gear, a safety
stop function and overload protection. AI

ALL-ELECTRICS
MAST FIRST the MMAE16 still delivers an
MEC Aerial Work Platforms has launched its first optimum battery duty cycle, says the
all-electric vertical mast lift.  company, while requiring less charge time.
Drawing on the US-based manufacturer’s MEC At an indoor working height of 22ft
Mast Electric (MME) series, company engineers and 18ft outdoors, the unit is ideal for
developed the 100% electric MMAE16. data centres, hospitality, food and
The new mast lift is compact and designed pharmaceutical applications, said MEC.
to eliminate the risk of an oil leak, due to zero Along with being lightweight at 2,170
hydraulic oil. With all-electric lift, steer, and drive, pounds and offering low ground
pressure, the machine fits in standard
elevators and can work across a range
of floor types. At 78in tall and with no
folding rails, it is also manoeuvrable
through standard door frames. Like the MME Series,
the new mast comes with a standard glide out deck
extension of 20in.
Gary Crook, VP of Engineering at MEC, said,
along with the 100% electric power, eliminating
hydraulic leaks was a key reason for the product’s
design. “The MMAE16 will have a significant impact
on the market’s drive for lower emissions and
eco-friendly solutions. Along with being all-electric
the new mast will deliver a better cost of ownership
for rental companies and increased productivity for
their customers."
ELECTRIC PORTFOLIO
Chinese Dingli has upgraded its range of rough
terrain scissors lifts, with the launch of new electric
versions of its 18m and 15m working height diesel
originals. 
The new electric JCPT1823DCB
scissor is the counterpart to Dingli’s
diesel-powered JCPT1823RTB model, and
the electric CPT1523DCB scissor lift is the
electric version of the JCPT1523RTB. 
Like their diesel sister models,
both of the new electric scissors are
equipped with a 3.98m x 1.83m
working platform, that can be further
extended at either end by 1.42m and
1.16m, to accommodate additional
site workers. 
The electric JCPT1823DCB and JCPT1523DCB
also offer the same four-wheel drive and
gradeability capabilities, as well as Dingli’s one-
button levelling function.
According to the manufacturer, the automatic
levelling feature ensures the safety and stability of
the platforms, which have a maximum load capacity
of 680kg. 
The launch of the models came just a week after
the manufacturer released its new diesel-driven
JCPT3225RT and electric JCPT3225DC scissors,
and is evidence of the company’s continuing
efforts to electrify its product portfolio as quickly as
possible.
Dingli has also recently launched a new addition
to its Mini Scissor series. See the Compact scissors
feature on page 17.

www.accessinternational.media APRIL-MAY 2022 | ACCESS INTERNATIONAL 33

 GLOBAL RENTAL TRENDS
Green tech for
Key trends in the rental
sector are around
digitalisation and
sustainability, AI reports.
A
s a pair, sustainability and
technology, particularly the
collection of vital performance
data, are intrinsically linked, and its
these two factors that are now shaping
the rental sector more than anythng else.
Focusing on the former, the concept of
sustainability encompasses environmental,
economic and social factors, but the first of
these – the environment – continues to top
the agenda for many rental businesses.
When the Glasgow COP26 climate
conference wrapped up on 31 November last
year, countries’ commitment on greenhouse
gas emissions cuts was widely regarded as
disappointing; it was insufficient to limit
global warming to the required 1.5 degrees
Celsius.
Nevertheless, a sense of urgency now
underscores thinking about sustainability
in the mature markets of the rental and
construction sector. For equipment rental
companies, CO2 emissions reduction,
regulated by Stage V restrictions in Europe
and their equivalent in other markets, is the
most pressing challenge.
Accompanying those restrictions are
customer demands for better environmental
solutions on their worksites.
Rental efficiency
One of the rental companies reacting to
customer demand and crucially taking the
initiative with its own range of projects
is Riwal, the winner of this year’s newly-
introduced Sustainability Award at the
International Awards for Powered Access
(IAPAs).
The access rental specialist picked up the
34 ACCESS INTERNATIONAL | APRIL-MAY 2022
Speedy’s
Innovation
Centre
award for a range of achievements through its On the digital side of the equation, the
Lifting Sustainability Strategy. company’s My Riwal Customer Portal
As the company says, all stakeholders, manages orders, but also gives customers
including customers, investors, employees insights into their CO2 emissions, raising their
and governments are pushing for better awareness on the subject and helping them to
environmental answers. “Our goal throughout fulfilling their requirements for reporting or
the entire organisation,” says the company, tracking emissions targets.
“Is to embrace sustainability as an integral And, the company’s Building Information
part of our business by including social, Modelling (BIM) helps customers plan
environmental and economic factors in our projects, determine the best logistical options
operations and decision making processes.” and therefore reduce or eliminate carbon
It includes a series of local initiatives, with emissions and future maintenance costs.
the purpose of increasing awareness internally Riwal’s internal sustainable initiatives
and externally. launched over the years range from renovation
According to Riwal, recent research shows of an old office building, upgrading it to a
that renting machines rather than purchasing A++ energy level in the Netherlands and
them can be 30% to 50% more sustainable for
the environment in terms of greenhouse gas Sweden-based rental
emissions. company Kranpunkten
Since 2016, the company has converted five has put its new electric
large diesel boom lift models in-house to be delivery truck into
100% electric and today over 60% of its rental operation. 
fleet is electric. The company aims to reach According to
90% by 2030. Kranpunkten, it is the
To complement the electric-powered first time a fully electric
fleet, the company provides onsite charging flatbed truck has
stations that ensure charging takes place in been used in Sweden,
a controlled manner by better distributing and is the result of a
required power across charging points. collaboration between
For jobs that cannot be done with electric construction materials
machines, Riwal provides diesel machines and services supplier
with alternatives to conventional crude oil, Swerock, Kranpunkten
such as GTL fuel or biofuel. and Volvo Trucks. The
vehicle is being operated
Riwal has converted a range of large in central Gothenburg’s
capacity booms to 100% electric. environmental zone 1.
www.accessinternational.media

hire
construction of a new depot with an array of
energy and resource saving features in the UK.
The company has also made investments in
wastewater treatment for its machine wash
bays. In Denmark the company now uses
just 140 cubic metres of water to wash the
6,500 machines based there. This amount is
equivalent to the water consumption of an
average Danish household. In the UAE, the
PHOTO: ©FRANCK DUNOUA
system helped reduce wastewater disposal by
67%, resulting in 160,000 litres of wastewater
disposal savings per year.
This is just one initiative among many,
including a collaboration with a supplier
to regenerate used oil in France and its
Sustainable Procurement project.
In 2022, the company started a dedicated
sustainability committee to gather ideas and
customer and employee feedback to boost
sustainable actions. It also aims to improve its
score with Ecovadis, a third-party assessor for
business sustainability, which again provides
customers with the ability to evaluate the
company’s efforts in sustainability.
UK initiatives
Rental companies based in the UK have
also proved to be staunch supporter of more
sustainable work practices. In August 2021
Speedy Powered Access became the first UK
hire provider to switch to fuelling powered
access machinery with HVO as standard.
HVO is an environmentally friendly
alternative to red diesel, which cuts carbon
emissions by up to 90% while also emitting
fewer other pollutants, meaning to better air
quality for site workers and neighbouring
communities.
The business supplies HVO directly to
customer sites, from 20 litre ‘fuel in a box’
www.accessinternational.media
Reducing carbon emissions is a key priority for Kiloutou Group.
packs to fully managed fuel services. All
deliveries are carbon offset at no extra cost.
The switch came after a two-year trial by
Speedy to ensure the HVO is sustainably
sourced, fully compatible with machinery
and independently verified to reduce carbon
emissions.
In addition, Speedy opened a new low
carbon innovation and hire centre at its
new Milton Keynes base to showcase its
sustainable tools and equipment, that will act
as a blueprint for future depot openings.
The site is powered by 670 solar panels and
uses innovative bespoke energy efficient power,
lighting and climate-control technology.
It’s also home to a colleague wellbeing
area with a wildflower garden, bee hotels,
hedgehog sanctuaries and an 18m outdoor
and 3m indoor living walls.
Among other initiatives, Speedy has
introduced electric delivery trucks and
GLOBAL RENTAL TRENDS
 
launched its Science-Based Targets (SBT) to
provide a clearly defined pathway to reduce
greenhouse gas emissions.
An emissions target is considered ‘science-
based’ if it is in line with the reductions
needed to meet the global commitment under
the Paris Agreement to limit global warming
to less than 2°C above pre-industrial levels
and pursue efforts to limit warming to 1.5°C.
Procurement commitment
The UK’s largest access rental company
Nationwide Platforms is also making strides
towards reduced emissions with its electric
equipment procurement policy, which is in
line with its parent company Loxam’s wider
policy.
Under the group policy, when a machine
comes to the end of its life, it is replaced,
where possible, with electric or hybrid
alternatives. For machines where electric
and hybrid models are not yet available, the
company will continue to buy diesel models,
but only those with Stage 5 engines.
Currently, 49% of Nationwide’s fleet is
electric, while 41.8% is powered by diesel.
Some 39.3% of all diesel machines are fitted
with an engine power of less than 37KW.
In 2021, the company refreshed more
than 8% of its MEWP fleet, and of those
approximate 1,000 machines, 84% are
electric or hybrid and 16% have Stage 5
diesel engines. This investment will continue
throughout 2022.
The company is also improving the
sustainability of its delivery vehicles. As of
August 2021, all LGV engines were Euro
6 compliant. Alternative fuels can also be
utilised across its fleet of 153 delivery vehicles.
The company is also reducing the
impact of deliveries by improving fuel >
APRIL-MAY 2022 | ACCESS INTERNATIONAL 35
 GLOBAL RENTAL TRENDS

consumption through investment in lighter

trailers, therefore improving the efficiency
and planning of deliveries and providing
continuous driving training for operators
of large goods vehicles (LGV), with a
performance league table that monitors miles
per gallon usage.
This will be complemented this year with
the opening of the company’s first Green

PHOTO: COATES HIRE

Depot to service the London area in the first
half of this year.
The depot will be located in London, rather
than it being situated on the M25 London
ring road. The plan is to use smaller electric
delivery vehicles to deliver from the depot,
to ensure transport of Nationwide’s electric A Coates Hire telemetry device. The Australian company is investigating how data can
MEWPs to the inner city is also sensitive to support energy efficiency and greenhouse gas emissions reductions.
the environment. Where possible sustainable
energy and fuels will also be considered for Launched in October, Kiloutou’s new stakeholders, the first held last May, the
usage at this location. iMPAKT brand for low carbon equipment second in December. Another meeting has
is intended to help customers identify been scheduled for 2022.
Reinforcement low emissions machines and reduce the Renault says he recognises the scale of
In the French market, Kiloutou Group has environmental impact of their worksites. An the challenge ahead, particularly in light of
made a commitment to reduce direct GHG alternative equipment guide has also been COP26, but adds that concern should be
emissions by 40% by 2030, in line with the made available to staff and customers. offset by determination.
Paris agreement. Renault, says, “The rental industry is at the “Obviously our eyes were on Glasgow, and
Recent initiatives include the greening of heart of decisions. Targets and action plans we can be partly disappointed with the lack
Kiloutou’s HGV and light vehicles fleet and must be synchronised with the various players of commitment from some countries. This in
reduction of energy consumption in branches. in this sector: its suppliers, its customers as no way demotivated us. On the contrary, we
“The true priority however is reducing fossil well as business federations.” believe it is all the more important that the
fuel carbon emissions,” says Sustainable This was the motivation for a series construction equipment industry take its share
Development Director François Renault. of sustainability meetings with industry of responsibility and offer concrete solutions
to limit the impact of construction sites.”
DIGITAL UPDATES
Circular economy
■ Concrete solutions can emerge from the use of data, and this is the case for Danish company GSV, which In the southern hemisphere, Australia’s
began its “green transition” in 2018. largest rental company Coates Hire has
Environmental responsibility is “a prerequisite for doing business,” according to GSV chief executive sharpened its sustainability focus over the
Dan Vorsholt, the construction industry causes the equivalent of 10% of Denmark’s total emissions, “so the past 12 months, through internal engagement,
industry needs to come together and act.” external research, consultation with customers
GSV’s goal is to cut CO2 emissions from its machines on Danish construction sites by investing in electric and benchmarking against industry peers,
and battery-powered machines. Sheridan Jones, group manager, corporate
“We believe that digitalisation is a big part of the solution. We have internally optimised the time in which communications and Sustainability, says,
our machinery is in workshops, under preparation or in logistics from 16% to 8%. This is done by making “This helped us to set clear commitments
internal processes leaner. critical to our business, such as reducing our
“This means that our machines are used more effectively, and the utilisation is optimised; and that means carbon footprint, promoting safer and more
that we can settle for fewer machines to the same amount of work - and as the machinery need to be sustainable ways of doing business, leveraging
replaced, we can upgrade each machine to a more climate friendly alternative. new technologies, enabling a future workforce,
This year, GSV will release a new digital platform to help customers measure and document the CO2 adapting to market disruptors and safely
footprint of the machinery and construction site, with further details to be revealed in the coming months. responding and rebuilding from Covid-19.”
Coates is adopting circular economy
thinking to guide its efforts in environmental
sustainability, she says. “By providing
temporary equipment solutions for businesses,
we avoid costly capital outlay and reduce
overall equipment purchases or manufacture.”
Emissions reduction is a priority, and the
company has committed to a 30% reduction
in scope 1 and 2 emissions by 2026. By 2030
it aims to achieve a 50% reduction in Scope 1
and 2 emissions and by 2040: net zero.
Meanwhile Coates’ ‘Greener Choices’
catalogue, due to be released mid-2022, is
designed to support customers’ sustainability
Dan Vorsholt, GSV goals, highlighting equipment benefits such
chief executive as reduced energy use, lower emissions and
reduced noise impacts on site. AI

36 ACCESS INTERNATIONAL | APRIL-MAY 2022 www.accessinternational.media

INDIA : Survey No. 70/A, Rashmi Industrial Estate, Wanawadi,
Pune - 411 040 India Phone : +91 20 71199100,
Fax : +91 20 71199199 Email : salesteam@trident-intl.com

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 SCAFFOLDING

Cutting-edge
techniques
AI looks at how the industry is adapting to the requirements
of scaffolding in the modern age.

Digitalization 2.0
Software provider Avontus has helped transform how
the scaffold industry plans, manages and visualises
IMAGES: CLASSIC INDUSTRIAL SERVICES

projects. As it celebrates its 20th year in business,

CEO Andrew Smith explains what’s next.
currently sits as co-chair on the Associations’
International Council.
Looking back to when he was an Avontus
customer, Smith (slightly) waxes poetic. “I had
purchased Designer and Quatify, our flagship
products, and was able to realize that rather
than just pricing to be the lowest
A view of a digital sketch bid, perhaps I could provide
(lower right) and the more value in being able to
actual project. visualize the scaffold and
share my vision with a
with utilizing technology. Others might still
use pencil and paper. However, regardless
of which side they land on, one thing
remains true about current users – once they
implement Avontus software or solutions,
they’re ready for more.
“Our customers are constantly pushing the
way that they use the software,” Smith says.
“This forces us to make the software faster,
make it more efficient.”
Avontus currently has four main digital

“B
efore I customer ahead of the solutions in its portfolio: Avontus Quantify,
joined project going forward.” Avontus Designer, Avontus Viewer and
Avontus, I Avontus Counter, each of which has numerous
was actually a customer of Sketches to VR features and varies drastically from
Avontus,” Andrew Smith As a software tech the other. (See box story.)
says with a laugh. company that helps Even with some of
Smith, who is now CEO scaffolding manufacturers and
scaffold software provider Avontus, has contractors improve productivity and
been with the company for nearly eight years, processes through digitalization, Smith
originally joining in 2014 as a sales director of knows the importance of keeping
the EMEA region before being appointed vice customers in mind. Some
president of operations in 2018. Just over two might be leap years ahead
and a half years later, he was named CEO.
Smith’s experience in the scaffold sector is Avontus Viewer –
deeply rooted. Prior to joining Avontus, he App used in conjunction
spent over a decade in the scaffold industry with Avontus Designer
working with both small and corporate that brings scaffold
scaffolding contractors. He has also been a designs to life in full 3-D,
longtime active member with the Scaffold virtual and augmented
& Access Industry Association, where he reality.

38 ACCESS INTERNATIONAL | APRIL-MAY 2022 www.accessinternational.media

 SCAFFOLDING

PROJECT OF THE YEAR

The Aluminium
TwixBeam
THE SMART BEAM IN SCAFFOLDING
2 The TwixBeam is the high-strength and multifunctional
The complex
aluminium beam for every requirement.
project underway.
2 Low weight, easy dismantling and high strength.
2 It fixes, stabilises, bridges and connects.
The completed pedestrian bridge.
2 The TwixBeam has surprising variability and flexibility.

Performance Contracting recently

played a pivotal role in the
renovation of T-Mobile’s Bellevue
headquarters in the US – and won
Learn more:
the coveted shoring award from http://yt-twixbeam-gb-en.layher.com
the Scaffold & Access Industry
Association (SAIA) for its work.
Lindsey Anderson reports.

T-Mobile was experiencing growing pains. In just five years, the mobile and telecom provider had doubled
its staff, bringing its Bellevue employee count to 6,200 – up from 5,500 just a year prior. The company’s
headquarters was, according to T-Mobile, “bursting at the seams.”
After extending its lease through 2030, T-Mobile knew the time had come for it to transform its campus, so
the company put down $160 million and renovation work soon began on its 1-million-square-foot campus.
The company’s main objective was to offer employees a modernised and flexible workspace.
Designed by architectural firm Gensler, the project’s contractor Andersen Construction approached
Performance Contracting Inc. (PCI) to design, provide, install and remove temporary shoring towers with
access scaffolding to support the construction of a new 84 tonne pedestrian bridge that would span 180ft
between two buildings on campus.
After being awarded the project, PCI worked with DH Charles to provide engineering for the shoring/
access scaffold. Andersen provided load information and sequencing for the design.
The bridge sections ranged between 14 and 30 tonnes. The bridge’s dimensions overall were 180ft long by
13ft, 6 inches wide. It sloped 2ft from end to end and ran at a 26-degree angle. The bridge spanned over an
existing garage entry road and pedestrian canopy more than 60ft below.
In addition to supporting the bridge as it was assembled, access scaffold was required at the bridge
bottom and sides. A trolley system was incorporated at the top of the access scaffold on each side of the
bridge to allow stocking and installation of full height windows.
“This was a challenging design as there is only existing structure at each end of the bridge to brace against
for stability,” PCI said. “Much of the system needed to free-stand yet still be capable of resisting significant
wind load while supporting partially constructed spans.”
This was solved by using wire ropes as full height “x” braces attached to the top of the shoring towers,
which were then tied to an existing concrete retaining wall. The bridge truss sections were assembled on the
ground then flown into place.

Avontus’ products having originally launched
15-plus years ago, the company never stops
meticulously updating and modernizing its
goods and services.
Take, for instance, Avontus Viewer.
Originally launched in 2015 as a mobile app
that worked in conjunction with Avontus
Designer, Viewer allowed users to put their
mobile device in a small cardboard “VR
viewer” and bring their 2-D plans “alive.” In
the years since, Viewer ditched the cardboard
and now relies solely on a small “AR target”
that can be placed on a real jobsite, which
users can activate with the Viewer app and
then “fly” through their scaffolding design.
Some might see this as more flair than
function, but Smith disagrees.
“The important part to note is that the
scaffold itself is actually designed in our
Designer software which is the core >

www.accessinternational.media APRIL-MAY 2022 | ACCESS INTERNATIONAL 39

 SCAFFOLDING
product,” he says. “Avontus Viewer is sort
of a bolt-on to Designer for all the current
users and any Designer user who wants to
share a model.”
So, what’s next?
Smith says the current focus for Avontus right
now is to make sure customers are getting the
most benefits out of the products as possible.
“We are working on new architecture that
will allow us to implement new features, new
types of scaffolding, etc.”
But wait – there’s more to come.
“It’s a bit of a secret but we’re preparing for a
major launch of a new product,” Smith teases.
“It’s going to be something that will change
and disrupt the communication of scaffold
requirements on a job site. It’s not from a
design perspective but I think it’s equally
important to the industry as Viewer was when
we brought it out.” AI
Challenges and solutions
Few sectors of the construction industry are as
challenging and complex as scaffolding, writes
hoist specialist Geda. Of course, they seem like
simple projects, but scaffolding requires a vast
amount of expertise and physical work.
SKILL SHORTAGE
One of the greatest challenges is the shortage
of skilled and unskilled workers. Many
companies, not only in the scaffolding sector,
are faced with this problem today. In view of
the booming construction industry, there is no
let-up in sight as wages have to be increased
to attract and retain employees.
HEALTH AND SAFETY
Industrial legislation is necessary and
important, but many regulations that support
employees come at the employer’s expense.
In light of such changes to industrial laws,
scaffolding companies have to budget for
additional costs for every existing job. The
safety standards that must be met, not just
at large construction sites and in industrial
settings, but also at smaller worksites, are
continuing to increase.
This generates costs and reduces the profit
margin. The costs for personal protective
equipment alone are much higher than a few
years ago, even when the inflation rate is taken
into account. Therefore, significantly higher
sums must be invested in employee safety to
protect the workforce and benefit from it in
the long term.
40 ACCESS INTERNATIONAL | APRIL-MAY 2022
PERSONNEL HEALTH
The topics of ergonomic building sites and the
health of employees are increasingly becoming
the focus of responsible companies in the
construction sector. Carrying heavy loads over
many years often has a negative impact on the
health of employees, resulting in absence from
work, in particular due to back pain.
Avontus’ priority is to ensure customers
get the most out of its products.
LOGISTICS &
TRANSPORT
Vertical transport at a construction site has
to be quick and easy - with this the economic
efficiencies increase. It is a very simple
formula, which is not always that simple in
practice as transporting scaffolding elements
can be time consuming and complex. Many
employees have to work together to transport
the elements up or down.
However, the right equipment can produce
enormous time savings here, fewer mistakes
are made and the transport processes become
safer.
A customer survey conducted by Geda
showed that these challenges occur
throughout the scaffolding industry. While
these vary from Germany and throughout the
Scandinavian Peninsula and the UK down to
the countries on the Iberian Peninsula, the
core issue remains the same.
The question is, how to tackle these
problems? We believe that the results of
the survey clearly indicate that the solution
can partially be found in the use of vertical
transport equipment. An experienced
scaffolding company with a number of wire
rope hoists and material hoists can stay ahead
of competitors who are equipped only with
human resources and maybe tools such as
manual winches.
Among many relevant products from
Geda, its Mini 60 S, part of the Mini/
Maxi series, offers fast assembly and
the option of quick location changes.
The maximum working height is
40m, and 76m with a winch placed at
a greater height.
www.accessinternational.media
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WWW.USBATTERY.COM

Electric vision
T
rojan Battery launched its first
lithium-ion product late last year and
has recently updated its lead acid line
that combined will cover the requirements of
today and tomorrow’s MEWP industry.
Known worldwide as a major supplier
of batteries for the access industry Trojan
Battery Company was acquired by C&D
Technologies in 2019 and has since then
combined its knowhow to create what it
considers to be products that meet the
requirements of the modern access sector.
The two brands now share a corporate
leadership team, which oversees both entities
across their operations, engineering, sales and
marketing. “Right now, we are one company
with two brands, Trojan and C&D,” Noble
Zhang, general manager, Asia Pacific
at C&D Trojan (Shanghai) Energy
Technologies Co.
The company has two manufacturing
plants and an R&D centre in China, with
two of those three being in Shanghai, while
the second manufacturing base is located in
Pizhou, Jiangsu province.
The R&D centre and Shanghai plant
supports both C&D and Trojan brands,
while the Jiangsu Plant manufactures
C&D products only. The company also has
manufacturing plants in the US and Mexico,
which together cover its major markets of
North America and APAC. However, the
sales organisation is global and also covers
Trojan AGM batteries used in aerial platforms.
www.accessinternational.media
MEWP ELECTRIFICATION
Noble Zhang, C&D Trojan’s general manager for Asia
Pacific shares his view of electrification and battery
technology in the access sector.
South America and the EMEA. Putting that into figures, three years ago
The product focus of the two brands is quite Trojan had 90% of the MEWP battery market
different, with C&D producing batteries for share in China - today that has reduced to
stationary items and Trojan providing batteries around 40%.
to mobile tems like aerial platforms, low speed “We have the plan to take that market share
golf carts and floor equipment. back,” adds Zhang.
In the US Trojan’s market for aerial To address the tariff situation and bring
platforms is smaller than its own sales for other production closer to its customers the company
electric vehicles (EV), particularly golf carts. began manufacturing the Trojan brand in
However, in China, AWPs are the company’s China in December last year. Previously, the
number one product. batteries were imported from the US.
The company already offers two product >
Branching out
Having established itself in North America, Noble Zhang,
Trojan’s major focus is now in Asia Pacific, and general
especially China. manager-
“Trojan at the moment is quite US-based Asia Pacific,
and most sales are in North America - China C&D Trojan
is another emerging market for our brand.” (Shanghai)
A twist in the tale is that Trojan used to Energy
have the largest market share of batteries for Technologies
aerial platforms in China. However, explains Co.
Zhang, “Due to tariffs, that market share
dropped. But we still see the market having
a very high growth rate of 30% year-on-year,
so that’s the most important market for us to
grow in for the future.”
APRIL-MAY 2022 | ACCESS INTERNATIONAL 43
 MEWP ELECTRIFICATION
DIFFERING LITHIUM
On the subject of Lithium, Trojan has seen
the sharp rise in interest in this product
type and at the end of 2021 launched its
first lithium-ion battery in the US at the
golf industry exhibition, the PGA Show.
While China is also a major market for lithium
products, the company’s product for this market is
still under development. As Zhang explains, unlike
the lead acid options it will be a very different
product. “We do not have a product right now and
this year we will make a plan to launch a lithium
battery for China and Asia Pacific.”
“The two markets are quite different and the
customer requirements are also quite different. We
can’t just use the current lithium-ion batteries in
China as we do in the US.
“The design and requirements, as well as the
cost requirements are different, so we will have a
different engineering solution.”
The reason for this, explains Zhang. “We see
that the China lithium battery industry has more
leading technology compared to the US side.”
This higher level of technology is found in many
of the battery components, such as the battery
management system (BMS). “China has more
understanding if this technology, and if we just
copy the US design in China, it will look like we are
going to an older generation of technology.”
types in China, the traditional flooded and
Trojan AGM lines.
Of those two lead acid products, the
new Trojan AGM has the most advanced
technologies, with longer life, better capacity
and are maintenance free. As such many
customers are now shifting to this option.
“We are not spending any more resources to
develop the flooded batteries, and we think in
the future the market will be for AGM and
lithium-ion.”
Energy insights
Both China and the US are driving towards
electrification, and this is a trend that will
accelerate over the next 20 to 30 years, Zhang
points out.
The need for greater energy density in
batteries means that lithium is set to be
popular for off high highway equipment. “So
far, the best solution is the lithium battery,
which compared to lead acid has a higher
energy density and has a longer cycle life,
which is positioning the lithium as a
very good opportunity to replace
some traditional lead acid battery
applications, as well as some current
[combustion] engine powered
equipment.”
If, as it seems, the advantages of
AGM will outweigh its older flooded
sibling, what is the future for AGM
versus the lithium option? “I would say
both technologies, AGM and lithium
will exist long-term.”
44 ACCESS INTERNATIONAL | APRIL-MAY 2022
Compared to lithium, AGM is safer and
more stable than lithium, as well as being less
expensive and more recyclable.
Zhang adds, “Lithium, of course, has its
own advantages with long cycle life but still
has its disadvantages; safety concerns, resource
viability and the recycling are still issues
waiting for us to solve.
“So, it depends on the future technology
to see whether lithium will replace lead acid
completely or not.”
Looking at those three disadvantages of
lithium individually, Zhang adds, “From the
technology side everything [in a lithium
battery] we can recycle. It’s not really about
recycling, it’s about making recycling safe and
how to make the battery safe. Right now we
are still learning how to contain the fire issue -
we still need to understand more.”
On the availability of lithium, Zhang
Trojan’s flooded
range.
explains, “I still think this is the
biggest constraint right now and for
their future, because if the demand
is for lithium to be used across the
automotive industry, it requires huge
resources, and based on current data
it’s really hard to make that industry
sustainable.”
Therefore, adds Zhang, something will
need to change to make lithium viable in the
very long-term. “Basically, in my opinion,
the lithium battery can currently be used as
a solution for electrification but in the future
we do require some new battery technology
to replace lithium.”
Hydrogen is an option that we often hear
about in the industry but will not be the
solution for the vast majority of electric
aerial platforms, says Zhang. “It’s a solution
that will be applied to the higher powered
equipment. If we need a higher-powered lift
then maybe we need a hydrogen fuel cell,
but for smaller powered access the lithium
battery still has a bigger opportunity in the
segment.”
Emission goals
Now that Trojan has stepped into the
competitive lithium market in North
America, what has been the market’s
reaction to its first product?
Zhang explains, “We have got good feedback
from the market and customers and it’s started
to do very well, and definitely will take market
share from our traditional flooded batteries.”
As Zhang repeats, lithium is on the increase
and so too is the AGM solution in North
America. “So, these two products are not
competing right now but in two or three years’
time, they may be.
“In China we are looking at the same
time frame, but because China right now is
changing quite fast, it may move faster to
achieve that.”
This growth will be underpinned by the
Chinese government’s 30/60 goal, under
which the country aims to achieve peak CO2
emissions by 2030 and hit carbon neutrality
by 2060.
Whatever batter solution the wider industry
comes up with next, Trojan has its future
mapped out with its current product range.
“We will focus on lead acid batteries and
li-ion,” confirms Zhang. AI
www.accessinternational.media
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 IPAF NEWS

Don’t Fall For It! safety

info@ipaf.org
campaign targets falls
+44 (0)15395 66700
www.ipaf.org/contact from the platform
A
campaign emphasising new Don’t Fall For It! safety Brian Parker, the machine type they are using
the importance of campaign will help to instil safe IPAF Head and familiarised on the specific
working safely to working practices and remind of Safety & model. Operators should assess
avoid falls from the platform operators and managers of basic Technical that the machine is suitable for
when using MEWPs to enable positive steps they can take to the task and conditions, and
temporary work at height has reduce the risk of such incidents adequate in terms of reach,
been launched by IPAF at its occurring.” articulation, and load-bearing
annual Summit in London, UK, Brian Parker, IPAF’s Head capacity. Machine knowledge
on 10 March 2022. The Don’t Fall of Safety & Technical, says: includes whether personal fall
For It! safety campaign outlines “Operators can help avoid this protection equipment (PFPE)
the possible underlying causes type of accident by focusing on should be used and, if so, what
of falls from the platform when the principles we’ve set out as type to use, and how to attach it.
using MEWPs, which almost part of this campaign. If they are CLIP ON
always lead to serious injury or properly trained and familiarised If personal PFPE is required,
death. It offers operators and on the MEWPs all occupants of the platform
managers key advice to mitigate being used, then must attach their lanyard to the
the most common risks and avoid hopefully none Don’t Fall for it correct anchor point. Ensure
accidents of this type, as identified of this guidance Campaign leaflet movement within the platform is
in IPAF’s ongoing incident should be new, possible while attached, and do
reporting and analysis via the but complacency KEY POINTS not move the machine or elevate
www.ipafaccidentreporting.org breeds contempt, Key points of the platform until and unless all
portal. and principles of guidance in the occupants are attached.
Peter Douglas, CEO of safe use are too IPAF Don’t Fall SET UP AND MANOEUVRE
IPAF, comments: “MEWPs often ignored. For It! global THE MACHINE/PLATFORM
are designed to safely conduct “With this safety safety campaign EFFECTIVELY
temporary work at height in just campaign, IPAF is include: Occupants should never need
about every environment, but saying that, if you PLAN to over-reach, unfasten PFPE,
every year the most common type find yourself tempted THOROUGHLY step or climb on guardrails or
of accident we see reported are to do something different to Conduct a proper MEWP site otherwise extend the safe working
falls from the platform, which as what you know is the right and survey/assessment, select the envelope of the platform. Ensure
you can imagine nearly always proper way to work, or if you are correct machine for the work vertical MEWPs are positioned
lead to serious injury or death if ever asked to do something that and use professionally trained and repositioned as necessary to
they occur while using machines you think just isn’t safe by a work operator(s) and supervisor(s). allow easy access to the area of
at height. colleague or supervisor, then ‘don’t KNOW YOUR MACHINE work to be undertaken; operators
“We are determined that our fall for it!’” Operators should be trained on should not overreach or stand on
guardrails to access a work area.
RIWAL BECOMES LATEST IPAF SUSTAINING MEMBER STAY INSIDE THE
PLATFORM/ATTACHED
Riwal has become the latest Sustaining Member of IPAF, making it the first rental and training company on a list that Platform guardrails form the
includes Alimak, AON, APEX and Haulotte. With headquarters in Dordrecht, Netherlands, Riwal was founded in 1968 and primary fall prevention and define
has grown into a major rental and training company specialising in working safely and efficiently at height in 16 territories, the operational envelope of the
including the Middle East and India. machine being used. Always stay
Romina Vanzi, IPAF’s Head of Regional Development, says: “Riwal has long been an active member of IPAF, with inside the platform. Where there
representation on various committees and councils, so to have them as a sustaining member is the perfect way of is a requirement for PFPE, you
consolidating our efforts to promote our shared goal of enhancing safety in powered access worldwide. It will be particularly must wear it. Do not exit the
beneficial for IPAF to have a member engaged in equipment rental and training in both established and emerging markets platform at height; unclip only
around the globe join the growing list of IPAF Sustaining Members.” on completion of work and safely
Sustaining Member is a category of IPAF membership designed to recognise and sustain IPAF’s strategic initiatives and lowered to the ground.
overall contribution to improving safety and productivity in powered access worldwide. ■ For more information on all
Peter Douglas, CEO of IPAF, says: “The past two years have demonstrated how important it is to work together for of IPAF’s safety campaigns visit
the collective benefit of safety in our industry, and we’ve worked especially hard to emphasise the value that IPAF offers www.ipaf.org/safe or see www.
members. IPAF can’t progress strategic objectives without our members, including improving global incident reporting ipaf.org/training and www.ipaf.
and developing our training programme and safety & technical guidance in response to what accident data is telling us. org/resources for the full range
We are delighted that Riwal has decided to join Haulotte, APEX, AON and Alimak in recognising this by committing to be a of IPAF training course and
Sustaining Member of IPAF.” the latest safety and technical
guidance materials from IPAF. AI

46 ACCESS INTERNATIONAL | APRIL-MAY 2022 www.accessinternational.media

 IPAF NEWS

IPAF DIARY IPAF Presidency team and board

IPAF will host or participate in
the following events. Full details changes confirmed by AGM
are at www.ipaf.org/events:
A new presidential team has
2022 been confirmed for IPAF, with
6-7 April 2022 Karin Nars of Dinolift officially
IPAF ElevAÇÃO 2022 invested as the federation’s first
São Paulo, Brazil woman President during its 2022
AGM, held for the first time in
three years as a physical meeting
26 April
following the restrictions of the
MATS CONFERENCE 2022
coronavirus pandemic.
Coventry Building Society Arena, In addition to Karin Nars being
Coventry, UK confirmed as successor to Norty
Turner of United Rentals, who
26 April 2022 steps down following his extended
Electex Cork term as President that began
Silver Springs, Cork, Ireland in October 2019, JLG’s Karel
Huijser is now IPAF Deputy
3-5 May President and Kai Schliephake of
UK CONSTRUCTION WEEK Partnerlift is Vice President.
Norty Turner takes over from
Excel London, UK
Nick Selley of AFI-Uplift in the
ex officio role of Immediate Past
16-19 May
President on the IPAF Board,
GLOBAL HSSE (OMAN) with Nick stepping down from
Oman Convention Centre the board. And Jacco de Kluijver
of Terex Aerial Work Platforms
26 May (Genie), seconded as an IPAF
IPAF ANCH’IO Board member at the end of 2021,
Savoia Hotel Regency, Bologna, is also officially confirmed in place
Italy by the 2022 AGM.
In his outgoing address, Norty
22-24 June
Turner said that in the early
months of his term in office,
JDL Expo 2022
“my main objective was to help
Beaune, France
the federation and support its
members to survive through the
22 June initial stages of the pandemic and
IPAF webinar: IPAF Global the worldwide lockdown”, adding
Safety Report that he had been impressed by
Online, Zoom how many of the key objectives
he set the federation had been
NEW MEMBERS
IPAF welcomes the following new members.
Full contact details are in the Membership Directory at www.ipaf.org
COMPANY ASSOCIATE Collé Rental & Sales, Vissenbjerb,
PwC Strategy, Düsseldorf, Germany Denmark
Equipos y Maquinaria Man Lift,
DEALER/DISTRIBUTOR Region Del Biobio, Chile
Plataformas Moyma, Torrejón de Quality Equipment Rental, Dubai,
Ardoz, Spain UAE
International Platforms, Newton Brasrental Locações De
Longville, UK Equipamentos Eireli, Parauapebas,
Pinnacle Platforms, Peterbrough, UK Brazil
Kenbri Fire Fighting, Numansdrop, Germans Homs Lloguer De
Netherlands Maquinaria 1852, Mataró, Spain
HIRER/RENTAL  INDEPENDENT INSTRUCTOR  Shorcontrol Safety, Nass, Ireland
Hendrikse Verhuur BV, Ede, Danil Tkachuk, Manchester, UK
Netherlands Thomas Solomon, Bromsgrove, UK
New IPAF President team; Karel Huijser; Peter Douglas, IPAF
CEO; Karin Nars; Kai Schliephake
achieved, including a new focus
on sustainability, embracing new
technology, adapting more IPAF
training into eLearning/VR
applications and delivering the
ePAL mobile app, and progressing
IPAF’s engineer/technician
roadmap and apprenticeships.
“In addition to all this and I
believe an IPAF first, we have
given back to our members. In
2021 a 25% discount was applied
to all members’ accounts on
renewal of their membership,
with training numbers surpassing
expectations towards the end
of 2021 all training centres
worldwide were given an
additional rebate per candidate
trained during the year,” he added.
“Finally, I’m delighted to
Ross McFarlane, Caldicot, UK
SAFETY PROFESSIONAL   beginning has been to make
Thomas Lyons, Charlton, USA
Kenneth Keberle, Tempe, USA
SERVICE/COMPONENT
SUPPLIER  encourages us to work together
Discover Battery, Richmond, UK
SMALL USER
Zheng Keng Engineering &
Construction, Singapore
TRAINING  ■ The Annual Report 2021 has
Dek Opleidingen, Goes, Ireland
announce that the excess surplus
created in 2021 will be used to
hold the training application price
for training centres for 2022. This
means with the operator safety
guide now included in the app,
the cost per candidate is reducing
– giving IPAF Training Centres a
£2.50 saving per delegate if they
go digital, meaning the cost of
training is effectively the lowest
that it has been for more than
seven years.”
New era
In her inaugural address as
IPAF President, Karin Nars
commented: “After a trying
two-year period, the world is
currently facing a new challenge
– the repercussions of which
no-one can predict. Therefore,
we should take pride in being a
global organisation committed to
promoting safety and cooperation.
“Our purpose from the very
sure that everyone who works
at height, at the end of each
working day, returns home safely
to their family. Our purpose also
and make a difference that goes
beyond our industry. IPAF will
continue to move towards greater
digitalisation – especially new
ways of sharing knowledge and
information.
been published to coincide with
the AGM and is available to read
now or as a digital download via
www.ipaf.org/annual-report AI

www.accessinternational.media APRIL-MAY 2022 | ACCESS INTERNATIONAL 47

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 REGION REPORT NORTH AMERICA

The North American access industry is on the brink

of substantial growth as rental companies and
access manufacturers ramp up to meet demand.
Lindsey Anderson takes an in-depth look.

In momentum
“R
ental will grow, and the big will
get bigger.”
The above, bold statement was
made on 9 March this year by Sunbelt Rentals’
CEO Brendan Horgan, who was discussing
favourable market conditions – even as the
industry works to stay abreast of numerous
challenges.
Speaking with investors that day, Horgan
said Sunbelt is “well-positioned to manage and
benefit from the unique market circumstances
we face, including supply chain constraints,
inflation and labour scarcity, which we believe
PHOTO: H&E

to be drivers of ongoing structural change.”

H&E equipment on delivery
Time to buy
When we take a historical look at the
equipment rental market in North America, it NationsRent for $1.1 billion in 2006; United show a thriving and thirsty market.
has long been characterised by evolution and gobbled up RSC for $4.2 billion in 2011 United Rentals reported a 24.7% increase
growth. Just a few decades ago, the sector was followed by BlueLine Rental in 2018 for $2.1 in revenues for the final quarter of 2021, up
fragmented, made up primarily of local and billion. The list goes on and on. to $2.3 billion, with net profits rising 62% to
independent equipment providers. But in the Yet despite years of consolidation from the $481 million. The company expects to spend
late ‘90s, the landscape started to shift – and biggest in the industry, today, United Rentals $3.1 billion on CapEx this year and bring in
the big started to get bigger. has a North American market share of roughly total revenues between $10.6 and $11 billion
In 1998, United Rentals, which had been 14%, with Sunbelt next in line at 11%. Taking for 2022.
aggressively acquiring smaller competitors, out the remaining top 100 players, an estimated Addressing United’s Results, CEO Matthew
secured its position as the largest equipment 45% of the market remains in the hands of Flannery said, “We’re very confident in our
rental provider when it acquired US Rentals for local and independent rental outfits. industry’s outlook for strong growth this year.
a reported $1.31 billion. The move saw United A number of key indicators have been moving
grow from 170 locations in 24 states to 296 Stellar results the needle higher for months, including the
stores across 33 states. Across the board, recent financial results from broad recovery in construction and industrial
And from that point on, consolidation Herc Equipment Rentals, H&E Equipment demand, the continued strength of the used
continued at a breakneck pace. Sunbelt bought Services, Sunbelt Rentals and United Rentals equipment market and an economy that’s
moving in the right direction despite some
FLEET GROWTH lingering challenges.
Flannery said there are many tailwinds
The latest updated quarterly American Rental Association (ARA) forecast adds paint to the picture: on United’s radar, but one of the biggest is
construction and industrial equipment rental revenue is expected to lead a US rental industry rebound to the infrastructure bill – which will add an
exceed pre-Covid levels this year, with a 12% increase in 2022 to $38.9 billion. additional $550 billion of funding for projects
The ARA said the expected increases in infrastructure spending is a key driver for the positive outlook, and that fall directly into United’s wheelhouse over
the impact of Covid-19 is set to unwind by year end. the next five years.
During that investors call on 9 March, Sunbelt announced its initial guidance for next fiscal year, which
increases the midpoint of the company’s current year US rental fleet CapEx by over 50% to a range of $2.4 to Continued consolidation
$2.6 billion. But Sunbelt and United aren’t the only ones
“This is a substantial increase to what will be a record level of CapEx in the current year,” Horgan noted. looking to capitalize off expansion.
“This investment will fuel our ambitious growth plans.” Herc Rentals made 12 acquisitions last year,
Horgan addressed the “incredibly tight” supply and demand issue, stating, it is “an ongoing dynamic that including seven alone in the final quarter of
has led to record levels of utilisation throughout the business.” the year. The company invested $477 million in
He added that the company expects supply constraints to remain for another four to six quarters – at a the acquisitions, adding 37 locations across 11
minimum. US states. This activity helped Herc post record
Further aiding to its forward momentum, Sunbelt tacked on 81 locations across North America. $578 million revenues in the final three months
of the year, with operating profits doubling to >

www.accessinternational.media APRIL-MAY 2022 | ACCESS INTERNATIONAL 49

 REGION REPORT NORTH AMERICA
A Genie
S-60 J
PHOTO: GENIE
$71.8 million.
Mark Iron, SVP and CFO of Herc, added,
“It’s a great environment for the rental industry
with strong demand for most of our end
markets and construction equipment hard
to come by as our manufacturers are dealing
with ongoing supply chain constraints. Our
fleet team has done a great job with getting
our orders in early so that our new fleet arrives
steadily throughout the year and likely ahead of
our smaller competitors.”
However, Herc isn’t immune to equipment
delays – the company admitted they are
experiencing hiccups with some deliveries but
have largely received fleet from initial orders.
“Our equipment cost increases were not
material in 2021. But as shortages, inflation and
labour costs impact the industry, we anticipate
that industry fleet costs will continue to rise in
2022 and 2023.”
Record CapEx
Speaking during an investors call on February
24, H&E Equipment Services’ CEO Brad
Barber said the company was able to grow its
fleet last year despite manufacturing challenges
driven by supply chain issues.
The company ended 2021 with
approximately $1.9 billion or 10% fleet larger
than 2020, with gross capital expenditures
totaling $436.8 million.
Barber noted, “Favourable industry
trends remain in place, providing abundant
opportunities for growth in 2022. Of note,
feedback from our customers suggests elevated
equipment rental demand is likely to persist
through 2022 with broadening activity in the
PHOTO: UNITED RENTALS
United Rentals provides
bridge building services.
50 ACCESS INTERNATIONAL | APRIL-MAY 2022
FROM THE OEMS
Even with manufacturers fighting to get product out of their doors, The Big Three – JLG, Genie and Skyjack –
reported substantial, strong quarterly results recently.
JLG saw equipment sales soar for the three months leading to 21 December 2021, reporting an increase of
48% year-over-year despite supply chain disruptions. Linamar Corp., parent company of Skyjack, released its
full year and Q4 2021 results ending 31 December, with Skyjack experiencing “exceptional growth over the
prior year” for both the fourth quarter and full year. And the access division of Terex, which consists of Genie
and Terex Utilities, saw Q4 results for the period ending 31 Dec, up nearly 30% to $534.4 million.
Despite demand for access equipment expected to remain strong for years to come, particularly in North
America, supply chain issues and increasing materials costs have brought challenges for the manufacturers of
access equipment. Of particular note, JLG’s backlog has hit record levels, with $3.6 million on the books.
JLG said that multi-billion-dollar-backlog price tag is mostly for orders to be delivered in 2022, and it
amounts to roughly 92% of JLG’s expected full-year sales.
Speaking during an investors call in January, Oshkosh executives discussed how supply chain and material
costs have impacted the company and industry as a whole.
“The industry has been through a shock in terms of the material cost escalation that we’ve seen and… the
supply chain disruption that we’ve seen,” said Oshkosh President and CEO John Pfiefer. “We’ve done a lot
of work in changing the way that we manage our supply chain. If you look at our supply chain today, we’ve
made a lot of improvements, both on working with our existing supply base to improve their capacity, but also
in qualifying a lot of new suppliers. We’ve qualified hundreds of new suppliers to give us better capacity to
serve our customers as we go forward.”
To try and curb supply chain hiccups, JLG announced it would begin producing booms, scissor lifts and
telehandlers from a new facility in Jefferson City, Tennessee. It also has increased manufacturing capacities
at its Bedford and McConnellsburg, Pennsylvania, and Leon, Mexico, plants through the addition of new lines.
Across the country to the West Coast, Genie’s end markets of construction, infrastructure and industrial
applications are driving demand and John Garrison, chairman and CEO Terex Corp. said, “We are at the
beginning of a new multiyear replacement cycle in North America and European rental markets.
Like most other industrial companies, though, Genie is facing shortages and cost pressures for materials,
logistics, freight and labour. “We are aggressively managing these challenges,” Garrison said. “The team
continues to mitigate cost pressures and minimise production disruption by staying close to our existing
suppliers and expanding our supply base.”
Terex is also expanding its manufacturing capacities, including those at its Changzhou, China facility. It also
recently started producing telehandlers from a new plant in Mexico.
“If you look at the rental companies, they’re growing. They need their fleets to grow. Their fleets are aging.
Rental rates are doing great. Used equipment values are doing great. And so, we believe that we’re in the
beginning of that replacement cycle.”
non-residential construction and industrial end see double-digit sales this year.
markets. Linamar CEO Linda Hasenfratz said access
markets continue to show signs of recovery,
Northern neighbours with North America’s access market up 65% for
For Skyjack, its growth was enhanced by the year compared to last year. Linamar expects
market share gains across its boom, scissor lift 2022 to be another double-digit growth year
and telehandler lines, Linamar said, and paired for access, forecasting North American growth
with a robust backlog seven times greater than of 27%.
the previous year’s, Linamar expects Skyjack to Supply chain disruptions including shipping
container shortages and higher commodity
prices continued to negatively impact
production, shipments and costs in 2021,
Linamar reported, and the labour shortage is
also impacting operations.
Linamar also announced new manufacturing
plans which will see Skyjack expand into
China and its facilities in North America. (See
the Interview with Skyjack president Ken
McDougall.)
Moving forward
With construction starts back to pre-Covid-19
levels, the market forecast shows further growth
all the way through 2026, sources say. With
rental’s seven- to eight-year replacement cycle
just beginning, economics point to an industry
that’s not only poised for a period of strength,
but a strong forward march toward growth. AI
www.accessinternational.media
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