New Stertil lifts revolutionise vehicle maintenance

The Myers Group, the Huddersfield-based building material supply group, has recently installed two new vehicle lifts from Stertil Koni. The 28-tonne capacity in-ground lifts have been fitted as part of a major workshop refurbishment.

The Myers Group owns and maintains its own fleet of plant and machinery, including 80 specialist LGVs to support various trading activities. These include delivering ready mixed concrete as Readymix Huddersfield, operating a builders' merchants under the Naylor Myers banner, a sawn stone masonry business in the name of Johnsons Wellfield Quarries, skip hire and supplying mobile concrete pumping equipment. The diverse nature of these activities involves the use of a wide range of vehicles which, in turn, adds to the complexity of fleet maintenance.

The Group's decision to undertake a major revamp of its workshop was not only to accommodate the increasing fleet, but also to raise the profile of fleet maintenance within the business. Installing the lifts has moved the operation into the 21st Century as they simplify repairs and maintenance being carried out to the increasingly stringent standards demanded by VOSA, and make a major contribution to the work being carried out in a safe and efficient manner.

Stertil Koni produces a range of multiple-ram lifting systems for commercial and industrial vehicles and an increasing number of garages are recognising the advantages of multiple-ram lifting units over the traditional working pit. They are perfect for narrow bays and allow unrestricted access beneath raised vehicles. Importantly, they also leave a clean, unobstructed workshop floor area.

John Turner, fleet engineer at the Myers Group, confirms: "We've experienced great improvements in the workshop environment since having the Stertil lifts fitted. The lifts have improved tasks such as routine inspections, changing clutches and relining brakes or undertaking any work where the height of the vehicle is important. They minimise back strain and eliminate much of the difficult manual handling traditionally encountered within the industry. Many of our vehicle technicians are young and are particularly receptive to modern methods. They continue to develop new techniques which would not have been possible without the lifts. The Stertil lifts have already proved their worth."

The low ground clearance of some modern-day vehicles leaves no real option than to raise them for maintenance and servicing operations. Stertil's two-ram lifts are capable of supporting most vehicles: each ram has its own drive unit so that they can be operated individually or together. The synchronisation of the rams is unaffected by varying load distribution and exchangeable sliding supports make it possible to lift a wide variety of vehicles, with up to three rear axles.

By having the front ram in a fixed position and the rear ram adjustable, a wide range of wheelbases can also be accommodated. The Myers Group chose the programmable system for the adjustable rear ram, which means that the ram can automatically be positioned to the wheelbase of specific vehicles. Significantly, lifts can be retrofitted into existing pits using a sealed cassette system.