Thornton Brothers Invests in Stertil Koni Mobile Column Lifts

The North East’s foremost vehicle repair and refurbishment specialist has purchased two sets of wireless mobile column lifts from Stertil Koni following a successful demonstration at the Coach and Bus Show in 2013.

Based in Northumberland, Thornton Brothers was established by George and Keith Thornton in 1979 and, following steady growth, is now the leading accident repair and refinishing centre in the area, as well as the only manufacturer of recovery vehicles. The company exhibited at last year’s Coach and Bus show and, having recently clinched a major refurbishment contract, was keen to extend its range of vehicle lifting equipment. Following detailed evaluation and demonstrations of many types of lifts by other exhibitors at the show, Thornton Brothers opted to purchase two sets of Stertil Koni’s 7.5 tonne wireless mobile column lifts, type ST1075FWF.

Offering smooth, accurate and controlled lifting, Stertil Koni’s ST1075FWF wireless mobile column lifts are specially designed to lift commercial vehicles such as buses and heavy trucks. Also, each column is fitted with an intelligent control box which enables Thornton Brothers’ workshop staff to operate the columns individually, in pairs or as a set of four to provide a combined lifting capacity of 30 tonnes.

Long-life deep cycle batteries will power the lifts for at least a week on average before recharging is necessary. The batteries can then be charged overnight via a 230v single phase supply. As one of the fastest vehicle lifts available, the ST1075FWF provides lifting heights up to 1.85 metres which is achieved in just 70 seconds. Significantly, the lift’s unique synchronisation system ensures a smooth lifting and lowering cycle, even in the event of extremely uneven load distribution of vehicles to be lifted.

Positioning of the wireless columns is flexible: they can be used in any configuration around a vehicle. With no cables on the workshop floor, the risk of tripping is removed, providing valuable health and safety benefits and, with no power supply necessary, the system can be used inside or outdoors. Also, the absence of power and communication cables means that set-up time is drastically reduced thereby making the system fully operational much more quickly.

"I’m really pleased we had the opportunity to visit the Stertil Koni stand at the Coach and Bus show,” Says George Thornton, managing director of Thornton Brothers. “This confirmed what we’d heard about the build quality and reliability of their products. These wireless mobile column lifts have proved to be a valuable addition to our workshop and will help us to continue the expansion of our operation for many years to come.”