UK’s largest access rental specialist Nationwide Platforms has taken delivery of five ‘award-winning’ Palfinger 480 Jumbo NX (next generation) truck mounted platforms, which have proved an ideal solution for the management of vegetation both above and below ground level.
Setting new standards in height, reach and manoeuvrability, the P480s offer a working height up to 48 metres, up to 31.5 metres of outreach and a maximum 600kg platform capacity. Mounted on an 18 tonne two-axle MAN chassis and measuring just 9.9 metres in length, the new truck mounts are also well suited to operating in both rural and urban environments, providing additional payload for carrying materials and tools.
A defining feature of the P480 is its versatile X-jib. Offering up to 240 degrees of articulation, it is able to deliver excellent up and over reach, as well as negative capabilities, especially when combined with its 2×200 degrees of platform rotation. This allows for the platform to be perfectly positioned alongside a wide range of structures, including on dock quays and bridges, as well as improving access to hard-to-reach areas whilst significantly reducing the need for repositioning.
Upon taking delivery, one of the new P480s was sent straight out on hire to clear vegetation from a retaining wall on the River Avon in Bristol. Set up on a site 10 metres above the river, the P480’s capabilities proved ideal for the job, which required up to eight metres negative reach and for the platform basket to be rotated 180 degrees in order to provide the tree surgeon unrestricted access to the wall. The P480s extended platform basket also provided a greater work area, limiting the amount of times the platform needed to be repositioned.
John Weights, Nationwide Platforms SV Operations Director, said: “Traditional methods of removing the vegetation might have included working from a barge or employing a team of tree surgeons to abseil down the wall. These methods would have proved less productive – and more importantly – less safe. The ability to work on structures without constantly repositioning is also highly valued by customers, especially when limited time is given to complete work. We are always looking to push the boundaries of what is possible and the introduction of our Palfinger P480s maintains our drive on innovation, as well as giving us access to the ‘next generation’ of truck mounts which set the benchmark in capability in this class.”
All five P480s have been fitted with Chalwyn valves to comply with refinery and petro-chemical sites, and feature chassis-to-earth bonding kits for working around power lines. Additional features include Palfinger’s Power-Lift material handling system, which allows operators to securely store and carry materials up to 600kg, and an LED lighting system under the chassis for carrying out night work.
