14% fleet replenishment at Nationwide Platforms

UK access rental giant Nationwide Platforms - part of the Lavendon Group - will be adding nearly 1700 new machines to its fleet by September. The cost of the investment is £23 million (€28.4 million) and a substantial proportion of this investment will go towards replacing 14% of Nationwide Platforms entire fleet by the close of the year.

There are also some new machines entering the fleet for the first time such as 25 HAB scissor lifts, these were selected by Nationwide's New Product Committee which was launched in the second half of 2011.

The committee based its recommendations for purchasing new equipment on broad criteria which judged both technical and financial factors, as well as their ability to contribute towards growing the customer base.

The complete range of new HAB machines, which comprises four models, will be available to customers by the end of July, with the first, the S152-12 already available for hire from Nationwide Platforms' Luton depot. These indoor use scissor lifts provide access to a working height of 15.2m m from a narrow base, making them suitable for accessing areas through doorways and lift shafts. The platform also has a cantilever deck for outreach over obstacles - said to be a key requirement when working at height in retail settings.

Other HAB models set to enter the fleet include 22.5m and 28mdiesel scissors lifts designed to overcome the uneven terrain and a 17.5m indoor model.

Nationwide Platforms' executive director for sales and marketing - Richard Miller - said, "Through the rest of this year and beyond our clients will continue to benefit from the diversity, quantity and quality of equipment in our market leading fleet. Our business has always taken pride in striving to go beyond the expectations of our customers and our equipment forms the backbone of our ability to make that happen."

Other equipment set to enter Nationwide Platforms' fleet includes low level units, booms, scissors and vehicle mounted access platforms.