Gerken's new 102.5 m Wumag takes on first job

Palfinger Platforms officially handed over a WT 1000, 102.5 m working height Wumag truck mount, to the Gerken Access Platform Rental Company at Bauma in Munich. The huge, new all-terrain access platform, known at Gerken as GL 103, is one of the tallest access platforms in the world and will be used whenever tough terrain proves too much for Gerken's two other 100 m platforms.

A week before Bauma the WT 1000 carried out some maintenance work on a wind turbine near Eschweiler, Germany. Following heavy rainfalls, the path leading to the wind park had become soggy and impassable for normal truck-mounted access platforms. Christian Gerken, president and owner of the Gerken Access Platform Rental Company said, "Normally, we wouldn't have been able to carry out the job. It would've taken a few days before we could've reached the turbine with heavy machinery. Luckily our employees had basically already finished getting the GL 103 ready for the trade show, and so we were able to put the new unit to work at the spur of the moment."

Mounted on an all-terrain chassis by Tadano Faun, the WT 1000 met the challenge. The combination of four driven axles, an 8-wheel drive, and 530 Hp made fast and safe headway on the slippery ground in spite of a total weight of 60 t.

The working height of 102.5 m and outreach of 36 m meant that nearly all parts of the gigantic wind turbine could be reached without moving the vehicle. In addition, the WT 1000 has an integrated Triax cable and a maximum workman basket load of 530 kg, enabling TV coverage at a height of 102.5 m. With a lowered chassis the WT 1000 can pass through overhead clearance of 3.92 m and slopes up to 7° can be negotiated because of the elevated cab unit.

With the new WT 1000, Gerken now has three truck-mounted platforms in the 100 m class. Mr Gerken said "Our customers are definitely going to take advantage of the new unit's potential and especially its all-terrain capabilities."