Merlo's MPR boom set for June production

Merlo is to start production of its MPR ‘rapid access' platform in June this year and the machine will get its UK launch first at the Royal Highland Show in Edinburgh on 21-24 June and then at Vertikal Days on 27 - 28 June.

The MPR, seen as a prototype at the 2010 Bauma exhibition, is designed to offer the benefits of a conventional self-propelled work platform with the off-road mobility of a telehandler and roadability of a truck-mounted platform.

Maximum working height is 15.7 m and top travel speed is 40 km/hr. The 2 m by 4 m cage can be set to a maximum capacity of 1000 kg/6 persons or 500 kg/3 persons, and it can be driven from the cab or the cage (at low speeds), with boom lowered or up.

A spokesman for Merlo said there had not been many technical changes to the machine since its showing at Bauma, and that the new launch date had been chosen because market conditions has improved since early 2010.

The carrier is specially designed for the MPR, with hydropneumatic suspension and automatic frame levelling. The engine is a 74.9 kW Deutz Tier 3, 4-cylinder turbo diesel engine.

The boom design is developed from the well-tried Roto telehandler range. Driven from the platform, maximum speed is 6 kph with the boom stowed, and 1.5 kph with the boom raised to the full working height. When the boom is lowered, full driving speed up to 40 kph is available from within the all-weather cab.

An earlier version of the MPR, using a carrier more related to a Roto chassis and with a larger articulated boom, was developed before the current version but never put into production.