From spiders to peaches – Skyjack’s Rachel Doornekamp sat in her living room proud and confident of the direction Skyjack is heading in. Its diverse range of Elevated Work Platform (EWP) equipment can do it all, even when it comes to the quirkiest of jobs.
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“I would have never thought someone will be using a Skyjack machine to make the world’s largest peach cobbler,” says Skyjack Public Relations Manager, Rachel Doornekamp.
In mid-July, during the Parker County Peach Festival, in Weatherford, Texas, the world’s largest peach cobbler – essentially a humongous peach pie – was baked. And the SJ519 TH supported the festival’s efforts.
“I like it when people use the machines in different ways that you haven’t thought of,” says Rachel.
Rachel squashed the general view that cranes and more specifically EWPs, are just used for buildings and infrastructure.
“The cobbler structure weighed almost 2,722kg, producing a peach cobbler 3.5m by 1.5m and 29cm deep. It was made from an extraordinary 41kg of butter, 68kg of sugar, 68kg of flour and 121 litres of milk. And of course, 367 litres of peaches courtesy of Lane Packing Company. The proceeds from the cobbler went to local charities,” said Rachel.
“They had a custom-made outdoor oven and they used a Skyjack machine to lift this giant pan holding the peach cobbler into the oven, and using same machine to lift this peach cobbler out of the oven, when it was baked” she said.
It’s not just peaches that the impressive Skyjack has the dexterity to access.
Recently in Guelph, 60 minutes outside of Toronto, where Skyjack has its manufacturing facilities, a Skyjack EWP recently assisted a university spider study.
“The university students used the EWP to access the canopies of trees. They were bravely poking their heads around the top of these trees, inspecting spider activity and noting the spider populations and different types of spiders,” Rachel said.
Skyjack is also setting the standard with its impressive technology called Elevate Live, a QR code featuring on Skyjack machines that users can employ to provide fast and accurate information regarding their EWP, including maintenance information, operator instructions and battery data. Elevate also provides users with an insight into the overall health of the machine, further informing operators about how to manage potential issues and when to seek maintenance services.
“With the newer machines, Elevate Live will provide detail on the battery electric technology This helps the operator ‘trouble shoot’ on the machine in an effort to prevent larger mechanical issues and help the operator get the machine back and working. Elevate Live provides all this vital information, including operating manuals,” said Rachel.
The new QR feature is also user friendly, as it caters for all learning styles, she says.
“With Elevate Live, operators can watch short instructional videos, tutorials and access the user manual to see how the machine operates. We are confident this will help minimise unnecessary wear and tear and help prevent accidents,” Rachel added.
A brand-new range of the Skyjack electric boom, or “E-Boom”, EWPs is about to hit Australia. Rachel is excited by the limited impact the E-Boom EWPs have on the environment.
“Our brand-new electric boom lift is available Australia, and a big focus with this are the environmental benefits the range offers. Skyjack is designing and manufacturing machines that make sense for the environment, and contributing
to the reduction of emissions and carbon footprints across all industries,” said Rachel.
The E-Boom range has half as many hydraulic connections than its diesel counterpart, which means it can cost slightly less. Elements of the EWP require zero maintenance, and the use of bio-degradable hydraulic oil is available as an option.
“With our primary customer for this range being rental and hire companies, we are focused on lowering the cost of ownership and cost of maintenance for users. The E-Boom has a 42 per cent operational carbon saving, compared to previous models, there are zero emissions with this machine and it is 90 per cent recyclable by weight,” said Rachel.
Skyjack President Charlie Patterson says there are plenty of benefits when choosing the E-Boom.
“Our new electric boom range was developed to provide a clean, quiet, sustainable rental solution with no emissions, lower operating costs and increased utilisation. The new range remains simple and reliable, while providing an environmentally friendly and sustainable choice for rental,” said Charlie.
“All Skyjack booms are designed with ease of maintenance and service in mind to maximise uptime and minimise costs. As always, the key components are easily accessible and all wiring is colour coded and numbered for ease of use,” said Mark Trowman, Product Development and Project Manager EAME, Skyjack Europe.
“With efficient, maintenance free batteries and no engine maintenance requirements, our new electric booms further promote low cost of ownership and operation.”
Image: Skyjack
Image: Skyjack
The ease with which Skyjack EWPs typically travel and operate are big drawcards too, Rachel said.
“The quiet operation of the Skyjack range noise is a big selling feature too. Our products are quiet enough to allow operations to start early or finish late because there is no disturbance or noise pollution to the outside world,” Rachel added.
Skyjack products are also extensively tested, with machines put through a gamut of checks and balances before making it out to market.
Skyjack products are designed initially in Guelph but then fully manufactured in Oros, Hungary, with Skyjack’s new SJ45 AJE + and SJ60 AJE + models set to be available by late 2024.Skyjack will also develop the Canadian plants as an innovation hub that will see an increased advanced engineering structure and the co-ordination of design and development activities across the company’s regional structure, now consisting of three regional business units: Americas, Europe, and Asia Pacific.
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