Stertil Koni, the UK’s foremost name in heavy duty vehicle lifting equipment, has recently supplied a set of wireless mobile column lifts to the Worksop branch of Keltruck Limited.

Established in 1983, Keltruck Limited is the largest independent Scania dealer in Europe serving the Midlands and South Wales from its UK network of 20 operating locations including 18 dealer sites. Keltruck has grown steadily during its 35 year history and now employs approximately 450 people with an annual turnover in excess of £150m. At the Worksop dealership, a decision was made to specify the Stertil Koni mobile column lifts to boost workshop throughput whilst providing flexibility and maximising the use of available space.

The set of ebright wireless lifts, type ST1075FWA-4, supplied by Stertil Koni comprises four mobile columns each providing a lifting capacity of 7.5 tonnes. When used as a set of four, the combined capacity is an impressive 30 tonnes. Also, each column incorporates Stertil Koni’s revolutionary ebright Smart Control System which enables workshop staff to operate the columns individually, in pairs or in any other configuration from any column in the set.

Incorporating wireless mesh network connectivity and full-colour touch screen consoles, the ebright Smart Control System has been designed and developed to simplify operation by providing maximum visual information about every lifting operation – all at the fingertips of the workshop engineers. For added safety and performance, the ebright Smart Control System also shows how many columns in the set are being used plus the battery status of each column.

Long-life deep cycle batteries power the lifts for at least a week on average before recharging is necessary and the batteries can then be charged overnight via a 230v single phase supply. With no cables on the workshop floor, the risk of tripping is removed, providing valuable health and safety benefits and, with no wired power supply, the system can be used safely inside or outdoors. The absence of power and communication cables also means that set-up time is drastically reduced thereby making the system fully operational much more quickly.

At Worksop, engineers rely on the Stertil Koni wireless mobile column lifts to simplify the safe handling of a wide range of vehicles from small vans to tri-axle double deck trailers. One regular specialist task involves the use of the lifts as a set of four, together with Stertil Koni trailer beams, to undertake repairs to trailers’ running gear.

In a typical week, the Stertil Koni column lifts are used to support workshop activities on a combination of up to 100 vehicles and trailers. Since the workshop features two pits, space is extremely limited and the Keltruck engineers greatly appreciate the flexibility and inherent mobility of the ebright wireless lifts which enables their use in various locations on site.

“When investigating the suitability of using vehicle lifts to support our workshop activities, we received excellent feedback from other Keltruck branches using Stertil Koni equipment,” says Duncan Edwards, Depot Manager at Worksop. “Keltruck celebrates its 35th anniversary this year and I’m confident that the Stertil Koni wireless mobile lifts will play their part in our continuing success.”