Mini crane, glass lifting and powered access specialists Hird will be promoting the benefits of using specialist lifting machines to reduce health and safety risks caused by manual handling at the Executive Hire Show next month.
The company is convincing a growing number of clients of the financial and operational productivity benefits of using lifting equipment such as glazing robots, pick and carry mini cranes and spider cranes.
It is now taking its case to the Executive Hire Show at the Ricoh Arena in Coventry on Wednesday 11 and Thursday 12 February, where the Hird team and equipment displays can be found on Stand B20.
Hird Managing Director Phil Hird said: “Improving productivity and reducing manual handling health and safety risks are powerful arguments hire companies can use to market our equipment.
“We have already had significant success in supplying equipment to the plant hire sectors. Its customers are increasingly looking for lifting solutions that reduce their business risks.”
Hird will have two key lifting machines on display – the Valla 25EL pick and carry mini crane, and the Winlet 575 glazing robot.
The Valla 25EL is a compact, electric-powered mini crane – it is just 950mm wide – with a maximum safe working load of 2.25 tonnes. It is ideal for a range of lifting tasks, including machinery moving and installation.
The Winlet 575 is one of a number of glazing robots in the innovative Winlet range. It has a lifting capacity of 575 kg and can lift, carry and place glass sheets with absolute precision.
Hird Director John Wilding, who manages the Southern Depot, said there are still businesses, for instance in the construction industry, which open themselves to manual handling risks, especially where they perceive the load weight to be relatively small.
He said: “For heavier loads, most companies realise they need the right equipment to carry out a lift. However, for loads, say, up to 500 kg, many still believe they can get away with using ad hoc lifting procedures.
“This may mean using the wrong kind of equipment, such as a telehandler instead of a mini crane, combined with a team of people to manually handle the load at some point during the lift.
“Our argument is that, if these people think they are saving time and money, they are very wrong indeed.
“For example, with glass installation, the Winlet glazing robot has been proved to increase glass installation productivity by up to 50 per cent, by reducing the number of people needed in the installation team, and speeding up the glazing process.”
Winlet 575 – Excellent stability, backed by a robust load monitoring system, maintains safe glass handling at all times
Hird Mini Crane Sales and After Sales Manager Carl Cooper said: “In terms of mini cranes, the experience of one recent client is a cautionary tale. They decided to do without one of our mini cranes which they had on favourable long-term rates to try to save money.
“Some months later, they had to pay out £90,000 in compensation because of a claim by an employee who injured themselves carrying out a manual lift. They now want to hire another mini crane from us. They realised not using a mini crane was not a saving at all, but a significant cost.”
It is a good example of why mini crane hire and glazing robot hire are becoming increasingly popular options, making Hird’s industry-leading products attractive to plant hire companies.
Hird is the authorised UK and Ireland distributor for both Valla mini cranes and Winlet glazing robots. It can also supply plant hire companies with a range of other lifting attachments and accessories, including vacuum glass lifters, vacuum lifting cups, glass trolleys and lifting straps and slings.
Phil Hird added: “We are also a leading provider of mini crane operator training and glazing robot operator training, which can be carried out at the client’s premises or worksite or at our own training centres.
“We would welcome representatives from plant hire companies to come and visit us at the Executive Hire Show. Their clients are increasingly concerned to maximise productivity and safety when lifting and we have the products that achieve that.”
For more information, contact Hird on 01482 227333. Email: info@hird.co.uk
