Product of The Month Roundup 2017

Our first Product of the Month of 2017 was a diesel boom that’s setting new standards in productivity. The Genie Z80/60 has industry-leading features that make it faster, easier and safer to use. Key to this achievement is the boom platform’s FastMast system. The system increases operator productivity by allowing the basket to be lowered to the ground, or another surface, without having to articulate the secondary boom. It can also provide 8.83m of up-and-over reach it delivers with zero front arm swing.

Read our full Genie Z80/60 diesel boom report here

The Valla 35 has a maximum lifting capacity of 3.5 tonnes, but a gross weight of just 3,000kg. It gives the pick and carry crane impressive lifting capability, with a truly compact crane design. On top of that there are a number of formats and power options to choose from in our mini crane hire fleet. Including diesel and electric power, plus wheeled and tracked versions. The Valla 35 has the latest COBO 3B6 digital performance control and safety load monitoring systems, to help ensure the lift will be carried out safely and efficiently.

Read our full Manitex Valla 35 pick and carry crane report here

We billed it as the lifting company’s best mate. The GML 800+ counterbalance floor crane has become a big hit with Hird lifting hire customers during 2017 because it’s dependable, always gets the job done, and is effective in a tight spot. Here at Hird we could see there was demand for an easy-to-use counterbalance floor crane that could lift heavy loads to greater-than-ever heights. We took our idea to Wienold, in Germany, and the GML 800+, which can lift 800kg to 7.9m, was born.

Read our full GML 800+ counterbalance floor crane report here.

The Maeda MC285 spider crane has fast become one of the most popular mini cranes in our hire fleet. And why not? It’s a lifting mini marvel. We told how, when stowed, it is just 750mm across. That’s the same as just 57.6 iPhone 6s. That means it can be guided through a standard doorway. The mini crane also has industry-leading negative lift duty. With a lifting capacity of 2.82 tonnes, a maximum tip height of 8.7 metres, and a maximum working radius of 8.205m, it’s the spider crane that’s packed with superlatives.

Read our full Maeda MC285 spider crane report here

Now, this was a bit left field. With all that clever lifting technology write about, here we are making A frame glass trolleys a PoTM? Well, we had to give credit where it is due. You can have all the fancy lifting kit you like, but you still need A frame glass trolleys to run a glass installation operation. Hird has an excellent range of A frame trolleys, and we just wanted to shout about them, including heavy duty glass trolleys, high-sided A frame buggy trolleys, and single-handed slab buggies. Fill your glass lifting boots.

Read our full A frame glass trolley report here

By June we were back at booms, and Genie ones at that. The Genie Z-34/22IC diesel boom to be precise. As we said, it is the last letter in the alphabet, but often the first option when our customers want a cherry picker that does the business. Key to its design is its offer of zero tail swing and zero front arm swing. Also, the dual parallelogram lift design keeps the boom in the same vertical plan as it is extended or lowered. Clever stuff. It reduces the risk of structure strikes, that are both hazardous and costly. Smart design for smart aerial boom hire.

Read our full Genie Z-34/22IC diesel boom report here

Mid-summer and we were now back with Maeda spider cranes, and quoting Shakespeare. It must have been the heat. To be a mini crane or not to be a mini crane? That is the question. It does not get much weirder than that. The Maeda MC815 is the largest mini crane ever built by Maeda. We got so carried away that we tried to create a new class of spider crane – the midi crane. It has not caught on. At just 5900mm long, it is just 2.95 times the length of our smallest Maeda spider crane, the MC174 mini crane. Yet it can lift 8 tonnes, which is 4.65 as much.

Read our full Maeda MC815 spider crane report here

By this time, the heat really was getting to us. Because we left the bard behind and compared Brazilian football wizard Neymar to a Winlet 1000 glazing robot. Something about the glazing robot being so much more useful because Neymar cannot lift a 1 tonne sheet of glass. Our glass lifting hire clients say the Winlet glazing robot is a game changer, which is so much better than a football game winner. We gave you 10 reasons the Winlet 1000 is a world beater. They included excellent safety, versality, mobility, and a precision side shift (not a Neymar side step).

Read our full Winlet 1000 glazing robot report here

Continuing the trend of challenging convention, we chose machinery moving as a PoTM. It’s not even a single product. What on earth were we thinking of? However, machinery moving is a process, and it creates a thing – machinery in a different location. So, it is a product. We can talk about it. Hird has all the right kit, and the right expertise to complete any machinery moving task you care to mention. Machinery Moving is about precision, attention to detail, and care. We aim to complete the task to the client’s deadline, with no incident. It is what our machinery moving team does time and time again.

Read our full Machinery Moving report here

Normal service was resumed with the next choice of PoTM, the Valla 25EL mini crane. Now the pick and carry crane can be hired (or bought) from Hird fitted with a secondary front wheel braking system. It is a feature that makes the mini crane even more attractive to our clients in the construction industry, in particular. Curtain wall and glass installers wanted was the additional assurance that a front wheel braking system would give them. Now they have it with a secondary braking system developed by Hird. It gives operators three-wheel braking on the Valla 25EL for the first time.

Read our full Valla 25EL report here

The Woods Powr-Grip P11104 vacuum lift is a mainstay of our vacuum lifter hire range. We wanted to make the point that we have the latest model that delivers cutting edge vacuum lifting performance. Just like a top-of-the-range Ford can have as many bells and whistles as a luxury bling mobile, the P11104 is an impressive performer. Just 34kg in weight, but with a lifting capacity of 320kg. The glass vacuum lifter has a dual circuit vacuum system for safe and powerful lifting, and can hold a range of non-porous materials, including glass, plastic, metal and stone.

Read our full Woods Powr-Grip P11104 report here

For our last PoTM we got creative again, making up the 3Ts of working at height – Tough, Tight, and Tricky. No, this isn’t the slogan for a male escort agency in Kazakhstan. This describes the kind of challenges our lithium battery powered Hinowa 26.14 Performance IIIS tracked boom can overcome with ease. That is: tough terrain, tight working areas, and tricky work sites, where the spider crane’s excellent up and over capability comes to the fore.

Read our full Hinowa 26.14 Performance IIIS tracked boom report here