STEVENSVILLE, Md. — As pressure mounts on fleet maintenance and service shops throughout North America to address new and more stringent environmental requirements, 2014 is shaping up to be the year of the green lift, according to heavy-duty lift leader, Stertil-Koni.
Driving this trend are multiple factors that indicate a transformational period in terms of fleet maintenance and servicing. Noted Stertil-Koni President, Dr. Jean Dellamore, “As municipalities, trucking companies and bus lines strive to contain costs, enhance efficiency and address environmental mandates, an increasing number are going green—an approach that can benefit both the environment and the bottom line. What’s more, the opportunity to go green and reduce costs extends beyond the realm of vehicles driven and structures to house them all the way to the equipment used to service them.”
Stertil-Koni’s market analysis shows that customers of all types and sizes will increasingly require eco-friendly vehicle lifts in 2014. Further, the demand for green lifts will encompass a broad array of lifting systems. For example, noted Dr. DellAmore, “our research shows that many North American shops are increasingly burdened by an aging fleet of in-ground piston lifts that simply have exhausted their usable life.”
In response, Stertil-Koni recently introduced DIAMOND LIFT, engineered to capture the best of an old-world lifting approach and then integrate modern materials and the latest engineering approach for optimal performance, flexibility and safety. The new lift piston rods are hard-chrome plated for maximum protection against corrosion and wear and DIAMOND LIFT, which has a total lifting capacity of up to 96,000 lbs., uses biodegradable oil.
Further, the upper portion of the steel containment is hot galvanized, which provides corrosion resistance at floor level and ensures proper interlock with the foundation. In addition, the containments are coated internally and externally with DiamondGuard, safeguarding against corrosion and electrolysis while simultaneously prohibiting hazardous shop fluids from entering the environment.
The world of in-ground lifts has changed in other compelling ways. For example, Stertil-Koni pioneered with the introduction of its U.S. patented ECOLIFT, with lifting capacity up to 90,000 lbs. Commented Dr. DellAmore, “It is the industry’s original ultra-shallow, full-rise in-ground axle engaging lift. ECOLIFT uniquely combines high pressure, low volume hydraulics and only requires 3.5 gallons of fluid per scissor—and nothing is embedded below ground.” This lift ensures sizeable cost savings on construction and installation and is increasingly utilized in existing workshop pits and even at locations with a high water table.
Finally, there is what has become one of the most popular categories of heavy-duty vehicle lifts—mobile columns. For its part, Stertil-Koni has recently introduced a new generation of its best-selling, green hydraulic mobile column lift, EARTHLIFT, now with a lifting capacity of 18,500 lbs. per column. EARTHLIFT has been recognized as the industry’s first hydraulic green mobile column lift and is designed with both performance and the environment in mind. Its columns are made with components that are 98 percent recyclable and the Active Energy Retrieval System (AERS) allows operators to achieve 35 percent more lifting cycles at maximum lifting load.
Concluded Dr. DellAmore, “If there’s one certainty for heavy-duty vehicle lifts in 2014, change is at hand. Our research clearly indicates that going green is the best way to serve our rapidly growing customer base and simultaneously provide sound environmental stewardship to meet the demands ahead.”
About Stertil-Koni USA, Inc.
Stertil-Koni is the global market leader in heavy-duty vehicle lifts—bus lifts and truck lifts—and is the preferred supplier to the world’s leading companies in the truck and bus industries. Stertil-Koni’s breadth of products meets all ranges of lifting needs and includes mobile column lifts, two-post, four-post, in-ground piston lifts, platform lifts, half-scissors and its innovative axle-engaging, in-ground, scissor lift configuration, ECOLIFT. Stertil-Koni has also recently begun installing the DIAMOND LIFT, a full rise telescopic piston lift designed to set new standards in precision heavy duty lifting. Stertil-Koni also recently introduced its new 2-post series, FREEDOM LIFT, with lifting capacities ranging from 16,000 to 30,000 lbs. Stertil-Koni is headquartered in Stevensville, Maryland, has production facilities in Europe and the U.S. and is so proud to have the greatest total number of ALI/ETL certified heavy-duty lifting products in the industry.
