Skyjack units keep Polish aircraft in top shape

Linamar Corporation’s (TSX-LNR) Skyjack division is helping keep Polish planes in top condition with its mobile elevating work platforms (MEWPs). CityRent, a Poland-based company, supplied Skyjack’s SJIII 4626 and SJIII

Linamar Corporation’s (TSX-LNR) Skyjack division is helping keep Polish planes in top condition with its mobile elevating work platforms (MEWPs). CityRent, a Poland-based company, supplied Skyjack’s SJIII 4626 and SJIII 4632 DC electric scissors to LOT Aircraft Maintenance Services (LOT AMS) to help maintain and repair aircrafts.

“This is the first time we’ve sold scissor lifts to LOT Aircraft Maintenance Services and they are a very big company, so establishing a good co-operation was very important to us”, said Tomasz Zaręba, management board assistant at CityRent. “We’ve been working with Skyjack for many years and have all their most popular models, so we are confident in the quality of their units”.

CityRent sells and rents MEWPs to customers in Poland and neighboring countries from its headquarters in Warsaw and further offices in Poznan, Wroclaw and Gliwice. The company also runs IPAF-accredited training courses for operators. The company sold Skyjack’s SJIII 4626 and SJIII 4632 DC electric scissors to LOT AMS. “For our customers, the most important thing is the reliability of the machines and the continual ability of the lifts to work, along with the cost of maintenance”, Zaręba said. “Across all these points, Skyjack lifts are 100% positive. In addition, Skyjack’s sales support and technical support are both excellent – this is what cooperation should look like".

LOT AMS was originally part of LOT Polish Airlines – the state-owned passenger carrier – but is now an independent company. It still services the airline as well as equipment for government agencies. In placing its order, LOT AMS specified the purchase of units that could be operated safely and with complete accuracy, as aircraft and their components are very expensive to produce. “The scissor lifts must be easy to operate, with precision control, as they are used very close to the aircraft,” Zaręba said. “The stability of the lift when driving at height is important, and they need to have powerful batteries for optimum working time”. In addition to purchasing Skyjack’s electric scissor lifts, LOT AMS also added an aircraft protection package, compressed air hose and an extended electrical wire to the scissor lifts so operators could steer the lift from anywhere on the platform. All additional elements were designed and installed by CityRent. “They also asked for options such as special guards mounted on the railing and sides of the platform, which we fitted”, Zaręba said. "They knew that they’d want to use these scissors for at least ten years, so quality of machines was a priority”.

Skyjack’s SJIII 4626 DC electric scissor has a maximum working height of 9.75 m (32 ft), maximum weight capacity of 454 kg (1,000 lbs) which is reduced to 408 kg (900 lbs) with an aircraft package fitted, 30% gradeability and a rated load lift time of 54 seconds. The taller SJIII 4632 DC electric scissor has a work height of 11.75 m (38 ft), maximum weight capacity of 318 kg (700 lbs) 25% gradeability, and a rated load lift time of 59 seconds. Both units are drivable at full height with a 1.22 m (4 ft) roll-out deck extended, to increase access options for operators. Both electric scissors feature variable speed and rear two-wheel hydraulic drive. “For CityRent to sign a new deal with LOT AMS is great news for them, and good for us too,” said Ron Schreurs, a sales manager for Skyjack in central Europe. “Our electric scissors are ideal for indoor work where accuracy of movement around expensive aircraft is paramount. We have a good relationship with CityRent and hope that LOT AMS will see the benefits of using our units for their repair and maintenance work”.