A sports lighting specialist has selected the Oil&Steel Octoplus 21 supplied by Hird Sales as it invests in its first spider lift, citing the machine’s build quality, flexible performance and smart controls.
Direct Sports Lighting says the Octoplus 21, from Tadano, is technically and commercially the right choice as it looks to meet growing customer demand for installing and maintaining sports arena lighting systems across the UK.
When the business got in touch with Hird Sales, it had been considering buying either an Oil&Steel truck-mounted platform or a spider lift.
Basket capacity ‘better than competitors’
But when its team were given a demonstration of the Octoplus 21 in action, they realised it would be ideal for their needs – and would expand their operational and business opportunities.
Mike Butterill (left in photo), Director at Direct Sports Lighting, based in Ripon, North Yorkshire, said: “The performance flexibility of the Octoplus 21 is impressive. We can use it to work outdoors and indoors.
“It has excellent working height and reach and we will be combining it with a larger basket so it’s going to be easier to use with two-person operation or carrying more equipment and tools.
“This is also helped by its 250kg basket capacity, which is higher than other spider lifts we looked at. This means our technicians can work for longer at height in greater comfort.”
Customers like build quality
Mike Butterill and his colleagues who tested the Octoplus 21 at Hird Sales’ base in Hull, East Yorkshire, were also impressed with the spider lift’s speed, both in terms of tracking and working at height.
Smart controls, like the spider cherry picker’s one-touch button to automatically lower the basket to the ground or return to a previous working position, also optimise utilisation and help meet tight deadlines.
Oil&Steel spider lifts are also liked by customers for their build quality, with cables and hydraulic hoses stored in the boom, which prevents snagging, and robust all-steel body panels.
Direct Sports Lighting has selected the diesel bi-energy version of the Octoplus 21, which can be operated using the latest low-emission diesel engine or via cable electric power thanks to its powerful 220v motor.
The combination means the Direct Sports team can use their new Oil&Steel spider lift both indoors and outdoors – and have the option to switch to electric power mode if silent operation is essential.
Compact spider lift design a winner
Dan Holgate, Area Sales Manager at Hird Sales, said: “We’re pleased to be able to provide Mike and his team with the ideal working at height solution for their business.
“The Octoplus 21, and the other models in the range, are designed from the bottom up for just these sorts of tasks. We’re confident it will continue to impress them and, by extension, their customers.”
The Octoplus 21 has a maximum working height of 20.7m and a maximum working outreach of 10.6m. It also has one-button automatic outrigger deployment and levelling for fast and safe work set-up.
Mike Butterill says the compactness of the spider lift – it is just 785mm wide when stowed for tracking – means they can move it through single gates or doorways, so very few areas are out of bounds.
He added: “Within a week of having it, the Octoplus 21 proved its worth as we installed new LED pitch lighting at a rugby club in the Hull area.
“Because the machine has tracks and is so light, we could operate it across grass that had taken a lot of rain without causing damage. This is vital when sports grounds teams are rightly very protective of their playing surfaces.”
Spider boom for lighting maintenance
Direct Sports Lighting will now be keeping the Octoplus 21 busy on projects across the country, installing and maintaining lighting systems for rugby, hockey, football and tennis clubs, among others, a good number of them professional clubs operating in national leagues.
On the limited occasions it will not be needed, the company sees opportunities to hire their new tracked spider cherry picker with an operator to other companies, maximising the return on their investment.
Hird Sales is the UK distributor for Oil&Steel access platforms, which include Octoplus spider lifts plus Scorpion and Snake truck-mounted platforms.
In Oil&Steel’s spider lift range, Hird Sales can supply the Octoplus 17, which has a maximum working height of 17m and a maximum outreach of 7.6m. While the Octoplus 30 has a maximum working height of 29.6m and an outreach of 16.3m.
