Hird Sales and Oil&Steel will be appearing at the APF Exhibition – the UK’s largest arboriculture show – with a fleet of tracked and truck mounted access platforms recognised across Europe as leading machines for working at height on trees.
The spider platforms and truck mounted platforms will be on the Oil&Steel Stand – C5 – at the event taking place at Ragley Estate, Warwickshire, on September 19, 20, and 21.
Hird is the UK authorised dealer for all Oil&Steel platforms, which are well known for their smart design and rugged reliability, which combine to make them ideal for woodland and estate management tasks.
Highly versatile access platforms
Carl Cooper, Sales and After Sales Manager at Hird Sales, said: “The Oil&Steel tracked spider booms and truck mounted platforms we’ll have on display have proven their worth in countries across Europe time and again.
“They’re designed from the bottom up for tree and large hedge work and for maintaining other structures on managed country and forestry estates, including heritage buildings and barns, wind turbines, roof-mounted solar panels, holiday let homes and telecommunication masts.
“We’re expecting to receive a lot of interest from visitors to the APF Exhibition. Sales of Oil&Steel spider lifts and truck mounted platforms have been healthy in the UK during 2024 and the show is the perfect place to present them to more potential customers.”
The two Oil&Steel spider cherry pickers on display at Ragley Estate, near Alcester, will be the OctoPlus 17 and OctoPlus 21, while the truck mounted platforms will be the Snake 2010 and the Scorpion 2013.
High ground clearance
The Oil&Steel OctoPlus 17 spider lift has a maximum working height of 17m and a maximum outreach of 7.6m. as a tracked platform, it operates extremely well across rough and soft terrain.
The spider lift is just 785mm wide when stowed for tracking, is 4600mm long and 1980mm wide, so is compact enough to be moved through dense woodland or along narrow paths to worksites.
Both the OctoPlus 17 and the OctoPlus 21 have among the highest ground clearance when their outriggers are deployed for working at height – 630mm for the OctoPlus 17 and 621mm for the OctoPlus 21.
This is particularly useful when operating over uneven ground.
The OctoPlus 17 has an unrestricted load capacity of 250kg, another industry-leading performance characteristic, and weighs just 2,330kg.
Productivity enhanced by smart design
The OctoPlus 21 provides a maximum working height of 20.7m and a maximum outreach of 10.6m, which is greater than rival platforms in the same working height class.
With an unrestricted capacity of 150kg and restricted capacities of 200kg and 250kg at slightly reduced working heights and outreaches, the spider lift maximises performance and flexibility.
Like the OctoPlus 17, it is just 785mm when stowed for tracking. Like the OctoPlus, also, its tracked can be widened hydraulically at the touch of a button to provide greater stability over particularly challenging terrain.
Spider lifts are increasingly the go-to choice for tree specialists, especially in off-road areas – and especially for working on older, more fragile or diseased trees – for example ones with ash dieback.
Oil&Steel’s OctoPlus range provides tree surgeons with optimised performance backed by a smart operating system, including easy-to-use proportional controls and safety features.
Their advanced design, with hoses, tubes and cabling stowed inside the boom, eliminate the risk of snagging.
The platforms can be supplied with three power formats: diesel or petrol engines combined with a cable mains electric motor; or an all-electric powered lithium battery
Truck mounts – versatile and productive
Compact truck mounted platforms are also regularly used to maintain trees in country parks and alongside roads and larger walkways.
Their ability to set up quickly and then equally quickly move on to the next task maximises working at height productivity, while excellent outreach limits the need to reposition the platform.
The Oil&Steel Scorpion 2013 has a telescopic boom with a maximum working height of 19.9m and a maximum outreach of 12.5m, with particularly fast set-up a stow functions.
It has an impressive maximum capacity of 250kg at a maximum working height of 19.5m, which allows two operatives to work together, if necessary.
The Oil&Steel Snake 2010H Plus has an articulating boom with a maximum height of 20m, a maximum outreach of 10.2m, and capacity of 225kg. Its compact outrigger footprint makes it ideal for working in confined spaces.
Both truck mounted platforms are based on a 3.5t IVECO chassis, which means they can be operated on a car licence, making them popular with access hire specialists and for estate management, because multiple members of the estate team can use them.
Find out more
Visit Oil&Steel at Stand C5 to view all four platforms. You will receive a warm welcome. The Hird Sales team will have details of all other platforms in the Oil&Steel range.
If you want to arrange a meeting with us at the APF Exhibition or cannot get to the show, but want to find out more, contract Hird Sales today.
Telephone: 01482 481960. Or email: info@oil&steel.co.uk.