Hydra Technical Services of Kirton Lindsay in Lincolnshire is one of the country's leading structural inspection and repair specialists. So, when the company was awarded the contract for under-bridge inspection and maintenance in a rough terrain location, it needed to find the right access equipment in a hurry. The answer came in the form of a four-wheel-drive Skylift 159T Unimog truck-mounted unit from Nationwide, the country's market leading powered access rental company.

The Skylift 159T unit was able to move on and off site quickly and efficiently, and the Unimog's four-by-four capability made easy work of the intimidating landscape. Once on site, the diesel-powered unit was able to manoeuvre to give Hydra Technical Service's engineers the best possible access to otherwise inaccessible areas, thanks to its 15-metre working height and seven-metre outreach. By using the fingertip controls, they were able to rotate the 1.2-metre by 0.97-metre work platform a full 360 degrees, which further added to the machine's versatility and the safety with which the work could be completed.

Every Skylift machine is supplied with a fully qualified and experienced Nationwide operator. However, with many of the units of up to 22-metre working height, self-drive options are available in the Nationwide's Skylift line-up. These self-drive Skylift's start with the 159T, through to the 22-metre working height, 14-metre reach 22LDT, and can be operated by anyone with a standard driving licence.

However, Nationwide goes to great lengths to stress the advisability of always hiring a trained operator with a truck mount, or at the very least, ensure that the self-drive operator is properly trained.

While every one of the 50 Nationwide depots can arrange the hire of Skylift equipment, specialist help is also readily available from the Master Skylift depots in Glasgow, Coventry, Manchester, London, Leeds and Cardiff.

Nationwide is part of the publicly-quoted Lavendon Group Plc and is headquartered in Lutterworth, Leicestershire. Its hire fleet is more than twice the size of its nearest UK competitor and all of the company's depots comply with Nationwide's ISO 9002 accreditation. The Group is European market leader in the powered access rental market, trading under the name Zooom in Germany, France, Spain and Austria.

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August 2002 Nat2.046a