Lighter but better performance; PALFINGER’s new premium class

Apr 13, 2014 Warehousing Ireland Materials Handling, News Comments Off on Lighter but better performance; PALFINGER’s new premium class

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The EURO 6 exhaust emission standard (for trucks weighing 7.49 tonnes and more) which is in force within the European Union since the start of 2014, led to a dramatic increase in the weight of carrier vehicles of up to 180 kg in some cases.

The goal of the platform industry was thus clearly spelled out: whatever became heavier in the trucks had to be slimmed down in the platform attachments in order to achieve an equal weight result. The development department at Palfinger Platforms faced up to this extremely difficult task and has drawn attention to itself with some astonishing innovative results. The former WT 230 and WT 300 have been thoroughly re-designed.
This gave rise to the P 230 and P 300 truck access platforms, which have been included under the heading of the new Premium class. With regard to the P 230, this slimming down has had such a positive effect that the user is now presented with an additional loading option in the high 3-digit kg region. Lessors and users from the public sector, building service providers, landscape gardeners, trade contractors and energy will be delighted to take notice of that message. Despite this significant weight reduction, it is a noteworthy engineering achievement of the Palfinger Platforms mechanical engineers that the lateral outreach with 100 kg basket load has been extended once again. This allows the company to reach “pole position” in terms of loading (at least 600 kg) and lateral outreach compared to the competition.
With regard to the P 300, further carrier vehicle models such as Mercedes-Benz are now available in addition to the well-known MAN. The pole position achieved in lateral outreach was improved once again here as well. Given a basket load of 100 kg, an outreach of 21 m can be achieved, despite a considerably lighter structure. The need for a new profile concept resulted in such a dramatic weight reduction that this truck access platform can also handle a heavier load. This means that necessary tools and equipment no longer have to be brought to the place of use separately from the platform. A shared feature of the two truck access platforms from the new Palfinger Platforms Premium class is the completely automatic stabilising function, which can be varied to suit individual needs depending on the place of use. The operator has full view of the surrounding area; this necessary safety aspect is hugely significant. The finishing touches will have been completed in time for APEX, and product manager Yves Schleßiger makes the following promise: “We still have some ideas up our sleeves to achieve technical finesse, and these will take shape in time for the trade fair presentation at the IFAT/Munich (Hall F6, Stand 614/1) and APEX/Amsterdam (outdoor exhibition area, Stand 1030).”

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