Hire Access – New Zealand

Published on: 19th May 2020

The Challenge

Access Hire Companies in New Zealand struggle when it comes to purchasing a beavertail that is suitable for carrying low ground clearance machines, like scissor-lifts.  The beavertails that can be bought locally are more designed for carrying plant equipment and haven’t got a shallow enough loading angle for what they need.  With a population of only 4.9M people, the demand isn’t great enough for commercial body builders in NZ to justify pouring precious money into the R&D of a solution. Therefore, access hire companies must either build their own body or import for abroad.  This was the challenge that faced Hire Access NZ, who are based just north of Christchurch on the South Island…

The Solution

They decided to build their own body exactly how they wanted it, a costly procedure in time and a massive distraction to normal business, yet a whole lot cheaper than the cost of importing a full truck from abroad.  They really had no other option.

With the deck and slope completed by father and son team, Tim and Garth Boulton, it was time for them to look at the ramps.  David Brown, the owner, was concerned that they could spend a lot of time on these and still not get them quite right.  So, he turned to the global market to look for a solution. He said that ‘we needed the experts and I had been impressed for a number of years with Sterling’s market-leading loading angle and their superior build quality, so I asked them if they could help’.

Commercial body building has traditionally been very bespoke per truck, but over the last 10 years Sterling have moved to a more modular design, where most parts are the same on every truck.  This put us in a very good position to help David and his team out.  We had a set of Double-flip Ramps with Centre Trapdoor and a full mesh surface, in stock and fully galvanised, ready-to-go.  After working with Hire Access to understand the loads they were carrying, Sterling’s Area Sales Manager, Kelvin Carruth, found that these were perfect for what Hire Access needed.  Within a couple of weeks, a freshly made shipping crate was on the water, bound for NZ!  Its contents;

• Sterling double-flip ramp with gate and full mesh decking
• Full hydraulic system, inc powerpack and rams
• Powerpack box and mounting
• Profiled rear crossmember in black steel
• Jacklegs and mounting frames

The Finished Truck

Once the ramps had arrived in NZ, our technical support team here in Stokesley UK were able to guide the Hire Access team through the fitment.  We were very glad to see the pictures of the finished result; we think the Hire Access team have done an excellent job.  It may be their first like this, but it doesn’t sound like it will be their last, for as David commented ‘We have had a lot of people ask us to build decks for them and we haven’t advertised. The truck is fantastic, but it is the ramps that make it really good! In fact, we have had the Truck Police pull us over to just look at the deck and ramps, they were impressed! You have been a pleasure to deal with and I’m very grateful for your help.’