13.05.2021

Cherrypicker acquires Miles Robinson

UK based powered access sales company Cherrypicker Shop has acquired the parts inventory, historical records and archive material of Simon Access parts specialist Miles Robinson, following the retirement of founder Roger Miles.

County Durham based Cherrypicker will take over the service provided by Miles Robinson, providing service, replacement parts and information to owners and repairers of most Simon aerial work platforms as well as a wide range of other defunct and obscure aerial work platform models.

Miles Robinson was established in the mid 1990s to provide spare parts for hundreds, if not thousands, of self-propelled, van mounted, truck mounted and towable Simon platforms in operation after the collapse of the Simon Access group, which at the time was a leading manufacturer worldwide. Since then Roger Miles has built a strong reputation as the 'go-to' person when all else failed trying to obtain replacement parts for old Simon platforms.

Cherrypicker Shop was founded in 2020 by industry veteran Richard Tindale and Tom Cribb (see: A new UK spider lift distributor) to provide a one stop shop for parts and service, initially aimed at end users, small rental companies and independent service engineers. However, parts sales have increased significantly as the company has built a reputation for reliable technical support and a responsive service nationwide. It was recently engaged to provide UK parts support for Wienold Lifte adding to its existing distribution agreements for Imer/Iteco parts.

Miles Robinson will officially cease trading on the first of June when Roger Miles turns 68. In the meantime Cherrypicker Shop has already started taking over regular customers and can be contacted via its website if parts are required during the transition period.
Please register to see all images

Tindale said: "I worked with Roger at Simon Access in Gloucester back in the early 1990s. Since then I have often relied on him to help me out me with parts that nobody else can offer. When I heard he was finally going to hang up his parts books, I was concerned that all of his invaluable knowledge would be lost to the industry forever.”

“Fortunately, we were able to reach agreement to secure all of the remaining parts stock plus the unique supplier records, manuals, drawings and schematics from Roger and move them to our facility in north east England. We promised we would take care of Roger’s legacy, and with Tom’s youthful enthusiasm, parts expertise and customer focused attitude I am confident we can look after all of his customers as well as new ones around the world who still own these venerable machines.”
Please register to see all images

Parts are still available for old Simon platforms

For more information on the history of Simon Access you can refer to the book Going up in the World by ex-chief engineer Denis Ashworth - see: The history of Simon Access book.