16.10.2004

Bellissimo! A taller Micro Scissor

Iteco, the long established Italian aerial lift producer would appear to have recruited a new engineering team. As predicted by Vertikal in August, the company has launched two new ranges at this all important Italian exhibition. Both show a major leap forward in the quality of engineering and design specification.

One is a new Rough Terrain scissor lift with both diesel and Electric power sources, long stroke outriggers and a seven metre plus dual extension deck. Very nice indeed, but nothing new in terms of performance and specification.

The other new product though is truly exceptional, a micro scissor ('Elevator unit' if you prefer) with overall length of 1.65 metres and overall width of 780 mm both as you might expect, but with a platform height of 7.2 metres - almost a metre and a half more than anyone else.
The prototype boasts a weight of 1,600 kg, whether that will remain for production depends on how it does during the test programme.
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The Iteco IT7380 prototype

The family will include two smaller units, in the normal 5.8 and 4.4 metre ranges. Iteco is not the first company to break the six metre barrier with a micro scissor lift, that honour went to IPM a couple of years back. However the Iteco unit is a more mainstream design and what propels it to best of show status is the quality of engineering and design that runs throughout the machine.

The scissor stack looks solid with large diameter pins and bushes and oversized nylon sliding blocks. The deck extension is a full metre providing a 2.6 metre extended platform.

The 7380 also follows JLG’s lead with direct electric drive on the front steering axle, for quiet smooth operation and extended battery life.
The unit uses a small electric motor with end mounted disc brake coupled to a planetary hub, turning radius is not quoted but with a 90 degree crank angle it will be close to zero. As with the drive the steering is electric.

Automatic pothole protection is operated via a substantial mechanical linkage. The stowed platform height is under 1.1 metres, guardrails fold down to reduce the overall height of the machine to 1.72 metres allowing it to easily go through a single door or load into the back of a van.
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Batteries are heavy duty with compact charger

The machine's hydraulic system could hardly be simpler, due to the fact that the two lift cylinders are the only hydraulic part of the machine. Access to all components is about as easy as it gets, with swing out modules on each side housing the traction batteries and an end mounted swing out tray holding the Hydraulic power unit and valves. Please register to see all images

The compact hydraulic power unit

So having 'waxed lyrical' about this unit what are its downsides? Well without being able to operate it, none that we could see, however the quality of componentry screams “expensive!”

The engineers have crafted a beautiful lift here but on the surface it looks as though it has been done without keeping an eye on the costs? Time will tell if this is the case or not.

Vertikal comment

This is a product that if well transferred from prototype into production could take a company like Iteco from being a regional producer to a more mainstream international player.

However with limited sales and distribution channels and possibly production capacity restraints, it is likely that as soon as sales begin to take off, the major aerial lift manufacturers will quickly introduce models of their own and become the major beneficiaries of this segment extension.

Time will tell.