27.01.2011

Bravi goes lower

Italian self-propelled lift manufacturer Bravisol has launched a new low level, lighter weight model dubbed the Bravi Lite.

The new model is intended to offer most of the advantages of its highly popular Leonardo model to users who do not require such a large platform or as much working height and prefer a machine with even less weight- not to mention cost.

The Bravi Lite has a 2.2 metre (7.3ft) platform height – providing a working height of 4.2 metres – almost 14ft. It is fully self-propelled, is 760mm wide, 1.17 metres long and weighs just 398 kgs all up.
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The Bravi Lite can travel in virtually any elevator

The unit features a platform which is similar to a retracted Leonardo at 680mm x 1.15m and the same lift capacity at 180kgs. The platform entrance is via full width saloon style gates. The compact dimensions and low weight man that it will fit in just about any lift/elevator, in fact Bravi says that if a regular wheelchair will go in then a Bravi Lite will too.
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The Bravi Lite has a working height of up to 4.2m /14ft

Bravi has used the same running gear as the well proven Leonardo which will not only appeal to fleet owners who already have the Leonardo, but should also give this lighter unit some excellent performance characteristics. Gradeability is 35 percent and the Lite has the same lever to raise the front of the lift for high threshold and to cope with peak angles while loading. Should you need to move it with a fork truck, the fork pockets have been mounted on top of the chassis which should give it good balance when lifting.
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Gradeability is at least 35% on the Lite

Bravi says that it is aiming its new product at the small alloy tower and podium step market of which millions are in use on a daily basis. Demand is growing rapidly for powered access products with working heights of between three and four metres and total weights of around 300kgs. Much of this demand has been served, until recently by push around scissor lifts such as the Pop-Up and Power Tower. However it is clear that an increasing number of users would prefer to have such a product that can be driven at height.

The new model will of course be compared to similar micro self-propelled products that have entered the market in the past year or so. They include Custom’s Hy-brid 830 which is a little higher at 2.44m/8ft platform height, has a two man platform with a lift capacity of 225kgs and a roll-out platform extension. The downside of all the extra performance is that it weighs just over 500 kgs.
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Fork pockets are mounted high for better balance

The same differences apply to Power Tower’s Nano SP which is also close to 2.5 metres high, has a roll out deck and a little more capacity and the Pop-Up Drive 10. They are all around 500kgs total weight, as is Bravi’s Leonardo. The most recent introduction, Youngman’s X3XSP, given it has a little extra height and a roll out deck is likely to come in close to the others as well. All this leaves the new Bravi Lite out on its own.

The big question will of course be … do the major users of these small platforms want or need a roll out deck extension? – or the extra platform capacity? None of the push around models offer this feature and we have not heard that this has been an issue.

When talking to big users of push around lifts, the main issue they raise is to stop ‘surfing’ (moving at height) - solved by fitting automatic brakes. However the fact that this goes on suggests that the need to move at height is there and the self-propelled solves that problem. If we take the lead from the larger machines of this type, the JLG 1230 and Snorkel TM12 both sell very well without roll-out deck extensions.

Assuming that this is the case Bravi may have a winner here with a working height sufficient for a large volume of fit-out work – with the weight of a push around and the gradeability to self-load into a van or climb a set of steps (with the aid of a ramp).
The Bravi Lite will be launched at Conexpo in Las Vegas this March.