23.11.2013

60ft scissor from MEC

US manufacturer MEC has unveiled a new 60ft Rough Terrain scissor lift that it plans to launch at Conexpo in March and should start to ship in April.

The MEC 6092RT is based on company’s 5492RT and joins its ‘92’ range of 2.34 metre wide Rough Terrain scissor lifts and will feature its Ultra-Deck dual roll-out platform extensions. The new lift will be the highest scissor lift currently produced in North America.

The 6092RT offers a 20.2 metre working height, with an extended Ultra Deck platform of 7.5 metres and a capacity that is likely to be between 580 and 600kg for CE models. The standard equipment includes a turbocharged Kubota diesel, MEC’s Quad-Trax four wheel drive system, an oscillating axle, automatic levelling outriggers and engine slide out module.
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The MEC 6092RT will be based on the 5492 and will offer a 60ft platform height /20.2 metre working height

The is said to offer an unusually low entry height and will weigh around 9,200kg, for lower ground bearing pressures and easier transportation, with up to two units per truck.

The company says that the 6092RT is not targeting heavy duty European style large deck scissor lifts, such as those produced by Holland Lift, H.AB and JLG, and will be priced considerably lower, with the aim to offer a higher Return On Investment.
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The MEC 6092RT includes a 7.5 metre Ultra-Deck

MEC director of international markets, Jim Tolle said: “The justification behind the 6092RT is to address the highly priced European competitive models. We have recognised a gap in the large deck European scissor lift product range versus the large deck North American product range. You go from the aggressively priced North American made scissor lift which up until now has been limited by height, to the highly priced European made scissor lifts. Until now the few metres of increased height would cost the customer a 50 to -100 percent premium over a North American made machines.”

“For our North American customers the 6092RT takes the operator to a six story level that up until now has been deemed a boom lift category with their small compact platforms. Our customers have already made commitments to pre-production units, while our second quarter production date will limit the numbers we can produce next year. As a result we expect to sell out of this new model early in 2014.”

Vertikal Comment

It is curious fact that scissor lifts over 40ft do not sell well in the USA, possibly due to the fact that most contractors adopted self-propelled powered access well before big scissors were available, when the only way to reach heights above 40ft was to use a boom lift. Once a method of work becomes the ‘norm’ it is hard to change – contractors are a conservative lot.

Previous attempts to introduce higher versions of existing ‘US type’ Rough Terrain scissor lifts has not always ended well – Skyjack has been an exception and the most successful with its 50ft SJ9250, but that is a stand-alone product rather than a ‘stretched’ machine.

Typically US manufacturers have introduced a 40ft core product and then developed a 30ft heavy duty model and a 50ft light duty machine. Thus obtaining the benefits of the 30/40ft volumes to keep the cost of the 50ft down. The problem with ‘light duty’ 50s was that they were sent out as mainstream 50ft machines, but did not offer the platform rigidity or capacity expected of such a large platform and were frequently overloaded.

MEC however has taken a different tack, in that it is set-up to build semi-niche machines and does not need to worry about significant volumes. Its 54ft model has a 680kg platform capacity so achieving 600kgs would have been a bit of a challenge, However rather than doing the usual trick of adding an extra scissor stack, it is created a new longer stack to obtain the great height helping retain rigidity and maintaining a similar stowed height. Meanwhile two tonnes of extra weight should solve any stability issues. If it gets it right this could be a surprisingly popular machine.

Whether it makes any significant impact on the North American market for 60ft scissor lifts remains to be seen though. It is more likely to be an export led unit.