29.05.2025

Nifty marks 40 with Gen 3 HR12s

UK based Niftylift unveiled a thrid generation of its 33ft HR12 boom lifts as it celebrated 40 years in business on friday with a series of open days.

Vertikal’s Imogen Campion visited Niftylift headquarters faciltiy in Milton Keynes on Friday for a press event which included a factory visit, site tour, machine demonstrations, a test drive of the 85ft HR28, not to menton an introduction to the new HR12 models.

The days kicked off with Niftylift’s marketing manager Simon Maher giving a potted history of the company, which was founded by Roger Bowden in 1985, he was followed by George Townsend, an apprentice in his final year, providing a full and comprehensive tour of the facility.

The factory was busy with team members working across multiple assembly lines. Only two of the units on the lines stood out from the iconic Nifty green colour scheme that has been associated with the brand since its early days. Maher said: “When I joined, most of the machines were painted in customer colours and now they’re almost all exclusively green. As time has moved on, more people know the brand which helps improve resale value, and when founder Roger Bowden chose the colour all those years ago, we were the only machines on the market with that colour.”

Almost as a nod to its 40th anniversary the company is making some subtle changes to the colour scheme, including as of last week, a move away from all green to include black boom sections, while the composite sections of the Tough Cage platform have always been black. The real reason for the change is reduce costs as well as marking its 40th year in business. “These are the very first machines on display in the new colour - We all think they look nicer, but it is a competitive market and wherever we can save cost we will,” said Maher.

A visit to the demonstration area showcased units performing beyond their standard operating parameters - with steeper gradients and higher platform loads than those published, in order to highlight the machines capability and built in safety margins, helping ensure that they can cope with the rigours, challenges and abuse that rental machines can be subject to.

At the end of the tour, technical sales manager Thomas Hadden presented details of the third generation of 33ft HR12s - the boom lift that initially put the company on the map. Three models or variation were announced, the All Electric HR12 NE, the bi-energy HR 12NDE and the first hybrid HR 12 in the form of the HR12 4x4 Rough Terrain boom lift. Common features on the third generation models range, include new improved display screens, new controls, and onboard diagnostics and interface system, identical to that installed on Nifty’s new 65ft HR22 telescopic boom lift.

All three HR12 models have an unrestricted platform capacity of 225kg in the 1.05 x 700mm basket, a maximum working height of 12.1 metres and a maximum outreach of 6.4 metres. When stowed, the N series models have an overall width of 1.5 metres, while the 4x4 version measures 1.6 metres wide. Overall heights are 1.98 metres for the N series and 1.99 metres for the 4x4, with all models measuring 4.05 metres in length. The units weigh 3,470kg with the hybrid weighing an extra 20kg.

The HR12NDE - with its name subject to change – is essentially the NE with the same direct electric wheel motor drive, but with the addition of a diesel generator – a range extender. The battery pack is capable of running the machine for up to five days of typical usage on a single charge and when the diesel engine is activated, it keeps the batteries topped up or can do a complete recharge.

The hybrid is also an all electric unit, but with a hydrogen fuel cell to act as a range extender. The HR12 diesel remains available, with the option of the hybrid.

The third generation units are ready to ship in the UK with plans for export shipments to get underway over the summer.

The company also confirmed that it is now in the third year of its hydrogen boom lift supply agreement with Speedy Hire, which will take the number of units in the Speedy fleet to than 250, 200 of which have already been delivered. "The commitment from Speedy allowed us to justify the hydrogen development. It requires a lot of different learning, but we think if you're a manufacturer and not looking at incorporating hydrogen, you're going to be left behind," said Hadden.

Maher added: “It seems Europe is moving to more electrics while North America is moving to hybrids, but there is still a place for diesel ours are all stage five/ tier four, we don’t have to do anything to them, no exhaust purification or Ad Blue as we already meet those standards without that complexity and cost, the diesels are as clean as they can be.”