08.02.2008

Aichi unveils new lifts

Aichi has shown its new ‘global models’ of electric scissor lifts and 40/46ft straight booms yesterday. Vertikal.Net was there to put them through their paces.

As previously announced the company’s first ‘global’ models designed for a worldwide customer base, include a 20 and 26ft platform height skinny-mini scissor family and a 40ft/46ft straight telescopic boom lift (with and without jib) range.
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The new 46ft SP14CJ boom lift

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The new Aichi scissor lifts

Looking first of all at the new slab scissors, both units have an 800mm overall width and overall length of 2.3 metres, the 20ft (6m) SV06CNL model, a product that has largely been replaced in Europe by compact 19ft models, offers 360kgs of lift capacity while the 26ft (8m) SV08CNL offers 230kgs.

A key feature is the AC direct electric drive motors offering exceptional battery life and incredibly smooth proportional control. The brushless AC motors are very compact and should be maintenance free in comparison to hydraulic or DC electric drive motors.
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The brushless AC drive motors are compact and easily removed

The control box on the new machines is quite different with a dual pole enable switch, short joystick and circular steer control. The immediate impression is that having three separate drive controllers (enable/Drive/Steer) is too much, however, the neat hand rest makes it very easy.
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The control box with its rotary steering control

The steering control is also very disorienting for a regular scissor lift user in that the steered wheels only move in proportion with the degree of rotation on the controller with the wheels automatically centering when the controller is released.
However one soon adapts and the system is probably more intuitive for first time user than the usual toggle switch on the joystick.
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Both scissors feature a full one metre deck extension

Both models include a full one metre roll-out deck extension, folding guardrails to reduce the overall height to under two metres and a lift up top rail for loading 1.2 metre panels.

Access to all components is straightforward and the build quality exceptional, the machines we saw was a prototype and subject to last minute refinements.
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Batteries are located on one side and in a slide-out drawer

In our opinion the machines have an exceptional build quality, as you would expect from Aichi, and they operate beautifully, however in our opinion, the guardrails and control box attachment brackets need some minor improvements.
Aichi engineers were on hand making copious notes of visitors feedback so expect many, if not all of these niggles to be taken care of in the final production units.

Vertikal Comment

These are excellent lifts, well built and given Aichi’s track record, likely to be faultlessly reliable, however most other slab scissors are also very reliable with adequate to excellent battery life.

If Aichi is to make a significant dent in this market outside of Japan, it will need to price these units competitively, the company has typically priced its boom lifts at a premium compared to its competitors. Buyers in a number of markets have found that the premium pays off in terms of significantly lower costs of ownership and virtually no downtime.

This is not likely to be the case though with small scissors where the best products are already offering this ‘feature’.

Aichi has said in the past that it will be competitive with the pricing of these new scissors, however when questioned on this yesterday the senior managers would not be drawn into a definitive Yes or No. Stating that “the customer will decide on the pricing” If this is a yes, and the company can successfully extend its distribution and marketing network, expect see a lot more of these innovative machines.