Canadian aerial work platform maker Skyjack showed nine machines at last week’s Rental Show in Las Vegas, including the first production unit of its SJ63AJ, a 63-foot articulating boomlift, the company’s largest. Skyjack unveiled a prototype of the unit at The Rental Show in 2011 and after further testing and development, the company is now preparing its first units for delivery.
The SJ63 AJ has a platform height of 63 feet, 7 inches, a horizontal reach of 40 feet, and an up-and-over clearance of 27 feet, 2 inches. It features an open-center knuckle riser that improves operator visibility, allows below-grade reach and enables the unit to fold to a more compact profile for transport. Advanced boom geometry allows the machine to move from ground level to full height using only the single main boom control. As with other Skyjack models, the machines features its True Vertical Rise feature, designed to ensure that the boom arm does not drift when rising. Other benefits include a 360-foot turret rotation and zero tail swing, enhancing work in tight spaces.
“The rental industry has shown great resilience in recent years in the face of very difficult market conditions,” said Brad Boehler, president of Skyjack. “Our customers have kept working and kept fighting despite the outlook and we’ve continued to support them throughout, so we’ve taken our biggest-ever space at this year’s Rental Show to reinforce how committed we are to this industry. We’re seeing encouraging signs of rising rental rates and increased rates of utilization, and companies that have waited for work levels to pick up are now talking seriously about fleet upgrades. We expect 2013 to be a big year both for Skyjack and for the access industry as a whole.”
Besides the SJ63 AJ, Skyjack presented its SJ12 and SJ16 self-propelled vertical mast lifts; its SJIII 3219, SJIII 3226; SJIII 4632, SJIII 6826RT and SJIII 9250RT scissorlifts; and an SJ66T telescopic boom.
Skyjack is based in Guelph, Ontario, Canada.
