Access XL, part of the XL Group and a leader in the design and manufacture of hydraulic lifts for commercial vehicles, is seeing healthy demand for its hydraulic lift solutions owing not least, to its status as a UK provider.

From its manufacturing base in Forfar, Scotland the company employs the latest technology to produce a wide range of standard and bespoke tail lift solutions including auto-lift, load monitoring and ‘Smart’ lift operations.

“Aside from the more obvious prerequisites such as suitability, quality and fast delivery,” says Access XL sales manager Farid Arvani, “our customers from the transport and logistics industry stress the importance of dealing with a UK manufacturer who can closely interpret engineering and application needs while being close at hand with back-up and replacement parts.”

Home Bargains, for example, one the UK’s leading discount retailers, chose Access XL to supply a mixture of column and multi-deck tail lifts for work on multi-drop deliveries to over 500 Home Bargains stores throughout the UK.

Designed by Access XL, the lifts are specified for operation with double-deck and urban trailers and, says Home Bargains, being British-built are not expected to present any tariff or supply problems.

“Home Bargains is comfortable in the knowledge that Access XL not only manufactures to a high standard, but also is ‘within easy reach’, which means any short-term requirement for back-up parts, service or new equipment will not incur unnecessary costs or delay, “said the company.

Working with Home Bargains’ double-deck trailers, the XL Multi-Deck is designed to service multiple, fixed or moving decks and incorporates Home Bargains’ own gate system. The hydraulically powered steel and aluminium platform comes with articulated front and side ramps and stows at the upper level.

For leading vehicle body conversion and tipper specialist Brit-Tipp, Access xl rose to an engineering challenge presented by a relatively unique collection requirement.

Brit-Tipp sales and marketing director, Peter Dugdale explains: “18 months ago, one of our customers, Biffa, needed a fast and flexible back-up collection service to cope with any missed/late collections or fly-tipping in the Winchester area. To achieve this, we required a reliable side-loading column bin lift with a short loading cycle and ability to tip directly into the back of the Isuzu N75 7.5 tonne N75 Isuzu which was specified for the job.

“We chose the Access XL BL150 bin lift because not only is it fast and quiet but also easy to use with household wheely bins and able to cope with loads of up to 150kg. It’s well engineered, robust and fool-proof,” he adds, “exactly what our customers need to maintain an efficient, reliable and low-cost service.”

Meanwhile, Central Transport, the fleet engineering department of John Lewis Partnership rose to a number of delivery challenges at their Oxford Street store by fitting Access XL Multi-Deck tail lifts to their urban double-deck trailers, for dock and kerbside deliveries.

Delivering to both the store front and rear, the urban double-deckers required a two-stage lifting solution which could handle access to cargo on two levels while being able to stow away at the half-way point and maintain maximum capacity within the trailers’ 4m overall height.

“We were looking for a replacement lift system” says John Lewis, “which could combine loading flexibility with safety and ease of use. In this regard, the 10-tonne capacity, XL Multi-Deck features Smart Stow – which, driven by the XL Smart Controller system, ensures precision stowage and closure.”

Formed from hybrid steel with a lightweight aluminium loading deck, the Multi-Deck hydraulic lift is designed by Access XL for multiple, fixed or moving decks on the same vehicle and comes with bespoke-designed folding safety gates. Furthermore, while providing consistent operation and lift management the XL Smart Controller acts as a battery guard and facilitates plug and play installation.

“Our Oxford Street store presented a few delivery issues which are distinct from our usual RDC operation” adds John Lewis, “and we’re pleased to say that the Access XL team interpreted our technical and handling needs to produce the ideal lifting solution.”

Access XL lifts include column, retractable, multi-deck and refuse and are available at short notice with full warranty. The British-built equipment is supported by a national parts and service network.

Further information about accessxl@: https://www.xlg.co.uk/accessxl_lifting_solutions/