EPL Skylift - the new king of vehicle mount rental

EPL Skylift became the UK's biggest vehicle mount hire company the day it opened for business, and is offering contractors a one-stop-shop to solve access problems and possibly cost savings too.

It has taken only eight weeks for Lavendon to combine EPL Access, which it bought from the administrator, with its existing Skylift truck-mount and Rise Hire van-mount businesses to form EPL Skylift. The newcomer has 12 depots with four designated as regional hire desks and a fleet of 385 van- and 278 truck-mounts (to 72m) with machines over 26m supplied with an operator.

According to sales director Gary Brady, vehicle mounts are often cheaper than self propelled units - especially on short hires because they don't need transport.

All depots have access to new machine selector software shared with Nationwide, Lavendon's self-propelled access hire business. This allows hire desk operators to enter contractors' requirements (height, outreach, weight and the like) and identify machines capable of doing the job, as well as checking availability throughout the country.

"What we would say to contractors is keep an open mind about the equipment you need. Tell us what you want to do and we can identify and supply the most suitable and cost-efficient equipment - be that a vehicle mount, a self-propelled boom or a scissor lift," he said.