Niftylift in Milton Keynes is celebrating winning Hire Industry Supplier of the Year for the third year running at the Hire Awards of Excellence 2021.
The Hire Awards of Excellence are run by the Hire Association Europe (HAE) and due to COVID-19 restrictions, took place this year as an online event in May.
Hire Industry Supplier of the Year is a prestigious award that holds special significance for Niftylift as the HAE’s membership represents a broad cross-section of Niftylift’s European customer base.
Widespread acceptance of the causes of climate change has led governments and individuals around the world to change the way they behave in relation to carbon and particulate emissions. Changing consumer sentiment and the stricter regulations brought on by government legislation are driving users of Mobile Elevating Work Platforms (MEWPs) to choose cleaner, more efficient products.
This has led to a shift from the use of MEWPs with internal combustion (IC) engines as their sole power source towards plug-in hybrids and more recently all-electric MEWPs.
MEWP manufacturer Niftylift has always offered battery-powered versions of its product range, but where IC engines are required, such as in Niftylift’s Bi-Energy or Gen2 Hybrid power systems, hydraulic wheel-motors are used to propel them. In terms of battery performance, hydraulic wheel-motors are less efficient than electric wheel motors. This, coupled with the limitations of lead acid battery technology meant that, in the past, battery-only powered machines weren’t viewed with the same confidence to work for extended periods that diesel, or combined-powered machines were.
New battery technologies, such as Absorbent Gas Mat (AGM), and more recently lithium ion and lead crystal have increased battery capacities and reduced charge times, making them a more effective power source for Niftylift MEWPs. These improvements have increased the viability of battery-only power as an alternative to IC-only and hybrid power options which has, in turn, led to opportunities for using all-electric drive to further increase their performance.
This is the third year in a row that Niftylift has won Supplier of the Year and the fifth time in total, so the team declared themselves delighted and honoured to receive this meaningful endorsement of Niftylift and its interactions with the hire industry as a whole.
Lee Casebrook, Niftylift’s Service & Parts Manager, accepted the award on behalf of Niftylift and said: “We work very hard to build strong relationships with our customers, so to win Supplier of the Year for the third year in a row is a hugely important recognition of all that hard work. I would like to thank the whole team at Niftylift for their continuing commitment to excellent customer service and also the Hire Association Europe for this award, which will only spur us on to do even more for our customers in the future!
“We would like to extend our thanks to the Hire Association Europe, with special mention to Paul Gaze and Brian Sherlock, for hosting a very professional online event and honouring us with this award.”
Find out more at www.niftylift.com
