Star Platforms brings Merry Christmas to Merry Hill

Intu Merry Hill Shopping Centre in Dudley, UK puts on a spectacular display of decorations every Christmas and has hired UK powered access rental company, Star Platforms for the best part of 20 years to help facilitate this.

 Spanning over 1,671,000sqft and two floors, the shopping centre is home to a retail park with more than 250 retailers, cinema and a food hall with more than 10,000 free car parking spaces.

Star Platforms provided three Niftylift Height Rider HR17N articulated boom lifts and a Niftylift HR12N articulated boom lift to help navigate the different areas of the shopping centre and get up-and-over any obstacles encountered along the way.

The Niftylift Height Rider HR17N and HR12N articulated boom lifts were chosen because of the versatility and the freedom they offer the operator. Both are narrow machines at just 1.5m wide, allowing the operators to navigate through the shopping centre safely and without any risk of causing damage. The machines reach 17m and 12.2m respectively, enabling operators to reach not only the ceilings on the ground floor but also reach through the floor openings to reach the top of the building to hang decorations.

The boom lifts enable operators to get close to the fixtures and fittings to hang decorations securely, while also giving them the flexibility they needed for the large central tree. With the HR17N boom lifts the tree could be put together in sections varying in width and didn’t require moving the machine each time a new section was added. The operator just needed to adjust the arm and cage position saving valuable time on a scheduled night build.

Both machines can be run off battery/electric, essential when working indoors where you need to keep both fuel and noise pollution to a minimum. The boom lifts also came with non-marking tyres as standard, a requirement when working indoors in shopping centres.

Steve Simmons, managing director at Star Platforms, says, “Our bi-energy and hybrid power Niftylift boom lifts are the perfect option where customers need to work indoors and reach up and around a variety of obstacles. Their compact dimensions enable them to travel through and work in restricted spaces, while their non-marking tyres help protect the finished flooring.”  Kate, Intu Merry Hill logistics manager, explains: “Star Platforms is the first supplier we contact and this is due to their top-quality personal service, nothing is too much to ask. The machines are great and if we experience any issues the full team are on hand to support and resolve the problem without delay. We really appreciate our relationship with Star.”