PALFINGER News

South African mining: An outside of the box solution with PALFINGER

07.02.2022

The South African market is like no other in the world. The local sales partner of PALFINGER in South Africa is forced to think outside of the box to find innovative lifting solutions for this demanding and harsh working environment.

Facing the challenge 

For this specific project for a customer in the mining industry, PALFINGER Southern Africa was faced with the challenge to build a compact, manoeuvrable, light weight vehicle that can keep up with the harsh off-road conditions on remote worksites at a South African mine. They needed a product that can be trusted to assist the mine with their year-round maintenance work on the mine’s equipment and buildings with a requirement of 13 meters working height.

Finding the solution 

Knowing the extreme demands this vehicle will face, the experienced team of engineers and sales personnel from PALFINGER’s local dealer set out to find the perfect solution. They had to find a vehicle, small enough to fit through tight spaces, but big enough to withstand the weight of the PALFINGER P 130 A Aerial Platform all while not compromising on the safety of the operators. The Toyota Land Cruiser with a V6 diesel engine fitted the criteria perfectly, after some modifications. The Toyota Land Cruiser’s suspension and brake system had to be reinforced to cope with the additional weight of the P 130 A Aerial Platform. They also fitted the vehicle with a Pantograph Stabilizer System, additional air and water hoses and a 220V electrical socket for handheld tool operations. The vehicle’s total gross vehicle mass (GVM) was upgraded to 3500 kg to accommodate all the modifications.

The first complete unit was delivered to the client in June 2021, with more units lined up for the future.  

For more information on this project or similar projects, contact our local dealer in South Africa directly by visiting their website: www.palfinger.co.za or via the Sales- & Service Search.