Member Article

Breath of fresh air as Grayson invests in TotalKare lifting solutions to deliver huge retrofit project

The UK’s premier supplier of heavy-duty workshop solutions is playing a key role in helping a leading bus and coach operator get ready for Birmingham’s planned Clean Air Zone introduction in July 2020.

TotalKare’s industry-leading T8DC cable-free mobile column lifts have been installed by Grayson Thermal Systems as part of a workshop dedicated to delivering one of the largest single-operator exhaust retrofit exercises in Europe.

The versatility and lifting capacity of the hydraulic mobile column lifts are being used to successfully upgrade 637 buses owned by National Express West Midlands, so they achieve the Euro 6 Standards required by the new legislation coming into force in the UK’s second city.

Alexander Dennis Enviro200s and Enviro 400s, Volvo B7RLEs, Scania OmniCitys and Omni Links, not to mention Euro 3 Dennis Tridents, are all being lifted at Grayson’s Birmingham facility with 20 vehicles being completed every week until the end of 2019.

The solution, which features HJS Emission Technology’s Real Blue SCRT exhaust aftertreatment system and Grayson’s E-Drive electric radiator fan, takes about 45 working hours to implement and, so far, 284 buses have been completed.

“A lot of city centres are looking at how they manage traffic and deliver cleaner vehicles and we are really pleased that our heavy duty lifting technology and expertise is being used in a project that will generate better air quality for Birmingham - just a few miles from our HQ in Halesowen,” explained James Radford, Sales and Marketing Director at TotalKare.

“We have a long-standing relationship with Grayson Thermal Systems and the recent investment sees 8 sets of our state-of-the-art T8DC mobile column lifts now working alongside two of our older lifts.”

He continued: “With no interconnecting cables, the T8DC is designed to be easily manoeuvred around the workshop and can be used to lift a wide range of buses and coaches.

“Flexibility and safety of products are crucial, especially when you are trying to retrofit 637 buses in such a short space of time.”

Steve Robinson, Midlands Service Manager at Grayson Thermal Systems, added his support: “The National Express West Midlands’ retrofit contract is huge for us and HJS and we need to make sure we have a workshop that can deliver the number of conversions required in order to meet deadlines around the Clean Air Zone.

“We have worked with TotalKare for over 25 years, with some of their original lifts still in operation in our workshop, which is down to the quality of the product and the excellent maintenance service we receive.

“The new lifts give us the safety, performance and speed we need to meet the schedules of the retrofit project and this will definitely put us in the spotlight for similar contracts in other cities.”

TotalKare has agreed a premium AfterKare service package that will see all eight sets of lifts benefit from regular servicing and maintenance, as well as the firm’s 24-hour helpline for any issues that might cause downtime in the workshop.

It has also agreed a new deal with Grayson Thermal Systems for 35 of its operatives to complete their online mobile column lift training to ensure all staff can use the equipment safely and get the most out of the lifts.

Busy Year

TotalKare is the UK’s number one supplier of heavy-duty vehicle lifting/testing solutions and aftersales care, providing four and two post lifts, forklifter ramp systems and a comprehensive suite of ancillary products, including transmission jacks, trailer beams and support stands.

The company also launched its new brake tester range earlier this year, the first time the business has introduced non-lifting products to its portfolio.

Available as mobile or in-ground options, the brake tester is being showcased at the Coach and Bus Show this week and is technically advanced and amongst the strongest and most reliable brake testing systems currently available.

It is hot galvanised to improve durability and features app technology so that data and subsequent analysis can be completed on a tablet.

TotalKare offers ongoing support for its brake testers through comprehensive nationwide service coverage and can also cater for the BM range of in-ground and mobile brake testers.

For further information, please visit www.totalkare.co.uk or follow @totalkare on twitter.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Russ Cockburn .