Hinowa performs for biogas

A Hinowa tracked platform supplied by Access Platform Sales has proved to be the perfect working at height solution for maintaining biogas plants.

J Todd Plant Services selected a Hinowa Lightlift 17.75 Performance IIIS spider lift to fulfil a contract to provide maintenance at three biogas plants in Fife, in East Scotland.

The Hinowa LL 17.75 has a maximum working height of 17.06m and a maximum outreach of 7.5m. It has an unrestricted basket capacity of 230kg, a valued feature when there is a need to carry heavy tools and parts.

APS Northern sales director Shane Paver said, “Anaerobic digestion plants are of growing importance to provide sustainable energy and products for other industrial uses. Being able to maintain them sustainably and effectively is equally important. Hinowa’s range of spider platforms can clearly contribute to that process.”

The Anaerobic Digestion and Bioresources Association estimates that UK farming generates 90 million tonnes of waste that could be processed to create biogas and support decarbonisation of agriculture. To process all that waste the number of anaerobic digestion plants needs to increase from around 400 currently to 3,200.

J Todd Plant Services, based in Glenrothes, Fife, uses the Hinowa LL 17.75 to carry out inspections and maintenance on a wide range of equipment on anaerobic digestion biogas plants, including pipes, valves, mixers and pumping systems.

Company owner Jamie Todd explained, “The Hinowa is an ideal machine for manoeuvring around these plants. Its two-speed tracking system gets us to lift locations quickly, so we make most productive use of our time. Its tracks and compact size [minimum tracking width: 798mm] means it can get into the tightest spaces. The one touch set-up and stow function makes it quick to get to height and safe to use.

“I can also tow the spider platform easily to all three sites, which is important because biogas plants can be located on quite out of the way places on farms. I used to hire platforms when I needed them. But now I have the Hinowa, there’s no waiting for a machine to become available. I can just hitch up and get going. It’s making a massive difference to my business.”

The platform also provides bi-energy performance. J Todd Plant Services has taken a diesel engine version. It can also be supplied with a petrol engine. Both can also be operated with a cable-powered 110v electric motor.

J Todd Plant will also use the Hinowa 17.75 for delivering other maintenance services, including tree surgery. At other times, it will hire out the platform to other companies and organisations such as building contractors and local authority maintenance departments.

Todd added, “I wanted a bi-energy platform because it can be used both indoors and outdoors. Operating equipment with zero-emissions and low-noise is increasingly valued and stipulated by our clients as well.