The new Manitou fleet comprises a range of models covering lifting heights from six to 18 m.

UK equipment rental firm A-Plant has received its latest investment to its hire fleet, a GBP3 million (USD4.8 million) order of new Manitou telehandlers.

The new Manitou fleet comprises a range of models covering lifting heights from six to 18 m (19.7 to 59 ft.) and all of them have Stage IIIB/Tier 4-compliant engines. The machines are now available for hire from A-Plant service centres in the UK.

Andrew Winlow, director of purchasing and fleet management, says: "The great advantage of the new Manitou telehandlers is their compact design, allowing them to be used on construction sites with restricted room for manoeuvre, such as inner city developments."

Winlow adds that the larger models A-Plant purchased have compact stabilisers, which always remain within the working width of the machine whatever the position it is in. "This investment has allowed us to update and enhance our telehandler fleet and offer our customers the latest models available with compliance to Stage IIIB/Tier 4 regulations."

The telehandlers offer an ergonomically designed cab to ensure maximum operator comfort and a JSM (Joystick Switch and Move) control, which allows all boom and hydraulic functions, including forward and reverse direction, to be completed from a single control.

Manitou marketing manager Paul Bidwell says safety is an integral part of the design of the machines, with features such as "automatic parking brakes, a tilt lock out facility, an easy connect system enabling depressurisation of the hydraulic attachment service without turning off the engine and a digital code for security and immobilisation".

A-Plant has a continual product enhancement and innovation program, having spent over GBP100 million (USD159 million) on fleet investment in 2013. It expects similar figures will be reached this year.