 Denka DL72N aerial lift platform |
ReachMaster Inc has resumed North American distribution of Denka Lift aerial equipment made by Rothlehner Arbeitsbühnen GmbH of Massing, Germany.
"We have strengthened our position as a one-stop-shop specialist in compact aerial equipment and advanced materials handling equipment," says Ebbe H Christensen, ReachMaster owner and president.
Denka Lift's narrow-series models have working heights of 72-92 ft. (22-28 m), single-door access, light weight and battery power with optional combustion engines. Tow-behind trailer-series models are Denka Lift's main product in the European market.
ReachMaster began distributing Denka equipment in North America in 2005 when the Danish manufacturers of the Falcon line from E Falck Schmidt A/S and the Denka line from Denka Lift A/S merged into a new company, Worldlift Industries A/S, that later was renamed Skako A/S.
"ReachMaster Inc had been a subsidiary of E Falck Schmidt since 2001, and so it was natural that ReachMaster would take over distribution of the Denka line as well," he says.
In 2011, the Skako group decided to divest its interests in the aerial lift industry and sold off the Falcon and Denka lines to individual companies. Christensen acquired from Skako the assets and activities relating to the ReachMaster name and trademark, and he started a new ReachMaster Inc entity in its current form on 1 September 2012. Currently, ReachMaster distributes through more than 100 North American dealerships.
Rothlehner had been the German distributor for the Denka line for 30 years and was a well-established Denka Lift distributor when ReachMaster got involved in 2005.
"Although there were no direct business relations between Rothlehner and ReachMaster during the Skako years, we had a very close direct relationship as external distributors on two important markets for the line," Christensen says. "It was therefore natural that we started working with Rothlehner immediately after they took over the Denka line in April 2013. We knew, however, that it would take at least six to12 months to get the new production in place and aligned for US-bound equipment."
At the end of 2013, ReachMaster started accepting new Denka orders including those for two Denka DL 72N narrow-series models.
Christensen explains: "The first unit was delivered in July to Mansfield Independent School District's new performing arts centre in Mansfield, Texas through Service One Inc in Chicago, a long-term Denka dealer. The second unit will be delivered to the new Zero Energy Nanotechnology (ZEN) building at the State University of New York's College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering in Albany, New York through United Rentals, another long-term Denka dealer."
He adds: "A third Denka unit, the larger DL92N, is slated for delivery to a mid-west customer through Service One in September."
Christensen notes: "We're coming up on our second anniversary and have taken the company from representing three lines to seven lines."
In addition to the Denka line, ReachMaster distributes three other compact aerial lift lines including Falcon from TCA Lift A/S of Odense, Denmark; Bluelift from Bluelift Srl of Montescudo, Italy; and units from PB Lifttechnik GmbH of Oberbechingen, Germany; and three specialised materials handling lines including WinLet from GMV Manufacturing A/S of Bredsten, Denmark; Mighty Crane from R&B Engineering Co Ltd of Shizuoka, Japan; and units from Galizia Snc of Castello di Annone, Italy.
ReachMaster employs 10 staff and has a 1,600 sqft. (149 sqm) office and 3,000 sqft. (279 sqm) warehouse and shop in Kingwood, north of Houston.
ReachMaster competes in North America with lift and materials handling products from numerous firms including Teupen Maschinenbau GmbH of Gronau, Germany, which has a US presence in Charlotte, North Carolina.