Gauteng industrial equipment supplier SkyJacks has installed a GEDA construction hoist on a 100-m-high vessel at chemicals and energy company Sasol’s monomers plant in Secunda, Mpumalanga.

“The GEDA 300Z was attached to the scaffolding erected by the contractor around the vessel and went up to a height of 95 m. The GEDA 300Z was used by the contractor to vertically move insulation and cladding material and has a load capacity of 300 kg, travelling at a speed of 30 m/min,” explains SkyJacks MD Alistair Bennett.

SkyJacks, a division of industrial services business Waco Africa, became the sole distributor of German manufacturer GEDA’s construction hoists and industrial elevators in South Africain June last year.

The Secunda project was completed in September last year, with the installation taking six days.

“Our distribution agreement with GEDA also covers Angola, Botswana, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Eswatini, Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe,” highlights Bennett.

He attributes the company’s appointment to its more than 40 years’ experience in the sale and rental of suspended access equipment and mobile, elevated work platforms.

“Adding the GEDA construction hoists to our service offering is a natural fit. We also have the technical expertise and workshops to service and repair these hoists and provide the required level of customer support.”

While the construction sector is a tough space in which to operate currently, Bennett notes that demand mostly stems from the maintenance and retrofitting of buildings, as well as the industrial maintenance sector.

Compared with other solutions available locally, GEDA rack-and-pinion hoists cover a range of platforms, lifting heights, load capacities and hoisting speeds that can be customised to on-site conditions.

For example, the hoisting speeds of new GEDA hoists can be altered by the contractor to accommodate the hoisting of materials and/or people.

“The GEDA 500 Z/ZP transport platform has two separate controls, so it can be used simply as a material hoist or as a transport platform for passengers and materials. Lifting speeds of 24 m/min in material mode and 12 m/min in passenger mode ensure rapid construction progress.

“Another recent innovation is the launch ofa new freestanding hoist platform that can be used to lift materials and people up to a height of 12 m without any need for supporting brackets to be fixed to a building. The GEDA 1500 Z/ZP F has a platform measuring 1.45 m × 3.3 m and has a maximum load capacity of 13 00 kg or up to seven people,” explains Bennett.

Owing to the high capital cost of the equipment, the demand for SkyJack’s rentals exceeds that of equipment for sale.

Customers also prefer the convenience of having an expert erect, maintain and dismantle the hoists afforded by the rental option, says Bennett.

To ensure a secure supply chain and limited downtime, SkyJacks carries substantial spares for all GEDA rental and sales units; therefore, servicing and breakdown assistance is not impacted on by the original-equipment manufacturer being based overseas.

“If required, we can also fly emergency spares in from Germany,” highlights Bennett.

The company offers 24/7 breakdown assistance for owned and rented machines and can service and repair hoists at its workshops or on site.

SkyJacksis a GEDA-approved service partner and its technicians have been trained in the repair and maintenance of GEDA’s equipment.