New Power-Reach 'Skips' a Generation

Boughton Engineering (UK), which has pioneered many of the waste handling systems that are established and accepted across the industry as best practice, has announced a completely new range of skip loaders, to be known generically as Power-Reach.  The Wolverhampton-based company, now part of Skan Group Holdings, will reveal the first variant of the new range, the Power-Reach PR-18 (for 18 tonne GVW applications), at the Recycling & Waste Management Exhibition at the NEC this month.

The new Power-Reach skip loader, claims Boughton, is the first comprehensive ground-up design review and concept development programme for more than twenty years – and the package incorporates further innovation – a fully integrated and patented automatic sheeting system, known as Intacova.  Both products will be available with a range of contract maintenance and service support packages.

Major emphasis has been placed on improving functionality, safety and serviceability in what is described as one of the most hostile operating environments in the transport industry.  Significant features include extendable reach, the ability to lift from below ground level and completely redesigned hydraulics.

The basic skip loader unit incorporates a forward sloping scow-shaped front bulkhead with the Intacova auto-sheeter home position stowage tray mounted at the top, between optional guard protected work lamps. The floor of the skip unit incorporates multi-position asymmetric bin stops and guides both forward and across the width, to significantly improve bin location and stability in transit.  The floor area also incorporates removable access panels for improved maintenance and access to key components such as the valve chest.

The rear of the skip loader has been significantly shortened from current designs, to aid manoeuvrability and reduce overhang. The assembly itself is a bolted construction to improve access for servicing and repair – and provide simplified mounting options for the installation of towing hitches, rear-facing cameras and other equipment. This protected but serviceable approach has been carried through into the standard light cluster, with appropriate protective guards.

The rugged rear tip hooks are powered both up and down and the design permits full pneumatic control of an exceptionally steep but useful tip angle which can be discharged all the way to floor level. Rear end stability is provided by either wheels or stab jacks, but the big departure is that the leg rams are removable upwards for repair via a top access plate – so no over-pit hazardous maintenance procedures.

The entire hydraulics system, including the valve chest, has been completely redesigned, simplified and modularised. The new generation controls represent a step-change in ergonomics and operability, including a single ‘hold to run’ and a fast ‘regen’ position for off-loading.

The operating arms and rear housing incorporate rear grab handles which double as a sheeter guide and there are permanent stowage hooks for lifting chains.  The lifting arms themselves are extendable from 2768mm to 4138mm maximum (these dimensions being taken from the centre point of the pivot hole). 

At either side of the new unit, access ladders are retractable and stowed below the base platform to minimise potential damage and intrusion. Overall width, at 2550mm, is within legal requirements including the sheeter – an important factor which ensures that the skip unit and sheeter together will fully comply with Whole Vehicle Type Approval when it comes into effect from October 2014 .

The Intacova system features a low and retracted cover arm position within the skip loader side rave, significantly reducing the opportunity for damage during loading. The sheeter is designed with a cover capability to accommodate all common usage containers up to maximum sized bins. The sheeter system itself is designed as a separate unit and therefore is able to be retrofitted to an in-service Power-Reach model as an assembly only operation, with no cutting or welding. Controls are added simply by extending the modular valve chest with additional sectors.

Group Managing Director, Richard Skan says, “Boughton Engineering and our co-located sister company Oldbury UK, have between them over 250 years of proven British engineering excellence. The two companies share an exceptional design engineering and development resource with access to the latest advanced systems, CAD and FEA. When Skan Group bought Boughton, we made a promise to our customer base that we were fully committed to the business for the long term and that we would invest what it would take to bring the product back to a leadership position in the market. The Power-Reach and Intacova products represent both the manifestation and the delivery commitment on those undertakings”.