Perfect timing for APEX

This year’s APEX aerial platform exhibition and ‘Safe Working at Height’ conference takes place at the perfect time, coinciding both with a recovery in the market for aerial platforms in Europe and with a major European Commission (EC) campaign on safe working at height.

The exhibition, being held in Maastricht, The Netherlands, on 22-24 September, is already sold out, with over 100 exhibiting companies – including all the world’s major equipment suppliers – already committed.

The sell-out reflects confidence in the European market for aerial platforms, which is expected to grow by around 30% this year as rental companies renew and expand their fleets after several years of low demand. Demand is such that major manufacturers have had to stretch delivery times to as much as one year for popular models.

Equipment highlights at the show will include the world's highest ever fire fighting platform – a 90 m reach machine from Bronto Skylift – and important new launches from companies including Pinguely-Haulotte (showing the first of a new range of truck mounted platforms), JLG Industries (new Liftlux-branded narrow electric scissor lifts) and Genie Industries (a new mid-sized articulating boom).

Exhibitors will show the entire range of aerial platforms, including self propelled booms, scissors lifts, van and truck mounted platforms, trailer mounted lifts and vertical mast lifts.

The exhibition and conference is sponsored by Access International magazine and has the official support of the International Powered Access Federation (IPAF). Tim Whiteman, IPAF managing director, said: “IPAF and its international membership is supporting the show and expects it to be the most important meeting place for the powered access industry this year.”

The theme of the day-long free conference, meanwhile, which will be held on the first day of the show (Thursday 22 September), is Safe Working at Height. It will include presentations on the new European Temporary Work at Height Directive; a beginner’s guide to access; case studies on how companies can work safely at height; and a guide to operator training for aerial platforms.

One of the speakers, Jan Blok, a senior official with the Netherlands safety inspectors organisation, is taking a lead in the recently announced EC campaign to reduce accidents on construction sites in the ten new European Union countries, particularly from falls from height. The campaign is being coordinated by the Commission’s Senior Labour Inspectors Committee (SLIC); Mr Blok is chairman of the SLIC construction working group.

The importance of the conference is reflected in new exhibition timings that see the exhibition open at the later time of 10.30am on both Thursday and Friday, allowing visitors to attend the first two hours of seminars before the exhibition opens.

In addition to the safe working at height theme, the APEX conference will also focus on access rental topics, with participants including Alexandre Saubot, managing director of Pinguely-Haulotte, who will speak on the future of the European access rental market, and Peter Verhelst of Hek Nederland, who will cover the topic of rental of mast climbing work platforms.

Murray Pollok, APEX conference director, said the programme was designed to reflect the needs of both access equipment end users and rental companies; “The introduction in Europe this year of the new Work at Height Directive is placing a greater emphasis than ever before on the need to use appropriate equipment for working at height. The conference will explain the regulations to end-users and employers and highlight to rental companies how they can help European industry work safely at height and reduce accidents.”

Visitors to APEX will also have free access to the adjoining RentEX exhibition and conference. RentEX is designed for European rental companies, with exhibitors showing a wide variety of rental equipment including lighting towers, pumps, generators, compact construction machinery, compressors and rental software systems.

The RentEX conference, which takes place on Friday 23 September, will feature high profile speakers such as Gerard Deprez (managing director of Loxam, the second largest rental company in Europe), Freek Nijdam (chairman of RSC in the US, the world’s second largest rental company) and renowned US rental consultant Dan Kaplan. Topics covered by the conference will include the impact of RFID (radio frequency identification) technology and how rental companies are exploiting the latest IT systems to increase efficiency.

Full details of the APEX and RentEX conferences can be found at the official show website: www.apexshow.com.