40 Years of Multi Direction Lifting Trucks
Celebrating over 40 years of manufacture, Sidetracker Sideloaders
are still at the forefront of innovation and reliability when
it comes to moving long and awkward loads and is still in the
same family ownership.
Working for the Production Engineering Research Association
in the 1950s on projects to improve productivity, Chairman Peter
Dobson saw a need for efficient materials handling equipment
in factories, particularly where long loads were involved. Eventually,
he patented designs for a multi-directional transport system
and then in 1963 formed the company. The first trucks, built
part-time in an old stable, were un-powered models which had
to be pushed, but they did incorporate a multi-wheel design which
allowed them to move sideways as well as forwards and backwards.
The first year's turnover was £700.
The first fully powered production model was sold to Chesterfield
Transport Department for use in the bus maintenance workshop.
It was a four-way model and had a ton capacity. This was followed
by models with greater load capacities and higher lift heights,
and a guided narrow-aisle system was also developed.
Reliability
In 1976 the company, by now in a purpose built factory, produced
its first fully multi-directional model which incorporated many
of the design principles that are still applied today. Since
the earliest days reliability has been one of the most important
considerations, because it was recognised that unlike general
purpose pallet trucks - a high proportion of customers would
only operate a single Sidetracker and they would usually not
be able to hire a short-term replacement quickly if anything
serious went wrong.
It is this design principle that led to the inclusion of dual
power systems on every model, which enables them to operate without
loss of load capacity or lift height, even if one power unit
is removed for repair. For the same reason, the trucks continue
to use electro-hydraulic control systems rather than electronics,
which can still be adversely affected by rough surfaces and the
treatment trucks typically receive.
While the company has avoided innovation for its own sake,
many technical advances have been developed and incorporated
over the years. The rail guidance system designed 35 years ago
was probably the first in the UK, and recently the company developed
a multi-direction truck with joystick controlled all-wheel steering.
The rugged simplicity of the battery-powered Sidetrackers
also means they are able to operate outdoors, and many customers
use them as multi-purpose load handlers rather than solely for
narrow aisle warehouse duties. The specification of the latest
models makes them ever more versatile: load capacities now reach
15,000kg and lift heights can be over 10m.
The advantages of the multi-directional Sidetrackers are well
understood in sectors where handling long loads is a standard
rather than an unusual procedure such as steel stockholders and
window profile manufacturers where Sidetrackers operate in aisles
from 1.5 metres wide with loads as long as 21 metres.
Space saving
Over the last few years the manoeuvrability and space-saving
capabilities of the multi-direction Sidetrackers have caught
the eye of less typical customers. Polestar Varnicoat, one of
the UK's leading gravure printers, uses two trucks to carry printing
cylinders and stillages up to 4.5m long around the works, passing
along corridors and through openings that could not be negotiated
by conventional lift trucks. They also have special pivoting
forks to enable them to carry stillages or individual cylinders
of various lengths.
For household removals and storage specialists, Michael Gerson,
the arrival of a Sidetracker has allowed an extra 108 storage
containers, each 370ft3 capacity, to be stored on its restricted
site in North London. The truck is designed to lift the cases,
which weigh up to three tonnes, to 8.1m.
