News EHS PRODUCT FOCUS


Flight of The Navigator Metal and Modular is well known for its range of robust workshop


equipment, but is just about to launch a new non-powered access product. All things considered, it might just be a bit of a game changer… One of the unexpected advantages of a two-year gap between Executive Hire Shows is that many exhibitors will be launching new equipment. Not many will be venturing beyond their usual ranges, but Metal and Modular will be using EHS 2022 to launch a brand new access product they’re calling ‘The Navigator’. Far better to give a new product a name rather than a dreary alphanumeric moniker. M&M deserves credit for that, but The Navigator itself may yet be better known for being the world’s first push-around, mechanically-operated platform reaching a working height of six metres. Rival manufacturers are already paying attention; so might we be on the verge of an access products arms race…?


Possibly, although they’d better tread carefully, as several crucial elements of The Navigator are protected by international patents. All that aside, the new unit has not yet entered full production but has already found its first customer. Director Michael Brown explains some of the key features: “The Navigator uses a geared system enabling users to easily wind


the platform up to working height,” he begins. “It has lifting pockets, a footbrake, pull-out stabilisers and gates that lock on elevation. The gearing system itself comes as a frame, so it can easily be maintained and replaced if necessary. “We have introduced some laser-cut see-through pockets at the


front of the unit, to improve visibility when pushing it around. The core model will include a fixed platform, but a slide-out deck will be offered as an option.” When The Navigator eventually takes flight, will M&M take on the


whole of its production or draft in some manufacturing assistance? “We’ll begin manufacturing it ourselves, but then, as things start


picking up, we’ll bring other companies in on the basis that they fully understand how it needs to be made. We’ve put a great deal of work behind the scenes, designing certain components in sub-assemblies to ensure that the whole manufacturing process can flow and continue to do so,” says Michael. Regardless of where it’s made, manufacturing the Navigator still


entails a lot of steel. Have the ongoing shortages presented any problems? “You can never fully control the supply of raw materials, but we


have been diligent in making sure that we go to multiple suppliers to ensure that we have continuity of component parts. All our suppliers are based in the UK, except for the wheels which are made in Germany. So we’ve always got components coming in and we’re always three or four weeks ahead of where we want to be.” Finally, there’s nothing quite like The Navigator at present. What is


its market potential, and what about future developments? “We think we could make between 500 and 1000. During this


period, we would release them to other UK manufacturers to make as well, but this is probably six months down the line,” says Michael. “We’re not just looking at the hire market for this, but we are thinking oil platforms and other areas where it might be used. The more we build it right to begin with, the better and more flexible it will be.”


STAND I16


CUSTOMER NUMBER ONE Tony Crawford, MD of Enfield-based Mr Plant Hire, is going to


be the first customer for The Navigator, but has bought into the product without actually seeing much more than a few drawings and working prototype. The company has over 820 powered access machines in fleet, so what gap does The Navigator fill and what does he like about it? “Our specialist field is mechanical and electrical work, and a massive part of that is low level access equipment. I saw the prototype earlier this year and I was very taken with it straight away – it reaches six metres, it’s outdoor-rated and it’s very versatile. “I think The Navigator is going to change the market for traditional MEWPs up to nine or ten metres. It’s built to last, and I can see us running them for at least ten years. We’ve given Michael an order for the first 25 production units and we already have an option for the next 25.”


14 Executive Hire News - Jan/Feb 2022


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