A hand truck that walks upstairs
Safe Climb. Minimum Time
Welcome to the ever-changing world of Materials handling, and to the extensive range of Hercules Stairclimber Hand trucks and Forklifts.
The Hercules Staircat is manufactured in America and has been successfully sold on the American market for some 40 odd years with thousands of happy users. Over time modifications have been made and accessories added to eventually become one of the most versatile one-person operated pieces of materials handling equipment available on the market today.
Key features
- Simple sturdy design
- Lightweight aluminium construction
- Single person operation
- Ease of operation
- Labour saving properties
- Ability to move heavy (up to 540 kg) and awkward loads
- Speed of stairclimbing rate
- Ability to manoeuvre loads in confined spaces and around tight corners (i.e. landings)
- Won’t damage stair surfaces (i.e. carpet, timber, tiles or granite)
- Gentle action means no jolting of sensitive fragile goods
Potential Users
Although it can be said that literally anybody who moves or delivers materials of any nature should use a Hercules Stairclimber, the following industry groups have been pinpointed as being obvious users who would greatly benefit from using our marvellous range of machines.
- Appliance industry (fridges, stoves, washers, dishwashers)
- Vending equipment (cigarette, drink, snack food suppliers)
- Printing and paper suppliers (quick print shops, printers, copy paper suppliers)
- Air Conditioning (supply and service)
- Nursery (large plants, tubs, garden ornaments)
- Business Machines, office equipment (photocopiers, filing cabinets etc)
- Locksmiths (safes, gun cupboards, fireproof filing cabinets)
- Amusement machine suppliers and operators (poker machines, amusement machines, juke boxes etc)
- Removalists (fridges, pianos, washers)
- Commercial refrigeration (commercial drink and cabinet fridges, ice makers, post mix units etc)
- Commercial / Domestic kitchen appliance suppliers (stoves, wall ovens, gas cookers, slow combustion cook ovens, pizza ovens etc)
- Soft drink distributors (coca cola, Pepsi, Schweppes and their agents or contractors)
- Photographic and print room suppliers (retail photo imaging equipment, large print machines and printers)
- Transport trucking companies (sensitive freight handlers)
- Heating / fireplace suppliers and installers (wood, gas heathers)
- Television / Audio suppliers (audio / visual conference suppliers, home entertainment systems suppliers
- Bathroom equipment supply (vanities, baths, spas etc)
- Tilers and ceramic suppliers (tiles, brick pavers)
- Building Supplies (bricks, building supplies)
- Hire industry (short- and long-term hire specialists)
- Warehousing facilities (the QLA range of non-stairclimbing forklifts can manoeuvre in much smaller aisles
- Oil and gas suppliers (drums, cylinders etc)
- Government (education, hospitals, army, air force, navy, local government, state utilities, transport)
Standard equipment
All Staircat models come complete with
1x RW-1 a 3.6 metre security strap
1x Standard 12 volt / 17-amp Gel Battery
(except MLA or RLA which comes with a Heavy Duty 28-amp Gel Battery)
1x 240-volt charger
For different applications it is necessary to add additional Rewind Straps (RW-1) to secure tall loads ie fridges – vending machines, pianos etc to stabilize loads. For other applications i.e. frequent or heavy use you may need to switch from the standard battery to a heavy-duty battery. But almost all applications will benefit from a Big Wheel Attachment (BWA-1) removable all terrain wheels.
Other accessory
- RLS-1 a retractable load support for heavy equipment handlers.
- Barrel Attachment
- Big Toe Plate is a large 70 mm toe plate and fits through a standard doorway, useful when loading multiple small boxes ie A4 paper or loads requiring more support.
- Height adjustable toe plate for vending machines, commercial fridges stoves, pizza overs and copiers or objects with legs or castors.
- Magnum Cross Handle a new handle that will make it easier to hold the machine from multiple locations.
- Lift Hitch to attach the staircat easily to your Ute.
- Aluminium stairs negate the need for hydraulic tail gate lifter on utes, trucks, Pantech’s. Height indicates the height from the road to the truck tray.
- Lift Plate Attachment is a large steel plate, removable with clip on steel plate hooks that will hook onto the forks, for a variety of applications.
First and foremost, we must recognize that whoever delivers or whatever they deliver it generally has to be loaded out of a truck – van or ute and then on to the final destination. With homes, flats and small businesses this can often mean that stairs will need to be negotiated if not just a kerb and some steps.
With the ever-increasing cost of labour, if a way can be found to reduce a 2 man delivery where stairs have to be negotiated to a one man delivery, a significant saving can be achieved.
Many small and large companies use hydraulic lift platforms to load and unload trucks and vehicles so now we have the load at street level, for a little more than the cost of a small hydraulic tail gate lifter Hercules can supply a set of lightweight aluminium stairs plus a staircat that will load and unload a truck and walk the load upstairs or downstairs to the delivery point.
The benefits:
- Similar capital outlay
- More labour-saving capabilities
- No reduction of pay load (i.e. if a truck has a tare of 2 tons and a 500 kg tail gate lifter is fitted, the trucks tare is reduced to 1500 kg)
- Reduced fuel and engine wear and break repair costs
more key benefits;
- Hercules saves time and labour
- Reduces risk of back injuries
- Operates in tight and confined spaces (turns on its own axis)
- Wont damage stair surfaces
- Easy to operate
- Cost effective
- SafeWork NSW approved
The Objections
- “We have seen stairclimbers before and they do not work!””
The facts are the Hercules Staircat has more advanced and beneficial features than any machine previously offered or currently available and 40 years of technical excellence to prove it. - “We cannot afford it.”
Reality is that for the sum as small as $9 per day, $45 per work week, they can rent or lease a Hercules Staircat over 4 or 5 years - “Our blokes wouldn’t use it, they are stuck in their ways”
You are no doubt aware of the responsibilities company owners and managers have in respect to Occupational health and safety and safe work practices. The new get-tough policies of SafeWork means management has to take control and effect work practice changes that safeguard both the employee and the legal liabilities of the business. Unsafe work practices can become a huge cost burden as SafeWork Authorities clamp down on contributory negligence.
Warranties
Hercules Complete Lifting Solutions warrants its products and accessories to be free of defect and in full working order upon delivery and further agrees to repair or replace for a period of 12 months any part including labour that faults or is found defective during normal operation. This warranty does not cover accidental, careless or wilful damage and maintenance neglect.
Training
Included in the price of the Hercules Stairclimber is a maximum of 1.5 hours of key operator training to be performed by Hercules authorized personnel or one of its agents.
It’s not often that a product is released onto the market that is both exciting to demonstrate and offers such a wide range of benefits as the Hercules Staircat. They offer unsurpassed quality – ease of operations and a myriad of solutions to everyday delivery and materials handling problems.
