essentialARB was among those invited to the recent CPL open day, where the company's wide range of vehicle conversions were on display.
ACCESS platform specialist CPL welcomed a wide variety of visitors to its recent open day, where a range of vehicles designed to improve the lives of arborists were on show.
Established in 2011, CPL (Cumberland Platforms Ltd) has quickly risen to become a significant player in the sector and, as demand for mobile access platforms continues to rise, it looks poised to benefit.
In 2018, the company was acquired by French vehicle-mounted lift manufacturer Klubb, which produces all of its van-mounted cranes. The pick-up booms come from Palfinger in Italy and all conversions are carried out and fully tested in Kettering, Northamptonshire.
The second open day to be organised by the company, the event was held at CPL’s HQ and included tours of its three manufacturing facilities, where more than 300 conversions were completed in 2019.
Though it was a wet and gloomy day, CPL was rewarded with a good turnout of contractors interested in what their vehicles have to offer.
Generating the most interest from arborists on the day was the Isuzu P130 pick-up cherry picker, which boasts a 13.1 m working height and 6.2 m working outreach and is said to be the firm’s biggest seller due to its ‘go anywhere’ capabilities.
Developed with a low centre of gravity to improve road holding and off-road capability, the P130’s safe working load recently increased from 225 kg to 240 kg in the basket, while stability levels have been improved from four to five degrees.
The cherry picker’s deck-based controls have also been improved by being moved to the nearside of the vehicle for safer and easier kerbside operation. The unit has received a 3.5-tonne air suspension upgrade with on-board pressure gauges and self-inflating system.
Optional extras that can be requested on the P130 access platform include rear beacons built into the body, full beacon pack (which includes front, rear and vehicle cab), reverse camera, fully type-approved tow bar, company livery and rear chevrons, all installed at CPL’s factory.
The P130 access platform conversion is also available for the heavier Toyota Hilux chassis. Available on 4-wheel drive, this articulated conversion is powered by a 2.4-litre diesel engine, which develops around 146 PS and 343 Nm of torque. And with a number of vehicles out on the market being replaced by newer models, CPL is now able to offer a number of second-hand pick-ups at attractive prices.
Anna Ramsden, marketing and events manager at CPL, said: “It’s something really new for us. We’ve never looked at second-hand before, but not everyone can afford brand new.
“The older Toyotas are much lighter and a lot of people prefer them. They’re looking to find a nice, second-hand Toyota and we’ve got a few of them now.”
The main things arborists wanted to know about the pick-ups, Anna said, was their outreach, height, payload and cost.
“The biggest question is whether it’s worth it,” she said. “A lot of arborists are one- or two-man bands and I think many would prefer not to use MEWPs if they can help it. They’re not cheap and a lot of guys still want to be able to climb. That’s fantastic, but it’s increasingly risky. If you’ve got staff and one of them falls while climbing, you can be in a lot of trouble. So from that perspective, is it worth just having one? Health and safety is a big part of what we’re about and as it impacts more on the industry, I think that’s where we’ll grow.”
Another vehicle of particular interest to the arb world is the CPL Chipper Tipper, again available for both Isuzu and Toyota, with a 3.5-tonne suspension upgrade adding exceptional payload to the vehicles. With the option of secure tool boxes with 190 kg storage capacity, the Chipper Tipper has been designed as an ideal workhorse, predominantly used for chipping.
The tipper has a maximum angle of 50 degrees to aid in tipping loads and uses an uprated four-pivot-point tipper cylinder mechanism. For arborists, the truck comes with a full aluminium body and drop-down tailgate.
Available on the market for around two and a half years now, Anna said there are almost 100 in use in the UK, indicating it’s gone over quite well.
“It’s quite a straightforward piece of kit really, but it works well and people like it,” she said.
“We designed it because we thought there was a gap in the market. There wasn’t anything else like it that was fully road legal. A lot of arborists will just have a pick-up with a bit of MDF around the side and with health and safety, there are concerns about vehicles going overweight. The tipper has been upgraded to 3.5 tonne, so it would be really hard to go overweight.
“I think in the next five or six years, the second-hand Chipper Tipper market will be quite big for us, as people begin to trade them in.”
Among the other vehicles on show on the day was the fully electric K20 Goupil, said to be very popular with councils and well-suited to urban green spaces with a working height of 10.1 m, a working outreach of 4.1 m and a driving range of 70 km.
The K20 Env200, one of the fully electric conversions within the range, was also demonstrated, and the K21B Peugeot Expert, one of the group’s smallest vans, with a working height of 11.4 m, made its debut.
When not inspecting the vehicles in the car park or enjoying refreshments in the office, visitors were able to tour the factories to see how conversions, testing and servicing are carried out.
Anna said the company hopes to hold more open days in 2020.
For more information about the range, visit www.cpl-ltd.com.
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