Genie celebrates 50th anniversary;
introduces new models
Genie Equipment Company, a division of Terex, recently celebrated its 50th anniversary at its headquarters in Redmond, Washington.
Genie Industries was founded in 1966 when Bud Bushnell bought the rights to a material lift that operated on compressed air. Customers were impressed with the “magic in the bottle” that raised and lowered the hoist, and hence the “Genie” name was born, reports Matt Fearon, Genie president. In the following 50 years, Genie continued to improve the reach, safety and lifting capacity of aerial work platforms (AWP).
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| The new Genie SX 135 XC boom lift features 660 pounds capacity while reaching an additional 10 feet, making its overall reach 145 feet. However, if users reduce reach to 135 feet, the unit has 1,000 pounds of basket capacity. The pending standard requires at least 500 pound basket capacity. |
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Anticipated ANSI standard drives new models
The celebration set the stage to introduce new models that help position Genie lifts for the coming 50 years.
The American National Standards Institute (ANSI) is updating its A92.20 standard for vehicle-mounted elevating and rotating work platforms. The goal is to better align with ISO-based standards used in other parts of the world, says Chad Hislop, director of engineering at Genie. “The standard is in final review.
We expect it will be finalized in early 2017 and will take effect in early 2018,” he says.
The revised ANSI standard aims to prevent personal injuries and accidents, bring uniformity to ratings and improve understanding by all who make, sell service and use AWPs, according to ANSI sources.
“It covers many points, but most important, it covers platform load sensing and tilt control,” Hislop says. “Any boom lift built after 2018 must have load-sensing capabilities that will prevent the AWP from operating if the basket is overloaded past its rated capacity. In most cases, that is 500 pounds,” says Hislop.
The unit must also have dynamic terrain sensing that warns of changing slope and prevents operation if the unit gets outside of its safe work envelope, based on the terrain slope.
These two major changes are already required on boom lifts in countries that follow the ISO-based standards, most specifically the EU’s EN280 standard, China’s GB standard and Korea’s KC Mark standard. “Presently, to build AWPs that meet both standards, the load-sensing and the slope-sense capabilities had to be bolt-on technology,” says Hislop. “As the United States and other countries adopt the new standard, manufacturers will be able to incorporate them into the base design. We can do it without affecting the AWP’s list price.”
The new standard will not be retroactive, so AWPs manufactured before the 2018 adoption date may be operated without additional modifications.
Genie introduces extra-capacity XC models
In preparation for the new standard, Genie officials unveiled its new SX-135XC boom lift at the 50th anniversary celebration.
The Xtra Capacity, or XC nomenclature that Genie is adopting for the next-generation units, complies with the overload restriction guidelines in the proposed ANSI A92 and CSA B354 industry standards as well as the current European EN280 and Australian AS 1418.10 standards.
The new SX 135 XC boom lift features 660 pounds capacity while reaching an additional 10 feet, making its overall reach 145 feet. However, if users reduce reach to 135 feet, the unit has 1,000 pounds of basket capacity. The pending standard requires at least 500 pound basket capacity.
The new model delivers industry-leading outreach and capacity throughout the full working envelope, Genie sources report. The unit has 90 feet of outreach, 660 pounds of unrestricted lift capacity, and can work 19.66 feet below grade. It has a 12.9 feet by 13.5 feet footprint.
“With 10 feet more outreach and 32 percent more capacity than typical self-propelled booms of this size,” says Adam Hailey, Genie director of product management, “the Genie SX-135XC is ideal for rental customers with its unique up-and-over capability to navigate obstacles at height.”
The new unit can lift workers to full platform height in 2.5 minutes and is drive-enabled at full height. It’s powered by a Deutz TD2.9 L4 74-hp. Tier 4/Stage 3B-compliant diesel engine with four-wheel drive/steering.
The boom has a Jib-Extend telescoping jib that can reach an additional 18 to 30 feet, which offers operators up-and-over capabilities, 125 degrees of vertical jib articulation – 55 degrees down to 70 degrees up. The working envelope increases with the boom’s extended reach-out and -down capability: 19.66 feet reach below grade.
“To accommodate the boom lift’s increased capacity and range of motion,” says Hailey, “the new hydraulically telescoping Jib-Extend design is robust enough to handle all of the up, over, out and below tasks rental customers need to do. When the job is done, the jib stows under the primary boom for easy transport.”
The unit features Genie’s new mini XChassis axle that changes the unit’s axles from a compact 8.17 feet by 13.5 feet in the stowed/transport position to 12.92 feet by 13.5 feet
for work.
“Similar in design to the full-size XChassis expanding axle on the Genie SX-150, SX-180 and ZX-135 booms,” says Hailey, “the mini XChassis system has two-thirds the footprint of the full-size version for excellent maneuverability on confined jobsites.”
Weighing 47,900 pounds with an overall transport length of 43.58 feet, a tail swing of 3.75 feet and ground clearance of 15 inches, the unit can be transported on a standard trailer.
The new boom lift shares design, parts and accessories commonality with all Genie products and offers easy access to crucial service points.
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| TheGenie Z-60/37FE boom lift provides two modes of operation: full-electric, which means full-day, emissions-free performance on a single charge or hybrid mode, which offers more than a week of runtime on one tank of diesel fuel. |
Fuel-electric model
Genie product managers also exhibited the Z-60/37FE AWP that was first introduced at the BAUMA trade show in Germany earlier in 2016. The new model offers hybrid fuel-electric power that reduces engine size while improving power and versatility.
The articulating Genie Z-60/37FE boom offers operators two machines in one package for indoor and outdoor applications while providing lower cost of operation and cleaner performance. Driven by high-efficiency AC motors, it combines the benefits of advanced diesel power, four-wheel drive performance and the cleaner, quieter efficiency of compact, lower weight electric-powered booms.
The boom lift provides two modes of operation: full-electric, which means full-day, emissions-free performance on a single charge or hybrid mode, which offers more than a week of runtime on one tank of diesel fuel.
In hybrid mode, the machine uses its environmentally-friendly 24-hp. Tier 4/Stage IIIB Final engine to power a generator to maintain the battery state of charge or to supplement the battery to boost machine performance.
The system constantly monitors the battery state and uses the engine-driven generator to top off batteries for maximum runtime, then automatically shuts off to minimize fuel consumption. For extreme conditions or after heavy full-electric operation, the
hybrid power system can recharge the battery to 80 percent within
approximately four hours.
The hybrid system can also provide power directly to the four-wheel AC drive motors, combining the power of the diesel-driven generator and the 48-volt battery pack to maximize performance when climbing hills or traversing rugged terrain.
“The Genie Z-60/37FE boom is a new approach to our mid-size Z-boom family. On long-term jobs, even when on-site power is not available, this machine is sufficiently versatile to handle tasks ranging from work on rough and unprepared ground to indoor applications where reduced noise and emissions levels are necessary,” says Hailey. “This model is an extremely cost-efficient solution for general construction and industrial applications such as arenas, shopping malls and convention centers.
“Combining the robust quality and rough terrain performance that have made Genie Z-62/40 and S-60 boom lifts so popular,” says Hailey, “the Genie Z-60/37FE boom is light and compact enough for tasks in confined spaces. This unit is the kind of machine that is often the first on the jobsite and the last off — exactly what rental customers are looking for to improve their profitability.”
The four-wheel drive unit offers 45 percent gradeability, 13 inches of ground clearance and can travel 25 percent faster than diesel-powered units. Its active oscillating axles increase wheel contact on irregular terrain and its fully sealed IP 67 AC motors can operate in three feet of water.
Providing 66 feet of working height, 36.58 feet of horizontal outreach and 24.25 feet of up-and-over clearance, the unit has a 5-foot jib with 70 degrees up and 65 degrees down range of motion and a 160-degree platform rotation. It has a narrow footprint and a 23-inch tail swing, ideal for confined environments.
The 6-or 8-foot platforms have a 500 pound working capacity across the entire working envelope. The Genie FastMast system enables the boom to move from full height to below grade and back with the use of just one boom control, which shortens lift time. At 17,100 pounds and a 26.75 feet stowed length, the unit transports on a standard truck.
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