An innovative new type of asset has been added to the Dawsongroup | material handling product range. The Megalift solution is a game changer, and exactly what transport companies have been missing to ensure their fleet is fully utilised.

It is a unique piece of equipment best described as a self-loading trailer. Quite simply, the Megalift is a 40-foot trailer with two cranes, one mounted on the front and one on the back, which can be operated either individually or together to lift a fully loaded container weighing up to 35 tonnes. The trailer can be connected to the back of any existing truck and within two minutes it’s ready to deploy a fully loaded container in any location.

Anywhere, Anyone

It only takes one person to operate the Megalift, and because the control unit is wireless, the operator can stand at a safe distance from the working area. To lift a container from one truck to another, the bridge leg design allows the cranes to reach over the second truck and never touch it. The driver can lift a fully loaded container from a second truck in less than three minutes, all from a safe working distance.

Being positioned on the top of a trailer allows the Megalift to be utilised anywhere, and because it is mobile, containers can be loaded or offloaded where there is no existing infrastructure. This includes lifting fully loaded containers from a train, at a warehouse with no loading ramp facilities or in rural areas. In fact, the Megalift is ideal for handling containers on uneven or unreinforced ground, such as for event logistics or demolition and commercial relocation projects where the terrain is unpredictable and not suited to large, heavy equipment. It can even deploy fully loaded containers in the middle of a field!

Filling the Infrastructure Gap

Noticing this gap in the market is what led Meredith Hall, CEO and founder, to create the Megalift in 2017. With over 26 years of engineering and material handling experience and a farming background, he has a passion for keeping things simple and robust. The Megalift is just such a solution, and the growing success of the company is testament to that. Meredith travels all over Europe to demonstrate and deliver the equipment to customers.

“As the managing director of Megalift, I feel it is important to personally hand the machine to the customer, oversee the incorporation of it and ensure that all questions are answered,” said Meredith. “Although design and manufacture are really important to me, I thoroughly enjoy being in front of the customers and understanding their queries, if any, with a focus on further improving our services and our products.”

Free Up Your Trailers

One type of customer that is perfect for Megalift is a large transport company. Typical issues they face include too many parked trailers sitting with loaded containers waiting for the port to accept them or the customer to load or offload them. The Megalift enables the company to put containers on the floor so they can free up their existing trailers and continue to utilise them.

“We genuinely believe there is a huge outlet with short-term rental,” said Meredith. “With the current climate, when you order new trailers or new trucks the lead time is 12 or 18 months. Large transport companies may have significant portions of their fleet not being utilised correctly, so they’re really pushing themselves now to find solutions to offload those containers to release the trailers and put them back to work. People are genuinely looking for short-term rental for 6 or 12 months while they’re waiting for their new fleet of trailers to arrive.”

Creating the Perfect Solution

Meredith saw an opportunity to combine Megalift’s unique equipment with Dawsongroup’s smarter asset strategy to create the perfect solution. Whilst the Megalift is part of material handling’s portfolio, Dawsongroup is in the ideal position to provide truck and trailer customers with this unique solution to free up their fleets.

“The Megalift offers us growth potential in the current markets we serve,” said Tim Abraham, Managing Director of Dawsongroup | material handling, “and an opportunity to enter new industry sectors by removing expensive material handling inefficiencies without sacrificing flexibility. We are looking forward to working with Meredith and the wider Megalift team, using our scale to raise awareness of the benefits of this product and our rental offer for the UK supply chain.”

“I actually know Dawsongroup from my previous days at Combilift,” said Meredith. “I know the people and understand their technical ability and their network throughout the UK. As a manufacturing company, we feel that our focus is to design and manufacture and continue on that path. With the rental side of the business, we genuinely feel that Dawsongroup are experts in their field in terms of the customer base and the technical support and ability that they will give us. We hope that this is just the start of our relationship with Dawsongroup.”

Dawsongroup | material handling took delivery of Megalift in June. Contact us to find out about the Megalift solution and Dawsongroup’s Smarter Asset Strategy.