Aerial Work Platforms
The aerial work platform or AWP is a machinery designed and engineered to raise workers and tools to a particular height for the completion of jobs. The type of equipment varies with the particular brand and model. Before aerial work platforms were developed, all tasks requiring work at high levels needed to be carried out with scaffolding. Thus, the invention of aerial work platforms has kept numerous workers safe and increased the overall productivity of similar tasks.
There are 3 main kinds of aerial work platforms. They are scissor lifts, boomlifts and mechanical lifts. These equipment are able to be operated with pneumatics, mechanically via a rack and pinion system or with screws or by hydraulics. These models may be self-propelled with controls situated at the platform, they may be unpowered models needing an external force to move them or be mounted to a vehicle in order to be transported.
John L. Grove was an American inventor and industrialist who is widely credited to developing the aerial work platform. Nevertheless, in 1966, before the first model of JLG, a company called Selma Manlift launched an aerial lift model.
In 1967, after selling his previous company Grove Manufacturing, John L. Grove and his wife decided to take a road trip. They opted to stop at Hoover Dam. While the couple was there, Grove unfortunately saw 2 employees electrocuted while they were working on scaffolding. This terrible event led John Grove to discover an untapped market for a new product which can safely lift workers in the air for them to do maintenance and construction jobs in a better way.
John bought a small metal fabrication company and formed a partnership together with 2 friends, once he returned home from his trip. The small business soon started designing ideas for the aerial work platform. The new company was named JLG Industries Inc. They proudly released their first aerial work platform in 1970 with the aid of 20 employees.