Aerial Work Platforms
The aerial work platform or AWP is a machine engineered and designed to raise employees and tools to a certain height for the completion of jobs. The kind of equipment varies with the specific brand and unit. Before aerial work platforms were developed, all jobs which require 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.
The three key kinds of aerial work platforms are scissor lifts, boomlifts and mechanical lifts. These machinery can be operated with pneumatics, mechanically via a pinion and rack system or with screws or by hydraulics. These units may be self-propelled with controls at the platform, they may be unpowered units 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 creating the aerial work platform. However, during 1966, prior to the first unit of JLG, a company called Selma Manlift introduced an aerial lift unit.
During the year 1967, after selling his previous company Grove Manufacturing, John L. Grove along with his wife decided to take a road trip. They opted to stop at Hoover Dam. While the couple was there, Grove unfortunately witnessed 2 workers electrocuted while they were working on scaffolding. This tragic 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 construction and maintenance jobs in a better way.
John bought a small metal fabrication company and formed a partnership together with 2 friends, when he returned home from his vacation. The small company immediately began designing ideas for the aerial work platform. The new company was named JLG Industries Inc. They proudly launched their first aerial work platform in 1970 with the aid of 20 workers.