RSS Staff Complete JDN Air Hoist Training

Rope and Sling Specialists Ltd. (RSS), a UK supplier of lifting and rigging equipment, has put staff through product training on JD Neuhaus’s (JDN) new range of Mini Next Gen air hoists, which it is distributing to the UK market. The first batch of products will be delivered in mid-September.

RSS announced in June that it had secured a partnership with JDN UK, which offers the full range of pneumatic and hydraulic hoists, crane systems, and components, manufactured at headquarters in Germany, principally for use in extreme environments.

The latest training session was conducted at RSS’s Warrington facility, but representatives from all six UK depots participated. RSS will initially stock the Mini at two of those facilities in Pyle, Wales and Grangemouth, Scotland.

The new Mini air hoist range offers longer lifetime, easier maintenance, and higher speeds, while custom options are available upon request. The Mini is explosion-protected and available in capacities of 125kg, 250kg, 500kg, and 980kg. Other standout features include a near field communication (NFC) sensor with accompanying app.

The focal point of the training session was a Mini 500; attendees learnt how to strip and rebuild the unit, prior to comprehensive sales and product training. They discovered how maintenance work, such as lubricating the motor chamber, exchanging the chain guide, and exchanging the motor unit can be carried out on the hook without dismounting the hoist.

Steve Hutin, managing director at RSS, said, “The partnership with JDN represents a significant investment, but in the month since announcing the agreement we received a healthy volume of enquiries that suggests the long-term returns will be worth that commitment. We trained up at least one salesperson and one technical employee from each depot so the whole team is fully up to speed by the time the first hoist goes out the door.”

The training class was the latest in a series of educational sessions about the new range of Mini Next Gen air hoists. Hutin was among a UK delegation that visited JDN USA’s offices in Baltimore, Maryland in mid-June to mark the launch of the range to the North American marketplace. Some of that content was duplicated in Warrington. Further, RSS personnel will attend additional training at JDN’s headquarters in Germany in due course.

RSS will also offer JDN’s trolleys and the existing Profi air hoist range, available in capacities from 250kg up to 100t and air pressure in four or six bar. The explosion-protected series is also suited to heavy-duty industrial use and is available with various control options depending on the application.

As reported, RSS is solely responsible for quoting on the Profi and Mini ranges via leads generated by its own endeavours and enquiries forwarded by JDN UK.