Testing, Testing, One Two Three...

Hire the 19-metre test tower at Delstar Engineering!

After years of braving the elements in remote open-air facilities, engineers at the Stage Technologies Group decided that it was time to make a change.

As a manufacturer of winches and automation equipment used in the global stage and live performance industry, the group needs to meet necessarily high standards. Stringent assessment programmes are required in many areas of product R&D, including load stress analysis, piece positioning, working at height safety, brake response times and rescue plans. When they investigated the facilities available countrywide, it seemed there was no option other than to use their own experience and in-house engineering skills to build their own testing platform with improved amenities.

Managing Director of the Stage Technologies London office, Nikki Scott, says: “We have found having the custom-built tower provides an ideal environment for the type of testing our company needs to do for our products.  Having a clean, secure and safe environment provides the opportunity to carry out our required level of testing quickly and utilizing the particular, stringent standards called for by our industry. As an exporter of products worldwide this type of rigorous testing is vital to ensure we deliver quality equipment which is fit for purpose wherever it is installed around the globe. ”

The tower was designed and built at Delstar Engineering Ltd, a specialist manufacturing outfit based in Haverhill, Suffolk, which is part of the Stage Technologies Group. Conveniently located off the M11, the test tower surpasses other testing facilities available for private hire in the UK in terms of services offered and quality of experience. Most importantly at this time of year, the tower is a weatherproof construction with an insulated roof cabin that has a direct feed of lights, power and data from the dedicated test tower office. The tower’s testing foundations are intended to handle a wide range of lifting, dropping, positioning, load stress and other experimental tests.

Other benefits include:

•    Full stair access from within the building allows operators to reach the cabin safe zone without passing through the drop zone
•    Cabin split into 2 areas:
  o    operator safe zone with handrail
  o    test area with modular removable floor panels
•    19m working stroke is available with a drop space envelope of 4.9m x 1.7m
•    Chain-hoist available for lifting goods/equipment to cabin test area
•    Test weights available on request:
  o    water-filled bag for up to 2000kg load
  o    metal test weights/cages    
•    Full range of services available from fork lift truck operation to a series of recording and data logging options

The tower can be hired at a daily or weekly rate and successful testing programmes have already been organised in response to unique customer requirements. For more information visit the test tower page.