Moving experience
October 1st 2004

From something that looked like it was built in a garage to market leading industrial tugs, MasterMover has certainly moved on.

Charlotte Stonestreet reports

On talking to Andrew Jones, managing director of MasterMover International, it becomes apparent that here is a man who knows a good thing when he sees it. And, when it came to the tug unit that in its developed form makes up the core of MasterMover’s business, not only was he able to recognise a concept with potential, he was prepared to risk everything to develop it as a business venture.

‘About eight years ago I heard about a very small company that was in receivership. It had just two products – firstly a motorised jockey wheel for caravans; and secondly a device that was in effect two of these stuck together, which the company was tying to sell as an industrial tug,’ says Jones.

‘I wasn’t interested in motorised jockey wheels, just the industrial tug,’ he continues. ‘The product was completely underdeveloped, had no credibility and looked as though it was made in a garage.

But it had a patent and I could see that it was a great idea.’

Investment

To cut a long story short, Jones put everything he had into developing the product and creating a business around it.

Starting out in a 500ft2 industrial unit, he invested heavily in fabricating machinery so his new company could build the machines.

‘In effect we re-engineered the tug completely – there wasn’t one single component from the original machine that was used in the new machine – and relaunched it into the industrial market place.’ Seven years on MasterMover has sold in excess of 1500 industrial pedestrian tugs into the UK and developed half a dozen other products to sit alongside it. The company is, says Jones, the leader in pedestrian operated towing vehicles.

‘Our machines pull anything on wheels: from rigs to spent fuel rods, from aircraft wings to patients in hospitals to trolleys at airports. The potential applications are so diverse and the marketplace simply didn’t exist before – in effect we have created it.’ When you actually look at the compact design of the MasterMover tugs, it is pretty incredible to think that there are units to suit loads from 50 to a massive 64,000kg.

Traditionally it has been necessary to use heavy machinery to move heavy loads. For example, with a tractor unit it is the weight of the unit itself that is used to get the required traction to the drive wheels. In contrast, the MasterMover uses the weight of the load to gain the required traction. In coupling to the load the tug actually lifts it slightly, transferring some of the weight on to the drive wheel.

As you would expect with such a huge capacity range, there is more than one type of tug in the MasterMover portfolio.

Commonly referred to by the generic MasterMover label, the different ranges have recently been assigned individual names.

The MasterTug, the core product, has eleven models in the range and is capable of pulling and pushing wheeled or semiwheeled loads from 50 to 30,000kg.

The MasterHandler range encompasses three models and is suited to moving loads fitted with rotating or swivelling wheels up to 500kg. Pedestrian operated, it uses the steering drive wheel for motion, while the fixed wheels positioned under the load prevent sideways movement.

The MasterPusher, as the name suggests provides an efficient way to push wheeled loads. There are three models in the range, with a pushing capacity up to 64,000kg and they can be either pedestrian operated or radio controlled.

The MasterTrailerMover, again pedestrian operated, has been designed specifically to manoeuvre unladen articulated lorry trailers up to 11,000kg.

Productivity gains

All the products help eliminate health and safety issues, as well as providing considerable productivity gains. To help users select the most appropriate machine for their needs, MasterMover will send an employee along to the site to see what is required. In many cases, the representative will have been able to determine from detail collected before hand the type of equipment required and can turn up with a relevant demonstration model. If a specialist coupling is required, as is often the case, MasterMover has a team of designers to come up with a bespoke solution.

Another area of expertise for the company is roll cage handling equipment.

The latest product to be added in this area is the manual MasterCagePuller. Coupling to the base of a roll cage, it allows one operator to pull or push the cage while walking forwards. This eliminates the health and safety risks associated with pulling a cage backwards – there is no longer the danger of unseen obstacles, strained backs, foot injuries or trapped hand/finger risks.

Never one to stand still on the development front, with MasterMover’s market constantly growing, Jones promises ‘superb new products in the pipeline’, so watch this space for details!

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