Culver City, California—the historic epicenter of film and TV production dating back to the 1920s and famously the home of the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer studios—has recently updated the script on how it maintains its fleet of public vehicles with the modernization of its high-volume, vehicle maintenance facility.
“We are one of the only cities in the U.S. with its own fleet that includes virtually every type of municipal vehicle, including police cars, fire trucks, refuse trucks, buses, and more. In fact, we have nearly 500 vehicles in the fleet—and are always adding more,” said Scott Newton, Fleet Services Supervisor for Culver City.
To keep that supersized fleet in top operating condition—and ensure the highest level of technician safety and ergonomic comfort—Culver City recently installed multiple Stertil-Koni telescopic piston DIAMONDLIFTs, several of which feature the company’s innovative Continuous Recess option. The DIAMONDLIFT, which is certified by the industry’s third-party watchdog—the Automotive Lift Institute (ALI)—is a high-pressure, low-volume heavy-duty inground vehicle lift that delivers a lifting capacity up to 35,000 lbs. per piston. It is also electronically synchronized for maximum safety and convenience, features a mechanical locking system for maximum protection as standard, and has a full-color, touch-screen control console that puts all lifting information directly at the fingertips of the busy tech on the shop floor.
“What’s more, the Continuous Recess option in several of the Culver City DIAMONDLIFTs is specifically engineered for vehicles with low ground clearance, such as city transit and articulated buses,” said Stertil-Koni President, Dr. Jean Dellamore. “What is particularly special with this option is that the movable piston can recess below floor level anywhere within the range of travel, thus preventing damage to the undercarriage of the vehicle.”
Culver City has already realized the benefits of its modernization program.
“We had a lot of dated equipment because our facility is 25 years old,” Newton said. “But now we are in the process of modernizing the facility, so we are replacing a lot it. In fact, we purchased our first two DIAMONDLIFTs two years ago, and then added four more ‘Diamonds’ with the Continuous Recess option, recently. They are working out great, because we have more than 50 low-floor and electric buses—with more electric buses being added to the fleet.”
Helping to make it all possible was Southwest Lift & Equipment, the exclusive Stertil-Koni distributor headquartered in Southern California, which performed the installations and received high marks for service before and after the sale.
“They provided top-flight training to our technicians,” Newton said, “and if we ever have a question or an issue, they are on it right away. The new lifts are much better with far fewer issues than the ones we had before. We really like them, and they are working out well.”
“Stertil-Koni is honored to be of service to Culver City and exceedingly pleased to see how our recent innovations in heavy-duty vehicle lifting systems are supporting the vehicles of today and tomorrow,” DellAmore said. “It also fulfills a core tenet of the Stertil-Koni mission—to continuously raise the bar in terms of safety, performance, and durability in vehicle maintenance shops across North America.”
