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Lift–Turn–Move Celebrates 50 Years of the Lodestar with Competition
Lift-Turn-Move, ‘The Lodestar People’, celebrate the 50th Birthday of the CM Lodestar hoist with a cool competition open to everyone with access to a Lodestar. The Merseyside-based company is highlighting this landmark achievement with an attempt to find the oldest Lodestar in Europe.
Every Lodestar has a unique serial number – from which the age of every hoist can be calculated. To enter the competition and work out the age of your Lodestar, visit LTM’s website: http://www.liftturnmove.co.uk. All entries must be received by 31st October 2005. The prize will be £250-worth of fabulous LTM swag, including a unique special one-off jacket for the winner.
The CM Lodestar hoist, manufactured by Columbus McKinnon based in Amherst, NY was launched in 1955. Since then it has been used for innumerable lifting, moving and rigging tasks in all corners of the world.
Columbus McKinnon reckon they will build the millionth Lodestar this year! “There’s not much in terms of production industry technology that’s still in fashion 50 years on,” says LTM’s John Jones, “so we decided to highlight this incredible fact, a testament to the excellent practical design, engineering and construction of the Lodestar.”
Although the Lodestar retains the same classic shape it started with, the interior components have changed, reflecting the latest thinking on safety regulations. One of the major reasons Lodestar users have enjoyed such longevity is that revised parts generally fit in place of older components.
Jones reckons there are about 20,000 Lodestars in Europe. He sold his first units in 1993 to Light & Sound Design (PRG Birmingham) for a Van Halen tour. The first ones came into the UK to Theatre Projects, Unusual Rigging and Neg Earth Lights in the early 1990s, and the oldest one he’s encountered to date has been 25 years young on the ‘Disney On Ice’ show. These were single phase units for repair - after two hours on each and a paint job they looked good as new.
26th August 2005
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