For more than 35 year L P International Inc., the manufacturer of PowerMate®, has been continuously evolving with the changing needs of the market required to meet the demands of their customers around the world! The PowerMate® range of products, value-added accessories and service grows almost daily as they strive to provide the best and safest solutions for lifting and moving heavy loads.

PowerMate® Drive Screw Technology for Moving Heavy Loads

Interestingly, customers find PowerMate® on the web using search terms such as, "Hydraulic Stair Climber", "Electric Trolley", "Automatic Hand Truck", "Step Walker", "Powered Lift", "Powered Appliance Dolly", "Motorized Cart", or "Stair Crawler"! These few search terms do not even begin to address the combination of words and phrases people use to find PowerMate®, including other languages from all around the world. It does not really matter how people find PowerMate®, what is important is they do - period. PowerMate® typically refers to their line of stair climbing products as "Motorized Stair Climbing Hand Trucks". A PowerMate® does not use chains, belts, hydraulics, or rotating wheels to operate. A PowerMate® stair climber's power source is a rechargeable sealed-cell gel electrolyte battery pack that supplies the motor with power. The resulting power is transferred through a unique coupling that turns the hardened steel drive screw, or "worm screw" (pictured left). The drive screw is the "spine" of the PowerMate® and what facilitates the safe and controlled movement of loads up to 1,500 lbs or 680 kilos. With a push of a button, the operator can open (making larger) and close (making smaller) the frame, allowing the operator to raise the load and wheels to climb and descend stairs, negotiate curbs and thresholds, dock level, and go on and off most vehicles, where the dimension from the ground to the bed of the vehicle is less than 48" or 121.9cm, without requiring a platform or incremental step!

What are some of the benefits of a PowerMate® Drive Screw?

• STRENGTH: The strength of the PowerMate® Drive Screw has the ability to move up to 1,500 lbs or 680 kilos.
• SAFETY & LONGEVITY: Long lasting PowerMate® Drive Screw is not prone to breaking and delivers the lowest total cost of ownership to its owners. The last thing an operator needs to worry about is the mechanism in their equipment failing and risking damaging product or property, and most importantly - people getting injured.
• TAILGATE LIFT: PowerMate® not only climbs stairs, it climbs on and off vehicles and acts as a dock leveler too. A PowerMate® stair climber can help you avoid putting an expensive tailgate lift on your vehicle and the need to lift your product and hand truck into and out of the vehicle.
• FLEXIBILITY: Not all stairs are perfect or uniform height. With PowerMate® you can skip missing, broken, or suspect steps and deal with stairs having non-uniform rise and run. For the PowerMate® worm screw, a "step" can be 48" or 121.9cm high!
• OPERATOR CONTROL: From a safety perspective, the operator is always in control. The operator can safely stop and start even with a load on the PowerMate® or on stairs. PowerMate® solid state circuitry offers many benefits including "soft start", eliminating the "jerking" motion associated with the old solenoid technology.
• MANEUVERABILITY: The PowerMate® Drive Screw allows the operator to separate the base plate and load from the wheels. By opening the machine on a staircase or landing, the operator can decrease the footprint of the machine and load to help turn in tight spaces. This opening and closing action is a great advantage in avoiding getting stuck when climbing and descending ramps and slopes!
• UNIQUE 3-POINT BREAK BACK: All PowerMate® L-, LE-, and M-Series Stair Climbers provide 3-point break back. Let PowerMate® do the work for you! Simply raise the wheels 20-35cm, changing the fulcrum, and effortlessly break back the load to a balanced position. All without having to place your foot on the axle and pull; where many strains and musculoskeletal injuries can originate.

To see and learn more about these and other benefits of PowerMate® technology, you are invited to complete a short online form to have a local PowerMate® Partner contact you, and visit our website at www.PowerMate.info. If you know of someone else who could benefit from this valuable information too, why not share it today?