A cherry picker is a boom-type mobile elevating work platform, or MEWP. An operator stands in a basket on the end of a hydraulic boom and is lifted to the work, so it reaches height that a ladder or a tower cannot reach safely, and it gets over and around obstacles that a scissor lift has to go straight up past.
Acclaim Handling has supplied and serviced materials handling and access equipment since 1982. We do not run a standing cherry picker fleet, and that works in your favour: we source the machine for the job from our supply network, so you get the size and reach the work actually needs rather than whatever happened to be free on a yard. Short term for a single job or long term on contract, delivered and supported by our own engineers from eight depots.
Success built on quality service.
Cherry picker types
Articulating boom
The boom is jointed, so the basket can go up, over and then back in. This is the machine for working above something you cannot drive through: over a production line, into steelwork, around pipework and ducting. It is the type most people picture when they say cherry picker.
Telescopic boom
The boom extends in a straight line. It gives the greatest outreach for a given machine size and is the quicker choice on open ground where nothing is in the way, such as building elevations, yards and storage areas.
Vertical mast
Where the work is directly overhead and the footprint is tight, a vertical mast lift is often the better and cheaper answer than a boom.
Working height, and the number that actually matters
Two figures decide whether a machine will do your job, and they are not the same thing.
Working height is how high the operator can reach, normally taken as platform height plus about two metres. Outreach is how far sideways the basket will go from the base, and it is the figure people forget. A machine can have plenty of height and still not get you there if the base has to stand back from the building.
Tell us the height you need to reach, how far the machine will have to stand back, and what the ground is like. That is enough for us to put the right machine on the job rather than the biggest one.
Tell us the working height, the outreach and the ground conditions. We will source the right machine and confirm the rate before anything is booked.
Indoor or outdoor
Indoors, and on finished floors, an electric machine is normally the requirement: no exhaust, no fumes, non-marking tyres, and quiet enough to work in an occupied building.
Outdoors, on rough or soft ground, a diesel or rough terrain machine with four wheel drive and stabilisers will stay usable in conditions that would strand an indoor machine. Slope, ground bearing and overhead obstructions all matter and are worth mentioning when you call.
Hire terms
Hire runs from a few days for a one off job to long term contract hire where a machine is needed continuously. Delivery and collection are arranged with the hire, and machines go out serviced, tested and with the paperwork in place.
Breakdown cover during hire is by our own engineers rather than a subcontractor, which is the same arrangement that covers our forklift fleet.
Operator training
A cherry picker lifts a person, so the operator has to be trained and the employer has to be able to show it. Acclaim is an accredited training provider and runs MEWP and cherry picker operator training, at our own centres or on your site using your machine and your working conditions.
Thorough examination and LOLER
A MEWP lifts people, so under LOLER it needs a thorough examination every six months, not the twelve months that applies to a forklift lifting only loads. That is a legal requirement on the machine, and it sits alongside the employer duty under PUWER to keep work equipment safe and in good order.
Hire machines from us come with current examination. If you own a MEWP as well, we can examine it.
Cherry picker or scissor lift?
A scissor lift gives a bigger platform and carries more, but it only goes straight up. If the work is directly above a clear floor, and you need room for two people and materials, a scissor lift is usually cheaper and better suited.
A cherry picker gives reach and the ability to go over an obstruction, with a smaller basket. If you have to get above, around or into something, the boom earns its money.
If you are not sure, describe the job and we will tell you which one it is.
Common questions
Do I need a licence to operate a cherry picker?
There is no government cherry picker licence. What the law requires is that the operator is trained and competent, and that the employer can demonstrate it. Accredited operator training is how that is evidenced.
How often does a cherry picker need a thorough examination?
Every six months, because it lifts people. Equipment that lifts only loads is on a twelve month cycle.
Can you deliver and collect?
Yes. Delivery and collection are arranged as part of the hire, from whichever of our eight depots is nearest to the site.
Can I hire a cherry picker with an operator?
Tell us what the job involves when you call and we will confirm what we can arrange.
Do you sell cherry pickers as well as hire them?
Yes. Access equipment is available new, used or on hire, and we service what we supply.
Talk to us
Call 01708 861 414 or contact the team. Tell us the working height, the outreach, the ground conditions and whether the machine is working indoors or outdoors, and we will come back with what fits and what it costs.
All prices ex VAT.
Tell us the working height, the outreach and the ground conditions. We will source the right machine and confirm the rate before anything is booked.
Cherry picker hire: common questions
Eight depots across the UK
Our own engineers, out of our own depots - wherever you are, service comes from us.
Talk to us about Cherry Picker Hire
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