Skyjack Assists in the Sparkling of Riverside Park

Linamar Corporation’s Skyjackdivision partnered with the Rotary Club of Guelph for the 11th consecutive year this holiday season to light up Riverside Park during the club’s Sparkles in the Park event, where Skyjack donated the use of an SJ66 T telescopic boom lift and an SJ63 AJ articulating boom lift to help deck the trees with festive sparkles. Skyjack also sponsored the park’s New Year’s Eve fireworks display that concluded the park festivities.

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Currently in its 17th year, Sparkles in the Park, is Rotary Club of Guelph’s annual fundraising event, and is estimated to have raised around $20,000 this year to support programs for youngsters and seniors, as well as the environment and international aid. Sparkles in the Park raises funds each year through in-kind sponsorships, such as Skyjack’s donation of boom lifts and financial support of CDN $5,000 through their sponsorship of the New Year’s Eve fireworks display, as well as donations from people walking through the festively lit park. 

Skyjack partnered with Rotary Club of Guelph as part of the company’s 30 FOR 30 PARTNERS campaign, which celebrates the company’s 30thanniversary in business. Skyjack has supported Sparkles in the Park since 2004, so this was the perfect opportunity to give back to the community where many of its employees reside. 

A decade of support

“Skyjack has assisted Sparkles in the Park for more than ten years, and we are happy to continue helping to make the decoration process simple and easy,” said Malcolm Early, vice president of marketing, Skyjack. 

Bedazzling Riverside Park took about two weeks. Volunteers helped string lights along the smaller trees and bushes, while the SJ66 T and SJ63 AJ were used to help decorate the tall fir trees that line the park. 

“It would be impossible to complete the park decorations without the help of Skyjack,” said Jane F. Armstrong, chair of Sparkles in the Park. “The height that the Skyjack machines have the ability to reach greatly improves the decorating process of the many fir trees throughout the park. Sparkles in the Park’s display simply could not be completed without Skyjack’s generous and dedicated support.” 

During the holiday season, Skyjack also sponsored the closing event of Sparkles in the Park – a New Year’s Eve ten-minute fireworks spectacular accompanied by music. On December 31, families gathered at the park as Mayor Cam Guthrie counted down to the fireworks display. 

Reaching greater heights

After December 31, the “park went dark,” as volunteers dedicated a few days to strip the park of all the lights until the following year. The Skyjack SJ66 T and SJ63 AJ were also used to take down lights.

Skyjack’s articulating boom lifts and telescopic boom lifts are typically used for applications that require superior reach capabilities in construction and industrial settings. But volunteers said they appreciated that the lifts could reach the fir trees’ extreme heights in Guelph’s Riverside Park. Capable of 360-degree rotation, the SJ66 T has a working height of 72 ft (21.95 m), a platform height of 66 ft (20.12) and can support 26,700 lbs (12,111 kg). The SJ63 AJ has a working height of 69 ft 7 in (21.21 m), platform height of 63 ft 7 in (19.38 m), up-and-over height of 27 ft 6 in (8.38 m) and a maximum weight capacity of 500 lbs (227 kg).

Since February 2015, Skyjack has completed more than a dozen projects as a part of its 30 FOR 30 PARTNERS campaign, including assisting the Royal National Lifeboat Institution in the UK, helping the Houston Food Bank, making over rundown sites in Germany with Industrie Brachen um Gestaltung, and installing a beluga whale fossil at the Aquatarium. Skyjack is supporting 30 different charitable and community-oriented projects worldwide through February 2016.