Skyjack uplifts artists to transform Sacramento

Linamar Corporation’s Skyjack division safely lifted artists from across the U.S. and the world to transform unused public space into vibrant art scenes during the inaugural Sacramento Mural Festival in California.

“I love art and I saw the Sacramento Mural Festival as an opportunity to support art creation and local communities,” said Ryan Wilkey, regional sales manager at H&E Equipment Services (H&E), who spearheaded the company’s partnership with the festival. “It opens the doors to future cooperation between the industrial and art sectors.”

During the week-long event, more than a dozen artists painted 14 murals on building exteriors throughout downtown and midtown Sacramento. By turning average buildings into public art, the festival helped activate the neighborhood and reuse vacant space, including former dumps.

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Reliable at height

About half of the murals were grand in scale, some reaching up to four stories high, making it difficult to complete without assistance from mobile elevating work platforms (MEWPs).

“Most of the artists don’t have much experience operating a scissor or boom lift, therefore, it was crucial that Skyjack lifts are easy to learn how to operate,” Wilkey said. “Artists enjoyed working on Skyjack lifts because it also improved their safety at heights.”

Two Skyjack models were chosen for the mural projects: the SJIII 3219 electric scissor and the SJ46 AJ articulating boom. Both MEWPs are designed with Skyjack’s simply reliable philosophy and offer great flexibility and stability to the user.

With a working height of 25 ft (7.62 m), the SJIII 3219 is drivable at full height and offers 90 degree steering and zero inside turning radius, allowing artists to navigate around the murals easily without lowering the platform. When artists needed to work together on one mural, the SJIII 3219, with a maximum platform capacity of 550 lbs (249 kg), could lift up two people at the same time. Powered by 24V DC power source, the machine also has a long battery life that helped increase outdoor work time and improved jobsite efficiency.

For even taller murals, the artists used the SJ46 AJ, which has a maximum working height of 52 ft (15.93 m) and a maximum platform capacity of 500 lbs (227 kg). Besides zero tailswing, the SJ46 AJ features SkyRiserTM capability, which allows artists to paint different parts of the art piece by only moving the basket instead of repositioning the machine.

“It is H&E’s first partnership with local art organizations in Sacramento and we’re pleased to offer artists a safe work environment on the Skyjack machines,” said Wilkey.

Trusted partners

H&E is a national equipment company based in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, that operates in 79 location and 22 states. As Skyjack’s long-term partner, H&E works closely with the Skyjack team to meet customers’ specific needs for a variety of projects, including the Sacramento Mural Festival.

“Skyjack is service- and customer-oriented. Besides manufacturing high-quality machines, they are very responsive in solving high-access challenges for us and our customers,” said Wilkey.

The festival also served as an opportunity for both H&E and Skyjack to support community development.

“We’re delighted that we contributed to the success of the first Sacramento Mural Festival because at Skyjack we believe in supporting community values,” said Craig Truscelli, a territory manager for Skyjack. “It is our goal to provide the best Skyjack experience to rental companies and customers, and to help make our city a better place to live in.”