Stertil-Koni Partners with Historic Culver City for a Modern Uplift

STEVENSVILLE, MD, September 27, 2022 – Culver City, California – the historic epicenter of film and TV production dating back to the 1920s and famously the home of the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer studios – has recently updated the script on how it maintains its fleet of public vehicles with the modernization of its high-volume, vehicle maintenance facility.

Explains Scott Newton, Fleet Services Supervisor for Culver City, “We are one of the only cities in the U.S. with its own fleet that includes virtually every type of municipal vehicle, including police cars, fire trucks, refuse trucks, buses, and more. In fact, we have nearly 500 vehicles in the fleet -- and are always adding more.”

To keep that supersized fleet in top operating condition – and ensure the highest level of technician safety and ergonomic comfort -- Culver City recently installed multiple Stertil-Koni telescopic piston DIAMONDLIFTs, several of which feature the company’s innovative Continuous Recess option.  The DIAMONDLIFT, which is certified by the industry’s third party watchdog -- the Automotive Lift Institute (ALI), -- is a high-pressure, low-volume heavy duty inground vehicle lift that delivers a lifting capacity up to 35,000 lbs. per piston. It is also electronically synchronized for maximum safety and convenience, features a mechanical locking system for maximum protection as standard, and has a full-color, touch-screen control console that puts all lifting information directly at the fingertips of the busy tech on the shop floor.

“What’s more,” added Stertil-Koni President, Dr. Jean Dellamore, “the Continuous Recess option in several of the Culver City DIAMONDLIFTs is specifically engineered for vehicles with low ground clearance, such as city transit and articulated buses.  What is particularly special with this option is that the movable piston can recess below floor level anywhere within the range of travel, thus preventing damage to the undercarriage of the vehicle.”

Culver City has already realized the benefits of its modernization program.  As Newton stated, “We had a lot of dated equipment, because our facility is 25 years old.   But now we are in the process of modernizing the facility, so we are replacing a lot it. In fact, we purchased our first two DIAMONDLIFTS two years ago, and then added four more ‘Diamonds’ with the Continuous Recess option, recently.  They are working out great, because we have more than 50 low-floor and electric buses – with more electric buses being added to the fleet.”

Helping to make it all possible was Southwest Lift & Equipment, the exclusive Stertil-Koni distributor headquartered in Southern California, which performed the installations and received high marks for service before and after the sale. “They provided top-flight training to our technicians,” Newton said, “and if we ever have a question or an issue, they are on it right away. The new lifts are much better with far fewer issues than the ones we had before. We really like them, and they are working out well.”

Concluded DellAmore, “Stertil-Koni is honored to be of service to Culver City and exceedingly pleased to see how our recent innovations in heavy duty vehicle lifting systems are supporting the vehicles of today and tomorrow.  It also fulfills a core tenet of the Stertil-Koni mission -- to continuously raise the bar in terms of safety, performance, and durability in vehicle maintenance shops across North America.” 

About Stertil-Koni

Stertil-Koni - proud to be a Buy America company - is the market leader in heavy duty vehicle lifts, notably bus lifts and truck lifts, and proudly serves municipalities, state agencies, school bus fleets, major corporations, the U.S. Military and more. Stertil-Koni's breadth of products meets all ranges of lifting needs and includes portable lifts such as Mobile Column Lifts, 2-post, 4-post, inground piston lifts, platform lifts, and its axle-engaging, inground, scissor lift configuration, ECOLIFT. The company’s innovative, inground telescopic piston DIAMONDLIFT is now available with an optional Continuous Recess system, ideal for low clearance vehicles. Stertil-Koni USA is headquartered in Stevensville, Maryland with production facilities in Europe, The Netherlands, and Streator, IL. 

 Contact: Paul Feldman, Paul.Feldman@Stertil-Koni.com, 410-643-9001