Date: 28/09/2009

Planet Platforms (Northern) Ltd, has announced an addition to its access training division following the acquisition of workplace fork lift truck training provider, BEL. The decision to purchase BEL by the North East-based manufacturer and distributor of work place access solutions formalises a long term working partnership between the two organisations.
 
Serving the same markets, BEL’s fork lift truck training courses are a natural extension to the comprehensive range of services currently offered by Planet Platforms (Northern) Ltd, which include sales of a wide range of new and used powered access platforms, the design/manufacture of bespoke access platforms to the rail, air, transport and petrochemical/nuclear sectors as well as a full range of Upright Light Alloy Scaffolds.
 
The business already delivers a number of safety inspections and working at height training programmes together with after sales service product maintenance, thorough examinations, refurbishments and service contracts. The enlarged training division will extend the offering through the provision of courses aimed at novices and existing operators of trucks, pickers, sideloaders among others, together with their well established range of powered access platforms.
 
Richard Harland, Managing Director of Planet Platforms (Northern) Ltd, said: “This is an extremely positive development that gives breadth and depth to our offering, allows us to extend our reach and creates a ‘one stop shop’ for our clients, who are always at the heart of everything we do.
 
“With the nature of the two companies being so complementary, we have worked with BEL for a long time and this is an obvious next step as we continue to grow and expand the business.”
 
BEL and Planet Platforms (Northern) Ltd already operate from the same site in Wallsend. BEL will be rebranded to form part of the Planet Platforms family and clients will continue to have access to its highly skilled training team, led by founder Jim Wrightson.
 
Jim added: “Richard and I have worked together for a number of years and recognise that the business climate is a challenging one. Our acquisition by Planet Platforms (Northern) Ltd brings lots of benefits for us but predominately for our clients, who will now only have one point of contact and an extended and experienced team serving all their needs.”