Rhino Products Interview 2014 - CV Show

On the Rhino Products stand at the 2014 CV Show, VansA2Z editor Neil McIntee spoke to Managing Director Steve Egerton and Clive Boult, Sales & Marketing Director. New products being launched at the show included SafeStep and TowBar and later in 2014 Rhino will be introducing the new Aluminium Bar range. - See more at: http://www.vansa2z.com/Rhino-Products-Interview-2014-CV-Show#sthash.IaZEGSBY.dpuf

On the Rhino Products stand at the 2014 CV Show, VansA2Z editor Neil McIntee spoke to Managing Director Steve Egerton and Clive Boult, Sales & Marketing Director. New products being launched at the show included SafeStep and TowBar and later in 2014 Rhino will be introducing the new aluminium LadderStow range. - See more at: http://www.vansa2z.com/Rhino-Products-Interview-2014-CV-Show#sthash.IaZEGSBY.dpuf

On the Rhino Products stand at the 2014 CV Show, VansA2Z editor Neil McIntee spoke to Managing Director Steve Egerton and Clive Boult, Sales & Marketing Director. New products being launched at the show included SafeStep and TowBar and later in 2014 Rhino will be introducing the new aluminium LadderStow range. - See more at: http://www.vansa2z.com/Rhino-Products-Interview-2014-CV-Show#sthash.IaZEGSBY.dpuf

On the Rhino Products stand at the 2014 CV Show, VansA2Z editor Neil McIntee spoke to Managing Director Steve Egerton and Clive Boult, Sales & Marketing Director. New products being launched at the show included SafeStep and TowBar and later in 2014 Rhino will be introducing the new aluminium LadderStow range. - See more at: http://www.vansa2z.com/Rhino-Products-Interview-2014-CV-Show#sthash.IaZEGSBY.dpuf

Rhino on Tow at Show

Leading UK manufacturer of roof racks, roof bars and accessories for commercial vehicles - Rhino Products Ltd will be officially launching a Rhino TowBar™ range exclusively for commercial vehicles into their product range at this year's CV Show (29th April - 1st May, NEC Birmingham).

"The aim is that Rhino Products can offer the complete one-stop-shop for commercial vehicle accessories" Says Steve Egerton, Managing Director, Rhino Products Ltd.

Steve adds; "I'm personally extremely excited by entering the towbar market, as my background was in towbar fitting before Rhino Products was set up with Clive Boult, (Sales & Marketing Director)."
Rhino Products ltd has gone from strength to strength over the last few years and the growth has been exponential in both in the UK and Europe.

"We must be doing something right!" Says Steve.

Steve continues; "We know that the formula of success is to never sit still, and this is how we work at Rhino.  We are always striving for innovation, strength, excellence to keep our product range fresh and offer what our customers need."

We're really excited to add a Rhino TowBar™ range to our core product portfolio. It means that it further enhances our 'one stop shop' offering" continues Steve.

The TowBar™  range is to be launched at the CV Show 2014 (NEC Birmingham, 29th April - 1st May) Rhino Products will be exhibiting in Hall 5 on stand C28. The TowBar™  ranges will be officially on sale from May 2014.

Spring in to SafeStep™

Leading UK manufacturer of roof racks, roof bars and accessories for commercial vehicles - Rhino Products Ltd will be officially launching the SafeStep™ into their product range at this year's CV Show (29th April - 1st May, NEC Birmingham).

"After acquiring the HandiStep™ product from Walker Scott, our team of design engineers have been evaluating the product from the ground up, injecting fresh ideas and ensuring that it fully demonstrates our core values of innovation, strength, excellence" Says Steve Egerton, Managing Director, Rhino Products Ltd.

Steve adds; "Aesthetically, the product won't be changing as such.  Particularly, our team of engineers have looked into ensuring that the step is set to the most optimum height for maximum user safety, and to enable easy access in or out of the rear of the vehicle."

The SafeStep™ will also be available with yellow or black tread plates, and will include two or three step versions (depending on the vehicle) with the added optional extra of reversing sensors.

"With overhauling some of the key features, we felt that with adding a safety step to our product range that already consists of the SafeClamp™ (Our revolutionary one-touch ladder clamps) the SafeStow3™ (Enables the safe loading and unloading of ladders to high roof vehicles all from ground level) it was a natural progression to re-brand the product to SafeStep™

We're really excited to add this product to our core range, as it further enhances our 'one stop shop' offering" continues Steve.

The SafeStep™ range is to be launched at the CV Show 2014 (NEC Birmingham, 29th April - 1st May) Rhino Products will be exhibiting in Hall 5 on stand C28. The SafeStep™  ranges will be officially on sale from May 2014.

Rhino Charges Forward With HandiStep

Leading UK manufacturer of roof racks, roof bars and accessories for commercial vehicles – Rhino Products Ltd – has acquired the HandiStep brand into their product portfolio from Walker Scott Ltd.
“Rhino Products is going from strength to strength and so the HandiStep was a natural addition to the product range to offer a ‘one stop shop’ for Commercial Vehicles.” Says Steve Egerton, Managing Director, Rhino Products Ltd.


L-R Harry Bradshaw MD Walker Scott Ltd, Steve Egerton MD Rhino Products Ltd and Martyn Reeves Director Walker Scott Ltd

 

Steve adds; “All of our products are made with the operator in mind, and we continually strive for new ways to improve and evaluate our products to minimise risk and maximise safety.

The HandiStep addresses areas that surround Health & Safety, when loading/unloading roof mounted equipment or gaining access in or out of the vehicle.  This provides peace of mind for fleet owners, and owner operators alike.”

The acquisition papers were signed by Steve Egerton MD, Rhino Products and Harry Bradshaw Managing Director Walker Scott, back in December 2013.

“With immediate effect the HandiStep stocks and components at Walker Scott’s manufacturing facilities were shipped up to the Rhino Products head office, based on Deeside Industrial Park, North Wales.
We decided not to announce the acquisition as it happened, as we wanted to simply concentrate on continuing a seamless service that Walker Scott provided to their customers.

It’s also given our engineers the time to really analyse the HandiStep product in detail, and we are really excited about some forthcoming announcements and product launches at the CV Show, at the NEC in Birmingham this year (29th April – 1st May), put it this way the Rhino Products portfolio is growing at some speed” continues Steve.

Harry Bradshaw commented “We are really pleased with how smooth the acquisition of HandiStep went with Rhino Products, we have seen them grow over the years and we’re really excited to see how the HandiStep product will be developed and taken to the next level in Europe and beyond. We wish them every success.” 

Ford Transit Connect 2014 - Safestow3 now available

We have taken time to fully develop and test products specifically for this model and are now pleased to release Delta Bars, and a wide range of accessories such as the Pipe Tube, LadderStow and SafeClamp. These products are now available to order.

UPDATE! Safestow3 is also available on the new Ford Transit Connect (3 Bars Required)


The Modular Rack and Aluminium Rack are currently available to pre-order and will officially be released in the next few weeks.

For further information please contact danny.williams@rhinoproducts.co.uk

Type Approval – N1 Enhancements Scheme (...in plain English)

The European Parliament have recently updated a framework for the approval of motor vehicles and their trailers, and of systems, components and separate technical units intended for such vehicles.  Type Approval is a European Community (EC) directive, and in the UK is managed by the Vehicle Certification Agency (VCA).

What does Category ‘N1’ mean?
Category ‘N’ vehicles are designed and constructed for use on the road, with or without bodywork having at least 4 wheels and a maximum design speed exceeding 25km/h.

Why does it affect our industry?
With a view to improving road safety, it is considered imperative and necessary that the cabs of motor vehicles of category ‘N’ do not exhibit sharp external projections to reduce the risk or the severity of injuries sustained by a person coming into contact with the external surface of the vehicle in the event of an accident. It also ensures that vehicle lights and number plates are clearly visible

What’s changing?
The Enhancements Scheme Process Document has been revised and new Type Approval processes come into effect from Monday 29th April 2013. 

How long do I have to ensure I comply?
There’s a transitional period until 1 January 2014

Who will Type Approval affect?
It will only affect those that install products to un-registered vehicles with the DVLA on vehicles less than 2m high. All registered vehicles are currently un-effected.

Are Rhino Products affected?
Rhino Products including; Aluminium Rack, Modular Rack, Delta Bars, SafeStow, Pipe Tube and the SafeClamp have passed stringent TÜV testing which is the highest accolade in Europe and complies with all EC regs that Type Approval refers to already.  Therefore fitting these products to vehicles should not hinder the Type Approval of the vehicle(s) in question.  However, we are currently seeking extra advice and guidance to get specific answers on Type Approval for our customer base, as there is a lot of information published on this subject, but none that specifically concentrates on our industry. 

For example, we have recently stopped producing the OCE (Over Cab Extension) systems as these would not comply with these standards. However, we will publish extra guidance as soon as it becomes available.   See the next page for some information on ‘General Provisions and exclusions’ that requires further clarification.  

UPDATE 29/04/13: Not only roof bars, but all types of roof racks are also exempt from the new Type Approval regulations on vehicles less than 2m high.

The following is lifted from the official VCA N1 Enhancements Scheme Document that requires further clarification on specifically what does and does not need controls.
Dated: 18th February 2013

“What are the General Provisions and Exclusions?
Many common modifications (particularly within the load space) which are of a semi-permanent or temporary in nature (such as ply lining, racking / shelving systems, etc.) can generally be treated as part of the vehicle payload. Hence it is not necessary to obtain any specific approval to cover these kinds of modifications. Similarly certain temporary modifications on the exterior of the vehicle may be treated in the same way; e.g. access steps, roof racks / bars, etc, such modifications are unlikely to affect the validity of the type approval of the vehicle concerned.

However, in some cases the modifications carried out by a converter will mean the type approval of the vehicle is no longer valid and so an additional approval is required for the vehicle.”
Download a pdf of this document here

Keep checking back here regularly for further information on the new Type Approval regulations.

Rhino Products - Maximising Safety

Rhino Products are pleased to introduce a brand new product – SafeStow3 – the latest incarnation of our popular SafeStow concept.

In developing this new product our Technical Team took the accumulated experience gained over years of SafeStow production before beginning a ground up redesign of the entire SafeStow concept.

SafeStow has always provided a safe and easy solution for loading and unloading ladders on to light commercial vehicles.  The use of rigid aluminium alloy frame members, combined with supporting gas rams, allow ladders to be easily raised and lowered within seconds. The new design preserves all the best features of this popular product, whilst a no-compromise ground up redesign has injected fresh ideas and numerous innovative improvements.

Design Engineer, Dominic Gallagher, who has led the SafeStow3 design project from the start, outlines “We took everything that we learnt from the existing SafeStow product – both in terms of what we knew as engineers and what our consumers had told us, then started with a blank canvas to design an entirely new product, which would take the popular SafeStow concept to new levels of functionality and performance.”

Steve Egerton, Rhino Products’ Managing Director adds “I’m exceptionally proud of what we’ve created in the SafeStow3 and how it demonstrates our core values of innovation, strength and excellence.” 

SafeStow3 boasts an exceptional range of innovative features and benefits, including:

Key Features:

• Three versions available to safely carry single, double (two parallel) and extra wide
        ladders. 
• Multi gas ram assisted (This eliminates the need to lift up/down heavy 
        ladders, significantly reducing potential lifting injuries) 
• Safe loading and unloading in seconds 
• Manufactured from highly robust aluminium & stainless steel components 
• Fully adjustable to carry most ladder types 
• Secure and lockable (padlock not included) 
• Load Stops included 
• Available in 2.2metre (RAS06) and 3.1metre (RAS07) lengths
• Fully independently approved 20g crash tested and TÜV approved 

and new Technical Features:

• 5 way easy adjustable settings to optimise the resistance of the gas rams to the
        weight of your ladders – for loading/unloading different weight ladders
• Ultra low overall height, with all gas rams remaining horizontal in operation 
• Brass bushes and fully sealed roller bearings used throughout Strap Detail 
        ensure an effortless gliding action when operated 
• Highly rigid and torsional strength design 
• Universal fitting to ALL types of Rhino Roof Bars and Racks
• Improved aerodynamic design 
• Use of the highest quality materials and coatings to ensure a long service life 

SafeStow3 is currently shipping to Rhino Products stockists nationwide. Contact your local stockist for further details.