Cleanequip was approached by the staff at RACQ LifeFlight Rescue Toowoomba in July 2018 with the need for assistance with their washing procedure of the helicopters based at the Toowoomba airport. They explained that high pressure water/air can damage helicopter components and electrical wiring, so each helicopter is hand washed on a regular basis. Their issue is the pooling of the water runoff on the ground around the helicopter when finished. They were also very excited to be moving into their new multi-million dollar base that was being built at the Toowoomba airport and once completed, there was a need for the supply of cleaning equipment to keep this facility looking like new.
The new base and headquarters for LifeFlight Toowoomba was officially opened on 1 September, 2018 by Deputy Prime Minister, Nationals’ Leader and Minister for Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Development Michael McCormack. “The new CASA-compliant hangar was a long-overdue upgrade for the charity organisation”, he said. “LifeFlight is such an important asset to Toowoomba, flying more than 641 missions last year in our region alone to provide life-saving assistance to people in need, and it’s crucially important that we support their brave work.”
Wayne Thompson, Cleanequip handing over the new Karcher sweeper and floor scrubber to Mike Smit, RACQ LifeFlight Rescue (Toowoomba).
Cleanequip is also honoured to support the work of RACQ LifeFlight Rescue service by supplying a Karcher BD 50/70 R Bp Classic ride-on floor scrubber and a KM 70/20 C floor sweeper for use at the new hangar. The ride-on floor scrubber is ideal to negotiate the area around the helicopter and remove the water runoff due to it’s high degree of manoeuvrability and agility, quickly providing a safe working environment. The 70 litre waste water tank will allow for the total collection of the runoff without the need for stopping. One of the main attractions to these machines by LifeFlight was the ease of use of both models, as they have various people required to operate each machine. Both machines were delivered to the new hangar this week and Mike Smit was very keen to put them to use. He said currently they use an air blower for quick cleans and it is very dusty. “Not only will the floor sweeper solve this issue, to be able to quickly get the machine and not having to worry about fueling/starting a motor or charging batteries and knowing it is always ready for use – no matter how large or small the job – is a major benefit”.
Mike was also looking forward to be able to clean the hangar floor on a more regular basis and at times that suited them. Currently they had to arrange for an external company to come and clean the floor and if the helicopters were not out on call, they had to clear the hangar to allow for the clean to proceed. Now that he has the KM70/20C and the BD 50/70 R Bp Classic on standby at all times, if the floor is needing a clean and the helicopters are out on a call, he can give the hangar a quick sweep and wash the floor and it will be clean and dry by the time the helicopters return.
The new LifeFlight base and headquarters was funded by the Australian Government investing $2,046,534, Clive Berghofer $1,875,000 and LifeFlight Foundation Ltd $473,582.
Cleanequip would like to thank Karcher for their financial assistance in supplying these machines to us, thus allowing us to be able to provide the discounted pricing to help support this life-saving charity in all they do for our region.