- Location
- Luton, Bedfordshire
- Main postcode district
- LU1
- Nearby (straight line)
- Dunstable (5 miles), Harpenden (5 miles) and Hitchin (7 miles)
- Survey and quote
- Free, with a fixed written quote
A scissor lift table, often called a dock lift, is a powered platform raised and lowered by a hydraulic scissor mechanism to move goods between two levels. At a loading bay it lifts pallets and pallet trucks from ground level to the height of a trailer bed, making it a practical alternative to a raised dock where forming one is not possible.
How does this suit sites in Luton?
Split-level buildings near Luton sometimes use scissor lift tables internally to move pallets between floor levels without relying on forklifts and ramps. Town-centre and retail sites around Luton with little yard space often choose a dock lift because a recessed approach ramp would take up too much room.
Older industrial buildings in Luton built with ground-level doors only can use a scissor lift table to load trailers without excavating the yard.
Step one is a survey at your site in Luton, which costs nothing and carries no obligation. Step two is a written quote with a fixed price and a clear scope. Step three is installation, scheduled around your operation and carried out by specialist installation engineers working under our management, including evenings or weekends if agreed. Step four is handover, when the equipment is tested in front of you and the paperwork is passed over.
Where are scissor lift tables used at loading bays?
Scissor lift tables are used wherever goods need to move between yard level and trailer height without a raised dock. They are a common answer for buildings that were never designed for articulated trailers.
- Ground-level doors: older units, workshops and retail back doors with no dock.
- Mixed fleets: the same lift can serve a van, a rigid lorry and an articulated trailer at different bed heights, typically from around 900 mm to 1,600 mm.
- Tight sites: where there is no room for a recessed approach ramp in the yard.
- Split levels: inside buildings with floors at different heights.
- Supplementing a dock: one lift beside a row of docks to handle vehicles that do not suit the levellers.
Our guide to converting a ground-level door into a loading dock compares lift tables with the other ways of reaching trailer height.
Should a dock lift be pit-mounted or surface-mounted?
A pit-mounted dock lift is best where pallet trucks need to roll straight on at ground level, while a surface-mounted lift suits sites where digging a pit is impractical or the lift may move later. Both raise goods to trailer height; the difference is how you get on at the bottom.
- Pit-mounted: the lift sits in a concrete pit so the platform is flush with the yard when lowered. Pallet trucks drive straight on. The pit needs drainage, and forming it is a structural job that may need building control approval.
- Surface-mounted: the lift stands on the existing floor and a short ramp leads on to the platform at its lowest height. No excavation, quicker to install and easier to relocate, but the ramp takes space and can be harder work with heavy loads.
Ground conditions, drainage, available space and the weight of your typical load usually decide it. We set out both options at survey where either would work.
The same published guide range applies across England; access, out-of-hours working and site conditions are confirmed at the free survey.
What does the free survey cover?
- Control positions, isolators and any existing interlocks
- Yard gradient and the slope of the approach to the dock
- Wall and steel structure for door, shelter and bumper fixings
- Gaps around trailers where heated or chilled air escapes
- Escape routes and pedestrian doors close to the bay
- Lighting inside trailers and at the dock face
Options to discuss
Pit-mounted dock lift
Set in a concrete pit so the platform lowers flush with the yard, letting pallet trucks drive straight on. The best choice for frequent, heavy loading at a fixed door.
Safety bellows and skirts
A flexible enclosure around the scissor mechanism that keeps hands, feet and debris out of shear and crush points, and helps keep the mechanism clean.
Planning, building control and safety law in England
Powered doors and dock equipment installed in England may carry the UKCA or the CE mark, and doors are covered by the product standard BS EN 13241. We hand over the relevant documentation for each item fitted in Luton. Planning and Building Regulations questions are never assumed either way: we check what applies at survey, so you know before work is booked.
Questions about scissor lift tables in Luton
Will you deal with building control and planning for a project in Luton?
We check at survey whether the work is likely to need approval. Forming a new opening or dock pit may need Building Regulations approval, a building warrant or building control approval, depending on the nation, and external structures such as loading houses can need planning permission. Where approval is needed, we explain what is involved, work with your designer or agent, and build it into the programme.
Do you cover Luton for scissor lift tables?
Yes. We take on scissor lift tables for businesses in Luton and across Bedfordshire. We survey the site, provide a fixed written quote and manage the installation, with specialist installation engineers working under our management. Visits are arranged in advance at a time that suits your operation, and the same single contact stays with the job through to handover.
Is VAT included in your guide prices for scissor lift tables?
No. Our customers are businesses, so guide prices exclude VAT, which is added at the standard rate. The same guide range applies in Bedfordshire as everywhere else: for scissor lift tables, it is £9,500 to £28,000 per lift, excluding VAT. It covers supply and fit for a typical installation. Your fixed written quote after the free survey shows the net price, the VAT and exactly what is included.
What capacity of dock lift do I need?
A dock lift needs a capacity above the heaviest combined load it will carry, including the goods, the pallet truck and an operator if they ride on it. Loading bay lifts are typically rated somewhere between 2,000 and 6,000 kg. We work out the right rating from your loads at survey.
Can people ride on a dock lift?
Some lift tables are designed to carry an operator with the load, and others are for goods only. If the lift carries people, LOLER thorough examinations are typically needed every 6 months rather than every 12, unless a written examination scheme sets a different interval. Your insurer or competent person will confirm.
Scissor lift tables near Luton
Close neighbours of Luton with their own pages here: Dunstable (5 miles), Harpenden (5 miles) and Hitchin (7 miles). Choose one to see coverage details for that town.
Other loading bay services in Luton
Full guide to scissor lift tables · Everything we do in Luton
If a loading bay in Luton needs attention, call us or send photos and details online.