JCB Telehandler Takes Center Stage on Oscar’s Big Night

Last month, billions of viewers worldwide watched Hollywood’s biggest and brightest stars walk the red carpet prior to 88th annual Academy Awards ceremony.

What most viewers probably didn’t realize was that those few hours of glory were the result of the hundreds of hours of hard work by forklift operators and other behind-the-scenes players that made the Oscars’ Biggest Night go off without a hitch.

Thanks to the ‘Little People’

One of those “little people” was the operator of a JCB Loadall telescopic handler, who played a leading role in setting up 24-foot-tall replicas of the famous Oscar statues along the red carpet set up on Hollywood Boulevard in front of the Dolby Theater, where the ceremony took place on Feb. 28.

While the actual statuettes awarded to Best Actor winner Leonardo DiCaprio, Best Actress winner Brie Larson, and other honorees stand just 13-1/2 inches high and weigh a little over 8 lbs., the decorative versions posted along the arrival route are bigger and heavier.

The JCB 512-56 Loadall telehandler — which has the capacity to lift more than 12,000 lbs., and has a height capacity of 56 feet — was more than capable of lifting the gigantic Oscar statues into position.

Forklift Provider to the Stars

The machine was owned by Alliance Rental Solutions, of Valencia,  California, a company that specializes in renting heavy equipment to Hollywood movie studios. The telehandler was sold to the rental company by Robert Lara, JCB’s sales manager for the Los Angeles area.

“Alliance Rental Solutions is one of our most important customers,” Lara said in a JCB news release announcing the vehicle’s contribution to the Oscars. “It’s fantastic to see their  JCB Loadall telescopic handler playing such a high-profile role in the preparations for this year’s Academy Awards.”

JCB is a privately-owned, global company that manufactures over 300 different machines from 22 plants on four continents including the United Kingdom, India, Brazil and the United States, according to the company’s official website. Equipment lines offered

Equipment lines include backhoe loaders, Loadall telescopic handlers, excavators, wheel loaders, articulated dump trucks, rough terrain forklifts, compact excavators, skid steer loaders, compact track loaders, compaction equipment and the unique Fastrac tractor.