BASE is the independent UK specialist for Cibes platform lifts, covering the Cibes Air and Cibes Voyager ranges plus the legacy Classic, A5000 and A6000 generations. Cibes has built screw-driven platform lifts in Gävle, Sweden since 1947 — we service the UK-installed base independently, with 24/7 call-out and no OEM tie-in.
BASE Lift Services is the independent UK specialist for these units. We are not part of the Cibes distributor network — which means our service contracts, parts pricing, and modernise-versus-replace advice come without an OEM commission line attached. Most of the team has worked Cibes installations for a decade or more, on both platform lifts and the building’s adjacent passenger lifts.
Cibes was founded in 1947 by Bertil Svedberg in Gävle, on the eastern coast of Sweden. It started as a goods-lift manufacturer, launched its first generation of home lifts in the 1960s, and refined the screw-and-nut platform lift into the quiet, low-pit unit that sits in residential and commercial buildings across the UK today. The motto — "accessibility for everyone, everywhere" — is a manufacturer line, but it lines up neatly with the regulatory direction of UK building accessibility (Equality Act 2010, Approved Document M).
BASE services Cibes installations across the UK, managed by a multi-discipline team and Technical Director with approaching four decades of platform and passenger lift experience. We are not a Cibes UK distributor and we do not earn commission from the manufacturer on parts or new units. That independence is the entire point: the recommendation you receive from us on a modernise-versus-replace question is the one our engineer would make on a lift in his own building.
The same engineering team also services passenger lifts in the buildings where your Cibes platform lift lives — Otis, Kone, Schindler, ThyssenKrupp, Stannah and most other UK passenger brands — so a portfolio with mixed lift types gets one contract, one quarterly report, and one phone number.
Cibes Air screw-driven platform lifts — service, fault-find, drive-nut replacement, hall-call boards. Our engineers carry the most common Air consumables on the van so first-visit fix rates stay high.
Cibes Voyager (and historic Cibes Classic / A5000 / A6000) — full LOLER inspection, controller replacements, hydraulic and screw drives, smoke-vent integrations and call-station refurbishment.
We are not part of the Cibes UK distributor network. That means our recommendations on modernise-vs-replace are unbiased — and contract pricing reflects independent labour rates, not a manufacturer's commission ladder.
24/7 emergency call-out across London and the M25, regional dispatch beyond. Senior engineer triage on every inbound call — no scripted call-centre.
Managed by a multi-discipline team and Technical Director with approaching four decades of platform and passenger lift experience — most of the current UK Cibes installed base sits inside that working memory.
Cibes units installed globally since 1947 (Gävle, Sweden). 50+ countries, 200 distributors. We service the UK-installed portion independently.
Emergency call-out for Cibes platform lifts. Senior engineer triage, same-day London visits, no call-centre script.
Full coverage on both flagship Cibes ranges plus legacy Classic / A-series units still in service across the UK.
Every spec below comes from working time on real Cibes installations across the UK, not a datasheet. The "common faults" column is what our engineers stock on the van for first-visit fix on each range.
Cibes Air
Cibes Air (screw-driven platform lift)
Cibes Voyager
Cibes Voyager (premium home / commercial)
Cibes Classic
Cibes Classic / A5000 / A6000 (legacy installed base)
Cibes Air (screw-driven platform lift)
Common faults
Most common faults we attend: drive-nut wear, hall-station comms, door interlock micro-switches, controller relays.
Cibes Voyager (premium home / commercial)
Common faults
Common faults: COP boards, LED car-light drivers, glazed-door interlock alignment, drive-head bearing service.
Cibes Classic / A5000 / A6000 (legacy installed base)
Common faults
Common faults: ageing PLC outputs, obsolete COP buttons (we source UK-compatible replacements), worn drive nuts.
Cibes also produced earlier goods-lift and stair-lift generations that fall outside our current platform-lift coverage. If the lift on your survey card pre-dates the Classic generation, send the serial number to enquiries@baselifts.co.uk and we will confirm whether it sits inside the scope of our standard contract or needs a one-off specialist assessment.
“Our Cibes Air went out of warranty and the new contract from the OEM-aligned company priced us off the page. BASE quoted half, the engineer turned up on a Tuesday morning with the drive nut in his van, and the lift has run cleanly for two years since.”
Helena R.
Building Manager
Mixed-use development, North London
“We have three Cibes Voyagers across a portfolio of care homes. BASE took over the contract after a missed LOLER deadline and now we get a clean quarterly report and a single point of contact who actually knows the kit.”
James P.
Estates Lead
Care-home group
“Replacement was being pushed at us. BASE surveyed the unit, replaced the controller and refurbished the COP, and saved us a five-figure capex line. Independent advice on a Cibes is genuinely rare in the UK.”
Andrew C.
Facilities Director
Listed Grade II office
Ralph Humphrey
Technical Director, BASE Lift Services
Ralph Humphrey is Technical Director at BASE Lift Services, responsible for engineering standards across the platform and passenger lift teams.
Every Cibes contract starts with a survey, not a price list. Tell us the range (Air, Voyager, Classic, A-series), the building, and the current contract position — and a senior engineer will respond inside 24 working hours with a fixed annual figure.
Or email enquiries@baselifts.co.uk with the lift serial number and a controller photo