Feature Lift trucks Opening the door to flexibility
Home Decor GB, a specialist supplier of floor-to-ceiling sliding doors and associated storage systems in Europe, recently moved to a new purpose-built HQ not far from its original premises in Sheffield and turned to Combilift for flexibility in its handling requirements
from Richard Greaves of Forkway we went for a mix of racking types together with two electric powered Combilifts – a C4000E 4t and a 2.5t Combi-CBE. This gives us the best level of flexibility for our handling requirements across the factory floor and outside.”
T
he 110,000ft² manufacturing, warehousing and office facility is 10 per cent larger than the previ- ous site, but due to expanding demand for its products, best use of space was a priority.
“Although we now have much needed extra space, we still need to ensure that we can accommodate increasing volumes of materials,” says customer support and logistics man- ager Jim Barras, who oversaw the com- missioning and implementation of the new equipment and vehicles on site. “Following our research and advice
Standard sized packs of roll formed and extruded aluminium rails (stiles) and pallets are stored in narrow guided aisles, whilst a bay of adjacent cantilever racking is ideal for the longer non standard 2m, 3m and 5m packs. The new style C4000E works predominantly in the racking and is fitted with guide rollers to enable quick and easy access into the guided aisles. The larger than standard battery makes light work of placing and pick- ing loads at the top beam height of 9m. This additional 4m of height compared to the old system and the convenience to lay awkward loads across the cantilever racking means that capacity has been increased by at least 800 pallets.
The compact counterbalance CB is especially suited for offloading from
Combilift supplied Home Decor GB with two electric- powered Combilifts – a C4000E 4t and a 2.5t Combi-CBE
ive Sidetracker multi-directional lift trucks are providing Senior Architectural Systems (SAS) with space-saving, high-produc- tivity materials handling performance at its central warehouse near Rotherham, South Yorkshire.
Multi-directional, space-saving lift trucks F
SAS is a supplier of glazing systems, with an annual turnover of £27 million. Its South Yorkshire base includes a production facility for cutting and colour-coating profiles and fittings alongside a 10,000 square metre warehouse. In the last financial year over 33,000 orders were despatched from the site. Supplied to SAS by Briggs Equipment on contract hire, the five Sidetrackers are battery-powered three-wheel SOW30C models with an 8.35 metre lift height and a width of 1,800mm, allowing them to operate in 1,900mm rail-guided aisles within the cantilever racking. Extrusions stored in the warehouse are up to 6.1 metres long. The compact design and manoeuvrability of the trucks, which can travel in any direction and rotate on their own axes, has enabled aisle widths and turning areas to be minimised to achieve high-density storage and efficient product handling. Fork spread on the trucks is adjustable from the cab between 750mm and 3,000mm to suit pallets and extrusions. The stand-on design gives operators a clear view in all directions – particularly important for handling loads at the top of the racking – and also enables them to get on and off quickly for order-picking. Cabs have been custom-built to provide extra space for drivers. Fitting high-capacity batteries has provided longer running periods between charges and reduced the number of spare batteries on stand-by. Sidetracker Engineering
T: 01246 810655
www.sidetracker.co.uk Materials Handling & Logistics MAY/JUNE 2013 Enter 365
incoming containers and moving pal- lets of interior fittings and fixtures and other loads around the manufacturing area. “Without its multidirectional capability and ability to turn on its own axis we would need to set aside large areas of unproductive space just for manouevering,” says Barras. “The differing sizes of products we deal with would also be a nightmare to handle with a less versatile truck, but the hydraulic fork positioners, oper- ated from within the cab, enable quick adjustment to fit the loads.”
In all, three Combilifts are in opera- tion at Home Decor as an older C4000 made the move to the new facility. “The fact that we had used a Combilift before meant that we were aware of its capabilities,” says Barras, “but we did a thorough evaluation of different types of trucks from a wide range of manufacturers before we once again decided that Combilift offered the best solutions for our requirements. The trucks have been part of a major investment of around £1m in machin- ery for our new facility and as with all quality pieces of equipment they are proving to be cost effective assets.”
Combilift T: 07870 976 758
www.combilift.com Enter 364
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