Feature Handling & storage The vital handling ingredient
Manitowoc Foodservice is a global supplier of commercial kitchen equipment such as refrigeration, ice-making, cooking, food-prep, and beverage-dispensing technologies, and counts some of the world’s biggest and best known brands amongst its customers. Its UK division, based in Sheffield, is using a fleet of five Aisle-Master articulated forklifts for diverse handling requirements in the manufacturing, warehousing and spare parts facilities on the site
W
hen the contract was up on an ageing articulated fleet, warehouse and value stream manager Craig Wilkins investigated alternatives to the previ- ous trucks and looked into the capabil- ities of the Aisle-Master range following advice from Gary Hawkhead of Hessle Fork Trucks. “We trialed a number of brands but factors such as robust build and design quality and the Aisle-Master manufacturer’s will- ingness to tailor aspects of the trucks to our individual requirements made it the only viable contender,” says Craig. As well as the ability to work indoors and out and in very narrow aisles, versatility and manoeuvrability are hallmarks of the Aisle-Master range and the trucks have proved to be universal fit for purpose machines across the board.
One AM20SHE model works in the equipment side handling finished goods such as ovens, another two are in the goods in/out and line feed section, a further one is designated for the spares department and the fifth, fitted with a 1,200mm wide carriage, moves palletised sheet metal around the fabricating shop.
“The drivers love the fact that they can access all areas with the Aisle- Masters with no restrictions,” says
Wilkins. “They do not need to change from one type of truck to another so they can load, drop down pallets, reload, and feed the production lines in a seamless operation. We have also been able to reduce our overall forklift fleet down from seven to six (there is also a counterbalance truck on site) which fits in well with our company’s lean management strategy which aims to remove non value added equipment from the business.”
The new style double mast mount on the Aisle-Master product offers excellent visibility and one of the ben- efits of full AC power is better battery efficiency for 50 per cent more power per charge. High frequency chargers used by Manitowoc also reduce elec- tricity consumption and lower the carbon footprint. A greater angle of articulation, high lift mast carriers and more stable lifting is also advanta- geous for drivers when placing and picking pallets to the top beam height of 7.5m in the narrow racking. Acceleration, deceleration, lift and driving speed is altogether quicker than the old trucks, contributing to enhanced productivity.
“Collaboration with ourselves, Hessle and Aisle-Master also resulted in the incorporation of a Fleet Management System which has been a
Manitowoc Foodservice is using a fleet of five Aisle-Master articulated forklifts in its manufacturing, warehousing and spare parts facilities
great boost to operations as it lets us easily check who is driving which machine and monitor the carrying out of daily checks etc,” adds Wilkins. “All involved in this project looked carefully at our remit – which included the wish to ergonomically adapt each truck to individual driver requirements by changing pedal sizes or fitting cameras for example – and came up with a customised solution which is serving us very well indeed.” Aisle-Master T: 07870 976 758
www.aisle-master.com Enter 305
UK storage company has erected its second temporary building in less than a year after planning delays for a permanent facility meant it faced losing valuable additional business. Cam Store began operating in the new building, which was installed in just two weeks at its base in Hertfordshire, after it secured a new warehousing deal with a major client. Supplied by Spaciotempo, the building measures 600m2 and is being used to store electrical equipment and fast-moving consumer goods prior to their collection for delivery elsewhere. Chris Synowiec, the company’s managing director,
says: “Our business is changing, with more customers coming to us with last-minute requests for storage, so
16
Temporary building comes to the rescue for storage company A
we often don’t have the luxury of time when it comes to accessing extra space. “For this latest order, although we had made the planning application early enough, there were condi- tions attached when the permission was granted, which would have caused delays in the construction project.
“Thanks to Spaciotempo we have ended up with a building that, instead of taking three months to build, took just two weeks and does everything that a permanent building would do.” Scott Jameson, director of sales for Spaciotempo, says: “Manufacturers are increasing their production levels again, which means that they are on the look-out for storage space that they can use at short notice. “Inevitably, this is putting pressure on storage companies to provide space quickly and those that can do so are the ones who are winning the contracts.” Spaciotempo T: 01889 569569
www.spaciotempo.co.uk
Enter 306 OCTOBER 2013 Factory Equipment
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36