48 | Sector Focus: Handling & Storage
SUMMARY
■Ridgeons is part of Huws Gray ■It switched to Baumann for its sideloaders five years ago
■Baumann’s outreach utilises a direct drive Archimedes screw
■The sideloaders are in operation 40-60 hours a week
THE RIGHT TIME FOR LOGISTICS
Tony Benson, global marketing manager at Baumann Sideloaders, explains why Huws Gray Ridgeons is such a fan of its lift trucks
Logistics challenges are never really far away from most manufacturers’ thoughts, and with the issues surrounding HGV drivers, fuel and food supplies hitting the public consciousness on a regular basis, materials handling is rapidly becoming a cause celebre for UK industry. Fortunately, a product that, by and large, has consistent dimensions, is naturally occurring, is resistant to damage, and suitable for stacking, means timber is the ideal product for handling and storage, right? Well, yes and no.
“It’s easy to underestimate the issues,” said Eddie Hart, operations manager at Ridgeons Timber & Building Supplies. He has overseen operations for much of his almost three decades in the business and controls a fleet of
machines that are pivotal in the distribution of timber across the southern network of the UK’s largest independent builders’ merchants Huws Gray, which acquired Ridgeons in 2018. “Yes, the product fundamentals are consistent, but weight can vary with moisture content,” said Mr Hart. “Delays can damage product quality, decay, splits and breakages can make the product unsaleable. Poor stock control and discolouration can make it unprofitable.”
Productivity and profitability, unsurprisingly then, are the name of the game, and that means careful and efficient handling of materials. “Anyone can handle timber badly,” said Mr Hart. “You need to do it safely, efficiently and with respect for the product and your
personnel, whilst always keeping an eye on the bottom line.”
The Covid pandemic, of course, brought more challenges. As you might expect, online sales increased hugely in 2020 compared to previous years, as in came social distancing measures and travel restrictions. Consumers, stuck at home, changed their spending habits. Out went cosmetics, holidays and entertainment spending, in came household cleaners, meal kits and the creation of a new generation of DIYers.
A surge in demand followed. Timber merchants reported a year’s worth of sales in three months. Kingfisher, the owner of B&Q and Screwfix, announced £7bn sales and a 54% jump in profits as a locked-down nation turned to home improvements, whilst reports of limited building materials and supplies were widespread. Add to those spikes a desire to reduce carbon footprints, the changes to red diesel taxation and increasing AdBlue costs, and people like Eddie Hart were starting to feel a change in the air.
Over 50 years ago, a German timber business on the edge of the Black Forest was facing its own handling challenges. Moving timber was much more manually intensive then, but the forester’s sons had a plan to change all that. “The brothers, Wolfgang and Rolf, saw a way to improve the transportation of timber,” said Klaus Pirpamer, managing director of Baumann Sideloaders. “They started with the idea of helping their father and that then led to the idea of founding the business.” In 1969, the idea became a reality.
Above: Eddie Hart is operations manager at Huws Gray Ridgeons TTJ | November/December 2021 |
www.ttjonline.com
Wolfgang Baumann established the factory not in Germany, but on the shores of Lake
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