FORK LIFT TRUCKS
AISLE MASTER SERVES UP A SOLUTION FOR HIGGIDY
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ince it was established in 2003, Higgidy has seen significant growth and is now a household name for lovers of pies, quiches and savoury snacks. The company’s three warehouses at its premises in Shoreham-by-Sea are packed full of ingredients such as flours, oils, herbs, butter, cheeses, eggs and frozen vegetables. These are transformed in nearby kitchens into its ever growing range of baked products that are stocked by major supermarkets across the country. To ensure efficient materials handling and space saving storage on site, Higgidy is using two Aisle Master articulated forklifts from the Irish manufacturer Combilift, which work in the ambient, chilled and cold store areas as well as in the packaging stores.
The Aisle Master models have replaced a stand-on stacker truck and a counterbalance forklift and a main reason for the choice of these was their ability to “do everything” as logistics manager Dean Parsons explains. “Both previous trucks were very limited in where they could operate, which also had implications if they ever broke down. The stacker truck could only work in the cold store for example, and the counterbalance truck didn’t cope well with some of the surfaces when it was outside. The beauty of the Aisle Masters is that they can go everywhere, offload outside and bring goods directly to their designated storage bays so we have a much higher degree of versatility.”
The beauty of the Aisle Master is that storage bays so we have a much higher
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Making the most of available space was a further issue that was solved thanks to the Aisle Master’s design and its ability to work in narrow aisles and confined areas. John Kelley of materials handling consultants Mexmast recommended the trucks and worked with Parsons and the team on the configuration and installation of a double deep storage system in the packaging warehouse, which has doubled its previous capacity.
The constant transition between -22° C in the cold store, +3° C in the chilled section through to ambient can be challenging for any equipment and Higgidy needed to make sure that any new trucks could cope with these temperature fluctuations with no adverse effect on performance. The cold store spec Aisle Masters are fitted with anti-mist glass on the top, front and rear windscreens and the powerful 930 Ah batteries counteract any possibility of battery draining which can be a problem in extreme cold.
The trucks have other features that were designed around Higgidy’s specific requirements, namely triple telescopic forks. The 1,200mm closed length of these enables the Aisle Masters to manoeuvre around tight angles and corners, particularly those in the cold store and the extended length of 2,350mm means they have no problem accessing pallets, even in the double deep racking. “This is not a feature I have come across on an Aisle Master before,” said John Kelley, “but the engineers in Ireland were very helpful and suggested this as the best solution.” The 2t 20WE models have a rear width of 1420mm which offers excellent stability when lifting 800kg pallets of, for example, frozen spinach to the top bay of 3.6m.
26 DECEMBER/JANUARY 2020 | FACTORY&HANDLINGSOLUTIONS
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