 The new G Series single double pallet handler in action in Europe |
Cascade Australia of Rocklea, Queensland, has just won a contract to supply paper roll clamps to a major Australian forklift company by December this year, for use by a large paper manufacturer's logistics and distribution provider.
The company, a leader in the design and manufacture of materials handling equipment for forklifts, is part of the US-based Cascade Corporation which has 16 operations worldwide including North America, Europe, Asia and Australasia. Each operation produces products regionally to supply to global markets.
Explains national sales and marketing manager Scott Geelan: "Our attachments and forks help a truck lift, side shift, rotate, tilt and clamp appliances, paper rolls, textiles, lumber and other products."
He tells
Forkliftaction.com News that the company has the largest and best-equipped attachment manufacturing facility in Australia, with managers in each state, qualified design engineers and access to the global Cascade network. "This enables us to provide solutions for materials handling applications utilising forklift trucks and associated equipment."
Among the latest technological developments at Cascade is its new multiple pallet handler range just released in Europe, with the first shipment due in Australia in October this year.
 Scott Geelan, national sales and marketing manager Cascade Australia |
"Major improvements to the design of the new unit include significantly improved visibility, increased strength, improved bearing design and an improved mechanical spring cartridge to improve reliability. These improvements, coupled with a competitive price and ex-stock availability, will be well received in the Australian market," says Geelan.
Cascade Australia has also recently released its new "G" series rotators which eclipse the previous D series rotators due to better visibility and reduced price, he adds.
The company is expanding its range of Australian-designed tyre handling attachments for use in the mining industry, and is promoting its range of layer picking attachments for use in distribution centres.
The company is called upon by its customers to provide solutions to a variety of materials handling challenges. Among the most unusual in Australia was the supply of several marble handlers, designed to grasp a single large slab of marble end-on from within a container, and drag it out into the open so it can be slung from a crane for further processing. This attachment significantly reduced the risk of operator injury in removing slabs from shipping containers.
One of the company's main challenges, says Geelan, is to continue to keep pace with the rapid rate of expansion of the logistics and supply chain industry in Australia. The company is working in association with RFID equipment and solution providers to integrate RFID into the forklift materials handling industry.
"Cascade Australia recently participated in the RFID World exhibition in Sydney, in conjunction with Intermec, Alpha and Peacock Bros, to display Australia's first fully RFID-enabled lift truck, which was coupled to a real-time live warehousing system."
On a global level, the company is moving forward with a major expansion of its operations in China aimed at keeping pace with the rapidly expanding Chinese forklift market, expanding its business in the Asia Pacific region and providing production capacity to begin exporting Chinese-made products to other parts of the world.