Vriesoord BV has premises's in Hertogenbosch and Boxtel and provides its customers total logistics in refrigerated and frozen products. The company offers a complete range of services such as repackaging, vacuum packing, storage, shipment, etc. and uses ultra-modern and highly advanced systems.

Not all of Vriesoord's customers like using pallets because of their high costs and associated hygiene regulations (HACCP). Slipsheets are a good alternative to pallets, but these also require a fair investment. Slipsheets have to be disposed of on a regular basis and inserted using a special piece of equipment, which is a costly one-time investment.

Vriesoord asked Griptech BV (MSE-Forks' Dutch representative) to develop a mobile load-shifting system in order to load refrigerated containers quickly, safely and efficiently. The mobile load-shifting system - as used in palletless handling systems - was then engineered and manufactured at MSE-Forks.

Vriesoord was already using pallets with a smooth top surface so that boxes of frozen products could be slid off easily. Vriesoord already had one Griptech load-pusher on a forklift truck.

Vriesoord's old method involved using forklift trucks with a wide plate mounted across its forks. This push plate was used to push the frozen goods off the pallets onto the shift mechanism's support plate. This old system worked reasonably well. However, it was sometimes hit and miss and resulted in a lot of damage to pallets, loads and forklift truck mast components.

Management was faced with the following challenge:

• Shifting frozen loads as efficiently as possible from the pallets onto the shift mechanism
• No damage to product packaging
• Mobile - deployment at any loading bay

Griptech/MSE-Forks came up with the following system in partnership with Vriesoord:

Two forklift trucks are used whereby one truck (A) delivers pallets with frozen goods and the other truck (B) is fitted with a push plate that manoeuvres palletless loads into the refrigerated containers.

Pallets with frozen meat weighing up to 1,600 kg are placed in the mobile load-shifter's drop-off section by forklift truck A. Truck A is fitted with standard forks and a side-shift mechanism.

Truck B is fitted with a push plate that places its push mechanism support plate onto the mobile load-shifter's ledge behind the load. The mobile load-shifters push plate is actuated wirelessly from Truck B by infrared signal. The load is then pushed off the pallet, as the pallet is being restrained. This shifts the load onto Truck B's shift mechanism support plate. Truck B then manoeuvres the load into the refrigerated container and pushes the load off its support plate.

The mobile load-shifter is equipped with a remote control unit and its own hydraulic power supply.

Pierre van den Oord, Vriesoord's managing director, is very satisfied with the way the mobile load-shifter works. 'Damage has been greatly reduced and loading speed has been significantly increased.' According to Van den Oord, investments will be recouped very quickly.





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