Forklift News - Lease contract for forklift company

Greg Silkman of First Creek Wines with Allan Peacock, sales executive of Powerlift Nissan Newcastle.

Forklift supplier Powerlift Nissan has supplied seven forklifts to First Creek Wines of Hunter Valley as part of a rental deal for the winery.

The lease deal includes seven TX Series, 1.8 tonne capacity three-wheel counterbalance electric forklifts, each fitted with 4,300mm three-stage, wide-view masts, side shifts and heavy-duty traction batteries with single-point watering systems.

The winery processes around 3,500 tonnes of grapes per season, making approximately 175,000 cases of wine.

According to Greg Silkman, general manager at First Creek, the new Nissans play a critical role in the efficiency of the operation.

"We’ve had a lot of success with electric forklifts in that we like the clean environment they provide, an issue that is important to us as the forklifts are working in our production facility, in close proximity to the grapes, wines and, most importantly, our staff.

"We find with the diesel and LPG, there are some emissions and we don’t want them in our work place."

The new Nissans are used in a number of applications around the winery, from loading and unloading large bins of grapes to moving palletised loads of wine cases from the storage areas to delivery trucks.

"Forklifts are integral to this business. They are working constantly throughout the day, doing pretty much everything, so they have to be reliable and perform well. Above all, the forklift operators have to be happy with them," says Silkman.

The Nissan TX series has ergonomically designed controls in a user-friendly cab, enhancing comfort for increased productivity and extended working hours.

The TX series is powered by AC technology, which ensures longer battery operating hours and reduces the frequency of services. In normal applications, the TX series is designed to operate for up to 1,200 hours before servicing is required.

"We’re very happy with the new forklifts and so are the operators," says Silkman. "We had a couple of minor teething issues but the guys from Powerlift were out here immediately, so the service has been terrific."

Powerlift Nissan has a number of customers in the wine region including Drayton Family Wines, Lakes Folly Wines, McGuiggan Wines, Glandore Estate Wines, Tower Estate, Scarborough Wine Company, Meerea Park Wines, and Tempus Two.

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