British cleaning products maker Astonish added a fleet of eight Mitsubishi materials handling machines to its new warehouse in West Yorkshire.

After consulting with Mitsubishi Forklift Trucks, Astonish equipped its warehouse with Mitsubishi RB series double-deep reach trucks, EDiA 3-wheel counterbalance forklifts and PREMiA power pallet jacks.

Astonish has been one of the fastest-growing cleaning products companies in the United Kingdom over the past 50 years, undergoing numerous expansions and site relocations. 

With its latest move the company wanted to future-proof its operations.

Simon Burrows, warehouse and logistics director at Astonish, says: “The business has gone from strength to strength and the massive growth we’ve experienced has meant that moving into this new space was essential. And we were determined to get it absolutely right. 

“The Mitsubishi Forklift Trucks specialists helped us every step of the way, from modelling different solutions for the layout of the warehouse right through to supplying us with a complete materials handling package.”

A key component in the new facility is the use of double deep racking. 

Tim Jones of Mitsubishi Forklift Trucks explains: “When we began discussions the customer expectation was that we would recommend the use of VNA (very narrow aisle) trucks but after detailed modelling it quickly became clear the double-deep was the way to go.”

Burrows says: “The team came in and showed us how it would save us space, enabling us to operate with narrower aisles and fit more racking and more stock into the storage space in both warehouse and production areas.”

The warehouse also has a fleet management system that ensures the equipment is properly maintained and operated with care by identifying impacts and encouraging safe operation.

“The result is less damage to premises, products and the trucks themselves,” Burrows says.

“Our primary focus in setting up both production and warehousing areas was to standardise and simplify everything that we do so that we can focus on other aspects of the business.

“The whole package has allowed us to achieve that.”