Groen & Janssen stores wooden products.

The transport of long, heavy and sensitive loads places particular safety demands on an enterprise looking to ensure an efficient transport logistics operation. In addition, the combination of limited warehouse space and narrow aisleways mean that conventional frontloaders quickly reach their limits. This is why in the space of just two years, Groen & Janssen has invested in four multidirectional sideloaders from Hubtex in order to optimise its material flow.

Groen & Janssen, which is based in Georgsheil, East Frisia, was founded in 1962 as a timber trading enterprise and currently employs around 200 staff. In 1991, the company created a business model which entailed splitting the medium-sized company into timber and plastics units. The two separate divisions now operate under the parent company Groen & Janssen. Groen & Janssen GmbH Kunststoffvertrieb is one of the leading providers of products made of plastics and composite materials for the home and garden sector in Germany. The company supplies its products to tradesmen and DIY stores in Germany and in neighbouring European countries. Its range of products spans from horticultural goods, such as decking boards or outdoor screens and shades, to shutters, blinds, roof decking profiles and wall sections, as well as materials for house construction and façade engineering. Groen & Janssen GmbH Holz-Türen-Platten is a timber retailer and wholesaler operating in the northern Germany region, which supplies the crafts and building materials industry with products for interior construction as well as conventional timber trade goods. The company's products range from interior doors and flooring to panelling and sawn-treated timber.

HUBTEX MQ 40	The truck has a lifting height of 7.20 metres.
Groen & Janssen using a second-hand unit.	It's load-carrying capacity is 4 tonnes.

Short delivery times, high quality
In order to present its products in a modern setting and ensure high-quality warehousing for its timber goods, Groen & Janssen GmbH Holz-Türen-Platten took the decision in 2014 to establish a new location with an interactive exhibition and air-conditioned warehouse in the town of Leer, roughly 40 km away from Georgsheil. Due to the limited space available, the company implemented shelving systems up to 7.50 metres in height. When planning the warehouse, the company decided to put in place a new logistics strategy. To increase the storage capacity in the new warehouse, for instance, the company opted to use multidirectional sideloaders instead of the frontloaders it had previously relied on.

"Our new logistics concept meant that we required vehicles that would be able to reliably transport long and heavy loads in narrow aisles as well as storing and retrieving the goods from our new shelving at heights of up to 7.50 metres instead of what was previously 4 metres," explains Renko Schoon, project manager at Groen & Janssen GmbH Holz-Türen-Platten. "We decided to go with Hubtex due to their short delivery times and their comprehensive advice and support with respect to multidirectional sideloaders." In order to maximise the availability of the vehicles, Hubtex offers a special service comprising maintenance work and repairs services using OEM parts, as well as annual safety checks. One of the most important qualitative aspects of this service is the fast and competent execution of tasks. "Forklift trucks are often of pivotal importance. If multidirectional sideloaders malfunction, the entire operation often comes to a standstill," explains Fred Raske, head of Hubtex' northern Germany operation. "This is why Hubtex has focused on delivering a fast and reliable service for the last 35 years."

Order pickers retrieving materials from high shelves.

Groen & Janssen also has a second-hand unit in use.

Safe transport of special goods
Around 11,500 different items are stored at the roughly 2,500 square-metre warehouse in Leer, including large and heavy panel materials, sawn-treated timber and fragile doors with glass panels. All these products can be picked from high shelving professionally and in compliance with regulatory standards using the electric multidirectional sideloaders from Hubtex. At its location in Fulda, Hubtex produces its vehicles and also manufactures components such as lift masts. "By manufacturing the products ourselves, we are able to respond to customers' individual requests, for example if they require particularly large lifting heights or high residual load capacities," says Raske.

Groen & Janssen GmbH Holz-Türen-Platten uses the Hubtex multidirectional sideloader MQ 40 (2130 series), for instance. The vehicle has an effective width of 2.20 metres, meaning sheet material measuring 5 metres by 2.10 metres can be easily transported. With a load-carrying capacity of 4 tonnes and a lifting height of up to 7.20 metres, the forklift is able to optimally store heavy wood stacks at great heights. Furthermore, the company also uses a smaller second-hand MQ 35 unit (2125 series) with an effective width of 1.40 metres, which is able to store and retrieve pallets and wood stacks measuring 1.20 x 1.20 metres and up to 6 metres in length. "You can hardly make a distinction between the second-hand unit and our new unit in daily operations. We opted for this solution in order to reduce overall costs and it's a decision we don't regret," concludes Schoon. The new logistics strategy also focused on planning how to transport plastics products in the newly built production halls of Groen & Janssen GmbH Kunststoffvertrieb in Georgsheil.

These products are transported by the electrically operated Hubtex fourway sideloader DQ 30 E (3120 series). With a lifting height of 4.50 metres and load-carrying capacity of 3 tonnes, the vehicle easily masters the picking of goods from high shelving. It also comes equipped with elastic rubber tyres, making it suitable for outdoor use. An additional forklift truck has also been in use at the new production halls of Groen & Janssen GmbH Kunststoffvertrieb since the start of 2016: the Hubtex multidirectional sideloader MQ30 (2121 series) is ideally suited to working in the smallest aisle widths due to its particularly narrow design. An integrated personnel protection system also helps to ensure safety in the warehouse. It is able to recognise when people are in the aisleways thanks to its laser scanner. If a person is in the aisle, the vehicle automatically comes to a halt until the path is clear again.


HUBTEX Multidirectional Sideloader Fleet at Groen & Janssen Timber Industry

Conclusion
Thanks to the transition from frontloaders to multidirectional sideloaders, Groen & Janssen was able to fit its new warehouses with particularly narrow aisleways and high shelving, thus maximising its utilisation space, without having an adverse effect on the quality of storage. As a result - and with the aid of the Hubtex multidirectional sideloaders - Groen & Janssen has ultimately profited from the change, as its refined logistics strategy has helped to secure its material flow, cut down on investment costs and guarantee the safe handling of its high-quality products.

For more information please contact:

HUBTEX Maschinenbau GmbH & Co. KG
Mr. Michael Röbig
P: +49-661-8382-219
W: www.hubtex.com
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About us
HUBTEX has taken a leading position in the materials handling equipment and logistics market for many years. HUBTEX take over where the manufacturers of standard products finish. Core business of our company is the manufacture of customized industrial trucks, side loaders and special equipment for handling difficult and bulky goods. In manufacturing and distribution the world over our machines are designed to facilitate the efficient material flow and turnover of goods, even in very narrow aisles. Our trucks are tailor-made to exactly match the end users specific needs and characterized by their longevity and funcionality. Our concepts are characterized by highest flexibility and functionality, as the case may be.