When managing director Peter Wooldridge formed Narrow Aisle in 1976, the company philosophy was to be an innovator and market leader in the development of Very Narrow Aisle (VNA) space-saving solutions. Since then, Narrow Aisle has notched up over three decades of design experience, producing many types of guided lateral stacking and man-up order picking trucks and, since 1990, the well-known Flexi range of articulated VNA trucks.

"In those early days, many of the technologies we take for granted today were first developed - man-up lateral stackers to over 14 metres, inductive wire guidance and AC motor control systems, to name but a few," Wooldridge recalls.

It was during the late 1980s, when the articulated forklift truck concept was first researched, that the company developed and subsequently launched the now-famous Flexi articulated truck range.

Since its launch in 1990, the Flexi has become one of the most popular articulated forklift trucks in Europe. Over 4,000 units have been built by Narrow Aisle and sold to customers, not only in Europe but throughout the world.

Over the past five years, the Flexi range has been developed to cover the requirements of customers operating in hugely diverse industries, as Wooldridge explains. "Although our clients are involved in the storage and handling of many different products - from foodstuffs to engine parts to third-party logistics - they all share at least one common aim: the need to maximise efficiency within their storage operation by making the most of the space that is available combined with an increased throughput of product."

With their ability to operate in aisleways as narrow as 1.6 metres and lift pallet loads to heights of over 12.5 metres, the latest Flexis can save warehouse operators at least 30% of their storage costs. The Flexi's success has also been built around its clever design that allows it to load and unload trailers, like a counterbalance forklift truck, and to work comfortably both inside and outside and within Very Narrow Aisles at a throughput rate up to 25% higher than traditional reach truck or guided VNA trucks.

John Maguire, sales and marketing director for Narrow Aisle, says, "until the Flexi was introduced, companies had little alternative but to operate a two-truck system, with a counterbalance machine working outside and feeding a reach truck or a guided VNA truck inside the store or warehouse."

With the arrival of the Flexi, users realised that they could eliminate this often costly and generally inefficient arrangement. The Flexi loads and unloads lorries and delivers pallets directly to the racking in a single operation much faster than traditional reach or guided VNA trucks. "This ability significantly increases efficiency and productivity while abolishing double handling and the costs associated with running a bigger truck fleet than is necessary".

Since its launch, the Flexi range has become known for high-quality, ultra-reliable, well-engineered products. The company slogan is 'Quality is the Principle' and as Maguire explains, "Over 30 years of VNA design and development, we have worked hard to develop a long-standing reputation for product quality and high levels of customer service across the world".

"The reliability of our Flexi product is paramount as we supply a global customer base; the excellent resale values of used Flexis in all markets demonstrates the high regard all independent forklift distributors have for our products," he adds.

www.flexi.co.uk