The TFG truck features a hydrostatic drive engine that allows it to accelerate quickly.

RPC has turned to Jungheinrich for help with its new warehouse, and is cutting costs as a result of its new forklift fleet.

The supplier of rigid plastic packaging products, which has over 50 sites in Europe, produces a range of injection-moulded storage containers at its Blackburn, UK plant. Besides a manufacturing facility, the site has two storage facilities - one houses products that are at the 'work in progress' stage, while the other stores finished goods.

Due to growth, the finished goods were held off-site, but RPC's acquisition of a competitor prompted a rethink of the intralogistics processes at Blackburn. The company decided to construct a new warehouse at the site.

The new 115,000 sqft. (10,684 sqm) finished goods store has capacity for up to about 14,000 block-stacked pallets and an additional 2,500 pallet locations in a racking structure designed, supplied and installed by Jungheinrich UK Ltd.

And, because the forklifts in operation at the original off-site warehouse required replacing, Jungheinrich also supplied RPC with seven new gas-powered counterbalance trucks from its TFG range.

RPC Blackburn's logistics manager, Matt Bulcock, says his company assessed different forklift options before settling on the Jungheinrich forklifts.

"We were impressed by the engineering quality, performance and reliability of the TFG trucks; but the fact that Jungheinrich were also able to provide warehouse design, supply and install our racking ... working with our building contractors to effect a timely solution to deliver the project was really valuable."

The TFG trucks feature hydrostatic drive engines that allow the trucks to accelerate quickly and the changes in direction are smooth, making the forklifts ideal for applications which involve a lot of shuttling work - like RPC.

While the trucks' engineering quality and low ongoing maintenance costs were attractive features to RPC, the main reason for the company's choice of Jungheinrich gas counterbalance trucks was the fuel cost savings they bring to the Blackburn operation.

At the original store, the ageing fleet of gas-powered forklifts had relied on bottled gas for their power, but the move to RPC's own purpose-built facility allowed the company to take advantage of the gas storage tanks that are in place at the site to refuel the trucks.

The racking is also served by a Jungheinrich man-up very narrow-aisle truck, which uses wire guidance technology and has a personnel protection system.

The value of the contract is confidential.