The Sattach-distributed RollerForks.

Australian attachment maker Sattach Pty Ltd introduced Dutch pallet-less handling to Australia with the launch of RollerForks at Matex 2006, in Sydney, last week.

The European-patented, double roller mechanism pulls a load onto the forks as a forklift drives forward. To unload, the RollerForks are lowered to the ground and the forklift reversed so the double rollers push the load off the forks.

The Rollerforks hook onto any Class II carriage in place of conventional forks, do not need hydraulics and can handle standard pallets and slip sheets. According to Sattach, 15 per cent of container space can be saved using slip sheets instead of pallets.

"International standards on biological and environmental controls are making pallets more expensive and unpopular to ship inside containers," a Sattach statement said. Meijer Special Equipment in the Netherlands manufactures the forks.