Growing pressures on warehouse space often see companies turn to
Translift Bendi for its articulated forklifts to provide the solution, and Redditch-based Heartbeat Manufacturing is a good example.
A family-owned business stretching back over 60 years, Heartbeat produces shop fittings for nationwide distribution and export markets that include prestigious clients like Harrods.
Heartbeat's problem was simple but the various possible solutions exposed the need for careful choice. Its old bulk steel store used counterbalanced forklifts that wasted valuable storage space. Such trucks typically need 3.6m wide aisles compared with only 1.6m for the articulating Bendi. Even reach trucks need 2.6m. The Bendi, therefore, can allow operators to store up to 50% and 33% more pallet loads than counterbalance and reach trucks respectively.
Advised by a leading racking company, Heartbeat gutted its old steel bulk store and installed very narrow aisle (VNA) racking with the Bendi in mind. It could, however, have chosen a dedicated, VNA truck but this would have cost far more, been much slower and, like reach trucks, would have lost the advantage of versatility needed for outdoor work.
The truck chosen was the Bendi B318. The building envelope enabled aisle widths of 1.9m, though 1.6m aisles are well within the trucks capabilities
The issue of aisle width again exposes the need for care over truck choice because competing makers of articulated forklifts need a little more aisle width for their trucks, explained warehouse manger, Bob Cave.
The Bendi, however, is not all about saving space inside warehouses. It can also do the same outside in yards when unloading lorries as well as eliminate double handling. "you can unload a lorry in a much tighter space and transfer the load straight into the racking," explained Mr Cave, "whereas if you use a counterbalance truck and put loads down in the warehouse for the a dedicated warehouse truck to take over you could lose a few man hours a day."
Bob Cave also acknowledges the inherent safety advantages the Bendi has over other truck types. Compared with a counterbalance truck, "The Bendi is quite sedate," says Bob, (though its productivity is often much higher) which cuts out any latent tendencies to treat it like a racing car. "You also have much better vision when interfacing with racking beams and there is no rear end swing."
Standard safety features seat presence switch which ensures the truck is only operational if the driver is seated, an automotive style foot pedal layout for an uncomplicated driving technique and traction cut out which eliminates the truck from rolling backwards if started on a gradient - all of which have been present on Bendi's since the mid 1990's. Due to Heartbeat's varying pallet sizes, the truck was also equipped with extra long forks.
Truck reliability is also crucial for many operators, especially when, like Heartbeat, they are offering a JIT delivery service nationwide. The Bendi gives operators greater truck longevity and less downtime and unlike dedicated VNA trucks the Bendi is easily transferable to other sites when storage contracts change.
Translift Bendi provided on-site driver training for three of Heatbeat's drivers who now agree that they would rather drive a Bendi than a any other truck. "I think it is a very good truck, and we cannot fault Translift's after sales service," concluded Bob Cave.
For more details contact:
Simon Brown
Managing Director
Translift Bendi Limited 22 Padgets Lane
Redditch
Worcestershire
B98 0RB
t: +44 1527 527411
e:
info@bendi.co.ukw:
www.bendi.co.ukClick here to view the Translift Bendi Shopfront