Strandbags has ordered a range of forklift equipment from Toyota Material Handling.

Speciality retailer Strandbags has ordered a range of forklift equipment from Toyota Material Handling for its new 8,500 sqm distribution centre in Sydney.

The contract includes a fleet of eight sit-down pantograph reach trucks, two wire-guided high-level order pickers, a low-level order picker and an electric counterbalance forklift.

According to Strandbags group logistics manager Steve English, the BT pantograph sit-down reach trucks were chosen "because we needed the capacity at height and our drivers are dedicated to these trucks, spending the bulk of their shift at the controls, so sit-down positioning was critical".

He adds that the Raymond order pickers chosen offered outstanding driver control features such as auto-steer centring, which reduces the risk of damage to the truck or racking by automatically centring the drive tyre at start-up; an AC drive which requires less maintenance than DC; and an intuitive mapping handle that was designed by a fighter pilot, which simplifies operation.

The supplier tailored a five-year rental agreement to meet the company's evolving needs.

English says the flexibility of the rental agreement offered by the supplier is excellent.

"If we alter the configuration of the warehouse or our needs change, we can interchange our equipment without incurring any financial penalty.

"This gives us great peace of mind knowing that we are not stuck with anything less than the optimum equipment, both now and in the future."