Nearly two-thirds of all milk processed in the Netherlands is exported. Despite the economic crisis, dairy exports have been growing by an average of 7% a year. Dutch dairy products are marketed around the world and can be found in more than 135 countries. Three-quarters of the exports remain within Europe, and the rest goes further afield. Demand for Dutch dairy products is especially high in Asia, and exports to the US have also increased over the last few years.Dairy products make their way to consumers directly through trading companies, retailers and hospitality companies, or they are used as ingredients and are processed by other food manufacturers. The export of Dutch dairy products is handled both by dairy companies and trading companies.
In addition, there are many other industries involved in the dairy chain, such as companies who provide the latest stables and equipment, financial services, education, knowledge and technology such as
MEIJER HANDLING SOLUTIONS' ROLLERFORKS®.The standard pallet used in the dairy sector for milk-powder is a wooden pallet of 1100x13500mm, but within the pallet branch this is not a standard size, which makes the pallets more expensive. If the wooden pallet is shipped it must also meet the ISPM 15 standard, which means extra administration when ordering, marking and storing these special pallets.
Nowadays, leading milk-powder manufacturers within the Netherlands make use of our ROLLERFORKS
® in the process of shipping their bagged goods. Previously, the manufacturers used the wooden pallets for shipping or even shipped their goods as loose bulk to overseas destinations. With the introduction of the
ROLLERFORKS®, these methods are used less, since now the goods can be stacked on a slipsheet. A
slipsheet is a thin sheet of plastic, or solid board, varying in thickness from less than 1 mm to as much as 3 mm, depending on the use (single - reusable, weight of load and usage).
ROLLERFORKS® are in fact 'standard' lift-truck forks with two layers of rollers which can be used in combination with specially-prepared pallets. The wooden pallets are provided with additional insertion openings on top of the standard pallets, so that the
ROLLERFORKS® can be easily 'rolled' under the slip-sheet. When the
ROLLERFORKS® are lifted off the floor, the rollers will automatically 'fall' downwards and place the products securely on the upper side of the forks. When the load is placed onto the container floor, the undermost row of rollers touches the floor, causing the uppermost rollers to rotate in the opposite direction, so that the forks slide out from underneath the slip-sheet without disturbing the products.
The combination of
ROLLERFORKS® and RF-Pallets gives the sender an enormous flexibility when it comes to shipping, since they do not need to purchase new pallets. The pallets can be adjusted, will stay within the storage area and can be used over and over again.
Because the RF-Pallet is an in-house pallet, the return on investment time is very fast. A standard 1300X1100 mm pallet is around 13.00 EUR and to make a pallet
ROLLERFORKS® -suitable around 5.00 EUR. extra is needed to make the modifications. After this adjustment, a corrugated-board sheet costing 0.50 EUR, or an original solid board slip-sheet costing ±1.50 EUR can be used.
The
ROLLERFORKS® require no hydraulics, which is positive for the food-industry as there will be no hydraulic leakages which can happen with our traditional
Push-Pull attachment. The
ROLLERFORKS® are easy to maintain and can also be used for standard pallets.
For more information please contact us:
Meijer Handling Solutions
P: +31 (0) 518 49 29 29
E: Send an email
W: www.mse-forks.comAbout Meijer
Meijer Handling Solutions is based in the Netherlands, with a wholly owned subsidiary in the USA and distributors in more than 60 countries worldwide. The company is the world market leader, being the largest producer of hydraulic lift-truck forks, more commonly known as "KOOI-REACHFORKS®. However, Meijer Handling Solutions also produces a wide range of other innovative material-handling solutions, including:
Mast Height Extensions and manual KOOIREACHFORKS®, as well as a complete range of pallet-less handling solutions such as ROLLERFORKS®, Push-Pulls, Stationary Pallet Changers. Also, Meijer Handling Solutions sells the patented FLEX-OPS® a safety enhancement for fork-lift trucks that helps prevent tip-over accidents.