 The Netherlands, Leeuwarden - Packagingspecialist Boxes LPF has been working more safely and faster thanks to the hydraulic telescopic forks. Because the best suitable forklength is always chosen, different loads are always optimal supported and it also prevents loads from damaging. By using the forks at the highest length possible, this company can handle two pallets instead of one which halves the time spent on handling.
It is obvious: craftsmanship needs experience. Ritske Visser, a lift truck driver at Boxes LPF, has been driving a lift truck for thirty years now and it shows. Without any problems he manoeuvres his truck past paper rolls and pallets of cardboard in the crowded storehouse. He controls his 2,5 ton electric Hyster as it was a compact 1,5 ton and with one movement he has the hydraulic forks at the right length. ' This is a bigger pallet than the others' he says.' By extending the forks the load is more stable and therefore little can go wrong.
A LOT SAFER
Boxes LPF produces all kinds of packaging based on cardboard. Associated company LPF Flexible Packaging, also established in the same building, is a specialist in flexibel synthetic packaging. To reach the presses, lift truck drivers have to drive partly through the packaging department and that is not a very wide passage. 'Sometimes a load is too wide and we therefore pick it up lengthwise. At that moment it comes in very handy that we can use longer forks.' Visser says. The safety aspect of the telescopic forks is a grateful by-product. Boxes LPF bought the system because of another reason. The company changed to a different size of cardboard for her presses two years ago. Instead of 3b, 4b is now being used.This is almost a halving of the palletsize, 1400 mm x 1000 mm to 750 mm x 1060 mm. 'The forklength at that time was too long to transport a load safely and it was too short to carry two.' Gert Westerhuis completes. Gert is a lift truck driver and he is also expedition planner and chief of storage. 'Just like Ritske I noticed that a fork which is too long can be damaging to products. One can also pick up the second pallet by accident or one damages a load while placing a load. '
HIGHER EFFICIENCY
Boxes LPF came into contact with the telescopic forks in two ways. The company was tipped off by the lift truck manufacturer and Ritske Visser saw the forks at a school in Leeuwarden where he extended his driver's license for a lift truck for the third time. KOOI-REACHFORKS® are the solution for their problem. Mounting longer "fixed" fork arms was not an option, because it would not fit in the gangways. By using the maximal forklength of 1400 mm it is possible to carry two pallets of cardboard out of the lorry at the same time. When handling fifty pallets and taking the large internal transportdistances into account, it saves a lot of time.’ It also prevents work from becoming boring'. Visser adds. 'We can even handle four pallets at the same time when the pallets are piled up in the lorry.' Boxes LPF has no problems with the shifting centre of gravity as a result of the higher forklength. The cardboard is not that heavy and the lift capacity of the purchased 2,5 ton Hyster is more than sufficient. ' Craftsmanship alone is not enough' concludes Visser.' You also need good equipment. We can not operate without a truck and these telescopic forks. They are indispensable.'
PRE-SELECTED FORKLENGTHS
Manufacturer Meijer SE will probably put a new telescopic fork on the market this spring. The internal and external fork has got the same size which is different from the present-day product where the external fork shifts over the internal fork. The new forks are being tested at a large manufacturer of passenger cars and lorries in Germany at the moment. In addition to this a new option will be the PFLI, the Programmable Fork Length Indicator. With this option it is possible to program forklengths beforehand. One push on the button and the forks will slide to the pre-selected length. Source: www.logistiekkrant.nl, www.boxesgroup.co.uk
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