Bendi forklift gives Euro Continental impressive trailer turnaround times

When logistics services provider, Euro Continental, of Northampton, looked to expand its storage business it turned to Translift Bendi not only to gain best use of limited storage space but achieve impressive lorry turnaround times.

Established 12 years ago, Euro Continental is primarily a haulage firm operating internationally with its own fleet of 60 vehicles and a Dutch partner. It is also a member of the Pallex pallet exchange group, but earlier this year it saw the need to offer a full range of logistics services. In March, therefore, it vacated two premises to bring all it operations under one roof. Previously, the company had no racking and so relied on block stacking, served by counterbalanced forklifts, mainly to support groupage operations.

The company could have chosen various routes to operate a pallet-racked warehouse but some would have cost far more than others. By far the best solution was narrow aisle racking designed around the multi, award-winning Bendi forklift from Redditch-based Translift Bendi.

Some models of this pivot steer, or articulating forklift, can work in aisles only 1.6 mt wide compared with the 3.6 mt and 2.6 mt typically needed by counterbalanced and reach trucks respectively. This means a Bendi can deliver up to 55% more pallet storage positions than other truck types, with the exception of dedicated, VNA trucks. These machines, however, would have been entirely unsuitable for many reasons, including inflexibility, slowness and high initial and running costs.

Euro Continental handles around 75 lorries a day, including double deck trailers and 7.5 tonners, so the operation is dependent on a fast vehicle turnaround time. This is where the Bendi leaves all other forklift types standing in most circumstances. Owing to its unique, patented features, the Bendi is as much at home working outside on rough yards as on smooth warehouse floors, a dual capability beyond reach trucks and VNA machines. This dual functionality means a Bendi can take a pallet load straight from a lorry and into the narrow aisle storage racking, thus cutting out any double handling based on two different forklift types, and typically found in many distribution operations. James Edstrom, Euro's logistics project manager, estimates that the Bendi saves 30 minutes unloading a 40 ft trailer compared with a two-truck, double handling operation.

Bought in May, the gas-powered BG 40 Bendi can lift 1,600 kg to 3.5 mt and works in aisles just over 2 mt wide to allow handling of outsize pallets. Guided by paper pick lists, drivers bring pallet loads down from levels up to 6 mt high to replenish order picking faces at ground level. Complete loads can also be taken directly from the racking to waiting lorries, which is so advantageous to meet next-day delivery schedules in the high street or at their clients' RDCs and NDCs.

The Bendi has side shift and flashing safety beacon but there are also inherent safety advantages peculiar to its design, as pointed out by Mr Edstrom. Load vision, for example when interfacing with racking beams, is much better than with reach and counterbalanced forklifts and there is no rear end swing that can so easily damage racking The protruding front wheel legs of reach trucks can also wreak high levels of racking damage.

The drivers received on-site training over two days and quickly warmed to the Bendi, which they now much prefer to the several counterbalanced trucks used on site. Owing to the Bendi's crucial role in fulfilling its contracts, Euro Continental has chosen Translift's full maintenance scheme based on quarterly visits.

Summing up the advantages of the Bendi, Mr Edstrom said it gave his company a good base to build the storage side of the business, which is already operating at full capacity. It can handle trailer loads much quicker than other types of forklifts and allows best use of storage space.