From its headquarters in Rugby, Warwickshire, Promac supplies PVC, glass and aluminium machinery to major names in the extrusion and glass and glazing sector in the UK and Ireland. It also offers a total solutions package creating factory layouts, commissioning and installing machinery and after sales service. Due to the increasingly large volume of machines passing through the Rugby site each week, the management decided to scrutinise handling and storage procedures, and found the weak link to be the counterbalance truck.
Finance Director Scott Haslingden explains: ‘Machines such as mitre saws or PVC welders can be 10m long and weigh over 2 tonnes, glass washers are almost cube shaped, 2.5m high by 4m wide. These are all very problematic loads, as their uneven weight distribution makes them badly balanced. They were therefore extremely tricky to offload and get through the relatively narrow entrance into the building using the limited forwards movement of the counterbalance truck. The whole procedure entailed complicated and potential hazardous manoeuvres involving a number of personnel, and was hampered even more by the gradient outside the entrance.’
Promac was familiar with the 4-way Combilift, having seen it in action at some of its customers' sites, and realised that its ability to travel sideways whilst safely supporting long loads would make it the ideal replacement. Following advice from its materials handling supplier Abex as to the best specification, a C4000 LPG 4-tonne capacity Combilift is now in operation. This has streamlined offloading, improved health and safety procedures and eradicated the risk of potential damage to loads. Scott explains some of the benefits: ‘With the Combilift we can rest the load on the platform rather than balancing it on the forks, the gradient is no problem as the load and truck are both so stable. As visibility from the cab is excellent we only need the one driver, and the whole operation is more efficient and much safer.’
Having moved the loads inside, the Combilift's manoeuvrability enables exact positioning of the machines where required for unpacking, running and checking, before they are rewrapped for final dispatch to the end customer - once again, the flexible Combilift is used to load onto Promac's own fleet of delivery vehicles. Working in counterbalance mode, it is also very useful for moving smaller loads around in the storage area. Darren Wade, who is in charge of the warehouse is a Combilift fan: ‘The truck is great for us here, I would never have believed one forklift can do so much, it's spot on!’
All Combilifts are manufactured by Combilift Ltd in Monaghan Ireland. The current range now encompasses 12 different models with capacities ranging from 2.5 - 12 tonnes. LPG, diesel or electric power is available, and Combilift's reputation for customised solutions means that each truck can be tailored to individual customer requirements. In Promac's case, Abex recommended longer forks due to the dimensions of the loads typically carried. A team of design engineers at the Monaghan factory in Ireland will also draw up free warehouse layouts to illustrate the best possible use of available storage space using the Combilift system.