Flexi eliminates double handling
February 1st 2008

Thanks to a fleet of versatile Flexi G4 articulated trucks, Harlow Group Storage has increased efficiency at its busy multi-user warehouse

Harlow Group Storage provides outsourced warehousing facilities to a variety of customers operating in industries as diverse as product packaging and machine tool components.

The company's multi-user warehouse is temperature controlled, with sensors and fans strategically placed throughout the racking to ensure that the store remains at between 10 and 30 degrees at all times.

The site operates between 6am and 10pm, seven days a week and typically processes in the region of 250 orders a day.

This equates to some 3000 pallet movements in and out of the warehouse every week. Most of the orders picked are full pallet loads but, in line with trends across the industry, HGS has noticed a growing requirement for break-bulk and low level order picking at the facility.

To ensure that loads are put away and picked as time and cost efficiently as possible, HGS uses a fleet of electricpowered Flexi G4 articulated trucks from Narrow Aisle.

HGS managing director Tony Sando has always been an advocate of the articulated truck concept and, this year, when the expansion of one of HGS's blue chip contracts meant the company needed to increase the size of its fleet, he ordered four new Flexi G4s.

"We have been using Flexis for many years and have been impressed by their build quality, versatility and reliability," explained Tony Sando. "We had operated both reach and counterbalanced trucks to pick and put away but the Flexi performs both jobs in a single unit." Until the articulated truck was introduced, companies like HGS had little alternative but to operate a two truck system with a counterbalanced machine working outside, feeding a reach truck inside the store or warehouse. With the arrival of articulated machines, users realised that they could eliminate this often costly and generally inefficient arrangement. The Flexi loads and unloads lorries and delivers pallets directly to the racking in a single operation. By doing so, it increases efficiency and productivity while abolishing double handling and the costs associated with running a bigger truck fleet than is necessary.

More articles from Narrow Aisle Limited: