Beauty… by the forkful!
August 1st 2006

When beauty products manufacturer L'Oréal moved into a new national distribution centre (NDC) for consumer products in Manchester last year, it brought in a new fleet of Jungheinrich lift trucks to take care of all its materials handling requirements. Why? Because they're worth it…

L'Oréal's new distribution centre at Trafford Park covers 22,000m2 and holds up to 22,000 pallets in six-high, standard adjustable pallet racking. This site and a second distribution centre at Bury replace a former NDC in Manchester.

Consumer toiletries and cosmetics in bottles, tubs, aerosols and tubes arrive in boxes ready for the retail environment on standard UK 1200 x 1000mm pallets, typically weighing around 500kg.

The site, which works two 8hr shifts a day, sees around 500 pallet movements in and out every day, according to health, safety, environment, security and facilities manager, Wayne Bailey. "We take around 50% of the product from the L'Oréal factory in Wales, and the rest comes in from our mainland European factories," he says. "I'd say we have 30 or so delivery and dispatch vehicles a day in and out of this site."

Handling this precious cargo is a fleet of over 45 lift trucks which includes 10 ETV214 reach trucks that work with full pallet loads within the racking, one EFG115 three-wheel electric counterbalanced truck for general handling duties, 25 ECE220 low-level order pickers used for picking mixed pallets, 10 ERE20 ride-on powered pallet trucks used for vehicle loading/unloading across the site's 26 loading docks and to move pallets to and from an automated stretchwrapper in the dispatch area, and two ERC12 pedestrian stackers, predominantly used for creating layered pallets ready for dispatch.

Two of the reach trucks and two powered pallet trucks have Zone 2 Pyroban protection for use exclusively in the flammable products store, and all the trucks were supplied on a five-year contract hire package that includes all servicing and maintenance.

According to Bailey, L'Oreal opted for the Jungheinrich package as a result of both past performance and current strengths, adding: "We've been using Jungheinrich trucks in Manchester for well over ten years, as well as in our factory in Wales for over seven and Jungheinrich is one of just three preferred suppliers of lift trucks to L'Oréal globally.

"The service is good too," he adds.

"Overall, we have a very good working relationship with Jungheinrich."

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