National hose service
April 1st 2008

Pirtek's on-site hydraulic hose replacement service is helping keep vital materials handling equipment up-time to a maximum across the UK and Ireland

Logistics specialists need reliable equipment on the road and in the warehouse – handling equipment suppliers have responded by supplying increasingly sophisticated equipment, guaranteed up-time, resident engineers and four hour response times. Among its clients, the Pirtek network counts many of the sector's leading suppliers, as well as second tier distributors and end users across many industries. The Pirtek mix of convenience, round the clock service, quality, safety and value is well suited to sector needs.

With over 90 centres in the UK and 400 vans on the road, Pirtek is a leader in providing on-site hydraulic hose across the UK and Ireland. For the past 20 years, Pirtek has been building the on-site hose replacement concept, which provides a rapid response – no matter where or when. Pirtek is a truly international company, with branches in the USA, South Africa, New Zealand; and also in Europe in Holland, Belgium and Germany.

24 hour service Where Pirtek has opened up, it has stirred up latent demand for an on-site service. As more potential customers realise the time and cost savings from getting Pirtek to site to fix a hydraulic problem, and the convenience of the 24 hour a day service, fewer go to trade counters. With an ETA of one hour, 365 days a year, Pirtek is the partner of many major customers including Jungheinrich, Barloworld, Linde and Toyota Material Handling. These are just a small selection of the ever growing customer base that the Pirtek Network services around the clock.

According to Paul Dunlop, Pirtek sales director: "The experience gained from our wide range of customers in numerous market sectors allows our mobile sales and service technicians to tackle a variety of hydraulic problems head on. This is backed up by our in-house training academy which is currently benefiting from a major investment and development programme involving brand new premises and machinery.

"Once completed in early April, the Pirtek training academy will be in a prime position to offer further training to our qualified engineers and build a larger portfolio of training courses and qualifications to all of our operational staff ensuring our customers receive a professional and streamline service.

Our on-site customers also benefit from reduced downtime and not having to deploy their own resources to leave site to find the solution to their problem or to fix it themselves." Products that Pirtek supplies to this sector include hydraulic oil, tecreels, hydraulic and thermoplastic hose, and a wide selection of environmental services and products.

All materials handling equipment with a hydraulic power and control system needs hydraulic oil to keep it going. Designers specify a particular type and grade of hydraulic oil depending on the performance and application of the machine. The right grade of oil is vital to maintain equipment as it was intended. Pirtek's on-site service includes checking the oil level after replacing a failed hose, and Pirtek's technicians carry the most commonly approved oils on their mobile workshops and at the 90 centres.

Pirtek centres can supply a wide range of replacement Tecreels or parts to overhaul and repair existing reels. Single, twin or triple hoses can be replaced and are available in a variety of diameters and can be supplied with two or four port swivels. Pirtek supplies "L" shaped mounting brackets and offers the full range of spare parts including spring cassettes, seal and sealing kits.

A wide range of hydraulic hoses ensures the right specification is used in every application. Thermoplastic hoses are common in forklifts because they can be used on mast over-rollers. Pirtek supplies thermoplastic hose in two SAE pressure ratings, a range of bore sizes and in three configurations – single, twin and tri-line.

The hose is made from a nylon core, a synthetic fibre reinforcement and a black polyurethane outer cover. Both hoses can work safely from temperatures of -40°C to +93°C and special cold store hoses are available to extend the range of the lower working temperature to -54°C.

Environmental services Environmental services offered by Pirtek include removing any failed hose from site in accordance with section 62 of the Environmental Disposal Act and offering products such as a wide range of oil spillage kits.

"We complete a thorough health and safety assessment before completing any work on all equipment," says Dunlop. "Our City & Guilds qualified technicians will replace the hose and then request the customer to test the machinery before leaving a clean site. Using cutting edge technology, we can instantly produce a works order and invoice which can be emailed, faxed or even sent by the oldfashioned post." Pirtek is actively promoting the CESAR registration system in the construction sector and is now approaching the logistics sector to extend the system into the market. The CESAR system gives both peace of mind to all equipment owners as well as potentially offering insurance cost savings.

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