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 Flexi: | 
