Holding the doors
December 1st 2008 Narrow Aisle Flexi's articulated Flexi EURO trucks are performing work that previously
required both counterbalance and reach trucks, for Mercedes Benz component suppliers.
Forklift fleet costs have been reduced and pallet capacity upped
Narrow Aisle Flexi, the articulated
forklift truck manufacturer, has
delivered two of its specially
developed Flexi EURO trucks to a leading
Germany-based supplier of outsourced
assembly services to a world class premium
passenger car manufacturer.
The trucks will operate at a factory
where a range of car subcomponents to be
built into car doors are manufactured and
assembled. In this case the Flexi EUROs will
be handling car doors bound for the
Mercedes Benz factory near Stuttgart
where the new Mercedes E Class is built.
Mercedes' suppliers deliver components
to the E Class production lines on a 'just in
time' basis. The doors are individually
produced in a choice of interior colours and
materials and with the new car buyer's
speaker system option fitted, arrive at the
Mercedes factory in a four-hour time
window.
Before taking the decision to invest in
Flexi EUROs, Narrow Aisle's client had been
using a combination of counterbalance and
reach trucks at its factories. The
counterbalance machines had been
required to unload pallets of components
off trailers as they arrived at the site before
delivering the loads to the 3.8 metre wide
racking aisle. The new E Class model has
many more components than the outgoing
one due to increased customer options like
hifi speakers and airbags. The Mercedes E
Class door components,
which are mostly packed in
plastic tote boxes, are then
picked and delivered to the
production line. For this
function the company
previously used the
counterbalance trucks
because reach trucks were
too wide and not capable of
manoeuvering the loads
around the relatively tight
spaces at the line side
storage locations.
Because of the Flexi
EURO's compact dimensions
and ability to work both
inside, within the aisleways,
and outside to unload incoming
deliveries of door
components, Narrow Aisle's client is now
using articulated trucks to do the work that
previously required both counterbalance
and reach trucks. This has led to a
significant reduction in forklift fleet
operating costs.
Furthermore, thanks to the Flexi EURO's
ability to work in aisles as narrow as
1642mm wide (with a Euro pallet) or
1762mm wide (with an ISO pallet), the
company has been able to reconfigure its
lineside buffer store. By significantly
reducing the aisle widths between the
pallet racking in the store from their
original width of 3.8 metres down to only 2
metres – while still conforming to the
German aisle security legislation – the
company has increased its pallet capacity
by more than 20%, which means that
increased numbers of component stock
units can all be held in the premium line
side space available.
Damage limitation
A key consideration when specifying the
Flexi EURO was the elimination of pallet
rack damage when stacking in
the aisle. The Flexi's unique
design with 'true radius'
turning means no matter how
inexperienced the operators
are, they cannot damage the
rack when turning.
With the ability to lift 1500kg
loads to heights of over 7
metres, the Flexi EURO features
all the design characteristics
that have made the Flexi range
of articulated forklifts the
biggest selling articulated
trucks in Europe, according to
Narrow Aisle. For example, a
range of 'clear vision' lift mast
options is available – all triplex
full free lift to suit the
operating conditions. Treaded
cushion rubber tyres, plus front drive
wheels provide excellent traction even in
slippery conditions when the truck is fully
laden. Battery change is easy due to the
truck's low lift-off or roll-off rear access
facility to ensure that changeover
downtime is kept to a minimum.
Like all models in the Flexi range, the
Flexi EURO is equally at home inside and
outside the warehouse facility and,
importantly, the fact that the truck has a
traditional four wheel configuration means
that stability is not compromised.
Despite its small dimensions, the Flexi
EURO's operator compartment remains
deceptively spacious and has been
developed to ensure greater comfort
throughout even toughest shifts, while the
truck's European Standard automotive style
accelerator and brake pedal layout ensures
even more leg space for the operator and
improved safety.
"The Flexi EURO is creating a lot of
interest throughout Germany especially in
manufacturing industries where space is at
a premium and costs need to be
controlled," says John Maguire, sales
director of Narrow Aisle Flexi. "We have
demonstrated the product at several trade
fairs in the country throughout 2008 and
the feedback we have had has been
overwhelmingly positive." More articles from Narrow Aisle Flexi: | 
