A perfect fit for Harlow Group Storage
December 1st 2005 A fleet of FLEXI G3 articulated lift trucks from Narrow Aisle has been instrumental in helping Harlow Group Storage Ltd achieve maximum storage density and warehouse efficiency at its Essex facility
Established since 1976, Harlow Group Storage is a family business, which specialises in providing outsourced warehousing for a wide range of customers.
Over this time, the company has earned an enviable reputation for providing a reliable, high quality service and has built up a portfolio of long-standing contracts - the largest being a component 'pick and place' operation for a 'blue chip' manufacturing company.
In 2003 the Harlow Group moved to a 40,000 sq ft warehouse on a two-acre site.
In order to achieve maximum pallet space it chose a VNA racking system from Redirack combined with four FLEXI G3 trucks. By reducing the aisle widths and installing racking six positions high, the company has been able to create 6,500 pallet locations within the building envelope.
Tony Sando, managing director of Harlow Storage, says:" We chose the FLEXI because we did not want our business operation to be restricted in any way. We needed the flexibility of being able to use the trucks within the narrow aisles as well as out in the loading/delivery yard.
Although we have racking over 9m high, we did not want a wire-guided VNA system and have been pleased to find the FLEXI copes very well with operation at that height. "
The FLEXI's articulated design means it can operate in aisles of just 1750 mm and lifts loads of up to 2000 kg - without any need for special floor requirements. It can lift up to 12 m without the need for aisle guidance systems.
Harlow Group is also reaping the rewards of the FLEXI's ability to increase pallet spaces by around 30% compared to a reach truck - simply by saving the extra space a reach truck requires to turn into the racking. This saving increases to a dramatic 50% when compared to counterbalance truck aisles.
The FLEXI has also given the Harlow Group maximum flexibility in operational terms and made a major contribution to warehouse efficiency. When delivery vehicles arrive from the main customer's component supplier, they are unloaded by the FLEXI's; pallets are then placed directly into the racking by the FLEXI's ready for picking. They are then transferred to the customer's own shunt vehicle as and when required.
Until the FLEXI concept was introduced, companies had little option but to operate a two-truck system - a counter balance working outside, feeding a slower warehouse truck inside.
FLEXI can effectively eliminate wasteful double handling reducing truck costs by as much as 50%.
Comments Tony Sando: "Narrow Aisle was highly recommended and after they had taken us to an existing installation to see a FLEXI in action; we knew the truck was ideal for our needs." Harlow Group operates a twoshift system 16 hours a day, seven days a week. Providing an uninterrupted supply line for its major customers is critical, therefore the trucks' reliability is essential.
"We cannot afford to have any downtime but I'm delighted to say we haven't had any problems with the FLEXI's," adds Mr. Sando.
Since launching the award winning and hugely successful FLEXI G3, Narrow Aisle has used the FLEXI design to develop a range of articulated trucks - the FLEXI GAS, an LPG powered version, FLEXI AC for faster pallet cycles, FLEXI G3 Double Deep for ultimate storage density and most recently, the FLEXI G3 Compact, which is ideal for Cold Store warehousing, making the space saving advantages an unbeatable solution to many more organisations. More articles from Narrow Aisle Limited: | 
