Heavy mettle: truck makes 50 not out
October 1st 2009 A Yale customer probably didn't know it would get over 50 years use out of its tow tractor in
1956.Now it's hoping for similar longevity from a counterbalance fleet supplied by Forkway
One of Yale's oldest UK customers is benefiting from
improved efficiency and reliability after taking delivery of
a new fleet of counterbalance forklift trucks some 50 years
after ordering its first vehicle from the company.
Heras UK Fencing Systems in Doncaster bought a pedestrian
tow truck from Yale in 1956 and still uses it every day to transport
loads of up to two tonnes around the factory.
The 53-year-old Yale tow truck now works alongside five new
electric and diesel-powered Yale counterbalance forklifts supplied
by the Doncaster branch of key Yale dealer, Forkway.
Arthur Street, purchasing manager for Heras, explains why he
chose Yale. "Although the tow truck is the oldest piece of
equipment we have in the whole company, it is the most reliable
truck we have ever had," he says." It has been used all day every
day for 53 years and has never once let us down, even having to
work on uneven surfaces such as cobbled floors and disused
railway lines which ran through our previous factory. When we
moved premises in 1999 it was vital that this piece of machinery
came with us, whereas most other machinery was replaced."
Of the five new Yale counterbalance trucks, Street says:
"Forkway found the best deal for us. They put significant effort
into a site survey, assessing what combination of trucks was
needed to maximise our fleet productivity and flexibility."
The fleet, which is on a full service and maintenance contract,
comprises one 3.0 tonne electric and Veracitor VX 2.5, 3.0 and 4.0
tonne counterbalance forklift trucks, some fitted with telescopic
forks. The trucks are used to deposit steel parts in racking both in
and outside of the warehouse, transport finished materials, take
material to the galvaniser, load 40-foot trailers and delivery
vehicles, and transport steel
internally around the factory. More articles from Yale Europe Materials Handling: | 
