Sawmills take on trucks for expansive site work
September 1st 2011

Scottish timber firm invests in Irion sideloaders to help with heavy and awkward wood loads

Timber firm James Jones & Sons has taken delivery of Irion sideloaders to complement its fleet of materials handling equipment supplied by Barloworld Handling. The new sideloaders are used to transport and store a variety of timber products at three of its timber operations in Scotland - in Aboyne, Lockerbie and Forres.

Strategically located throughout Scotland, James Jones & Sons is one of the largest suppliers of British timber, harvesting trees in the forest then processing the logs in its modern automated sawmills. The company has six sawmills catering for every size and shape of timber and requires a wide range of materials handling solutions.

In Lockerbie, the company produces pallet wood, fencing and a variety of kiln dried timber. Iain Gale, logyard manager at the site in Southern Scotland explains: "We have materials handling requirements throughout the site and need a partner that can supply and backup a range of tough forklift trucks and sideloaders." Barloworld Handling has supported the site in Lockerbie since 2000, when it first opened, and has delivered a new Irion Sideloader LQ50/12/45 to bolster the fleet.

"With the introduction of the new Irion Sideloader, we have optimised the complete cycle of operation, transporting timber loads of up to 4.8m from production to storage and then onto distribution, which includes distances of up to 200 metres," Iain adds, explaining that the sideloaders are easy to manoeuvre with joystick control. "Reliability and sideloader speed were very important when making the purchase decision to ensure maximum productivity from the drivers." The site in Forres uses the Irion sideloader to transport loads of up to 12m in length, in an operation that manufactures structurally engineered JJI-Joists.

"We have a strong relationship with Barloworld who provide a full range of highly reliable products with excellent local service," says Iain. "The support has been second to none, not only on the equipment supplied by Barloworld, but also from the local Barloworld engineer Kevin Kirk who also services other materials handling equipment that we own." The Lockerbie site has several Hyster forklift trucks operating in specific parts of the operation including an H4.5FT Fortens.

This particular truck is fitted with a double pallet handler and is used to transfer pallet woods from production to yard storage and then load lorries. Elsewhere, a compact Hyster H6.0FT Fortens is used to transfer timber from storage to Lockerbie 2, an added value facility where timber is customised.

The Hyster Fortens trucks have proven to be tough and highly reliable in continual stop, start, forward, reverse operations, says the manufacturer. Due to its Duramatch transmission, even the most aggressive direction changes are made smoothly, without using the brake pedal or even stopping the truck. The trucks automatically slow when the accelerator pedal is released, helping to increase driver productivity and significantly reducing brake and tyre wear. In addition, the low maintenance oil immersed brakes help ensure the low cost of operation expected from Hyster equipment. Truck utilisation varies between 30-50 hours per week, and they are used all year round with cabs and heaters fitted to ensure drivers remain comfortable in the freezing winters.

Irion, a division of the Terra group, is a sideloader manufacturer with facilities in Austria and France.

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