Masate marvels
August 1st 2011

Developments at Yale's Masate facility in Italy are designed to boost product development in VNA equipment

Yale recently spent over $2 million (£1.25m) on its electric warehouse equipment production facility in Masate, Italy, including the introduction of a new product development centre, an extensive testing area and a VNA production line serving the global market.

The 35,000 square metre site near Milan in Italy has the VNA production facility housed within a dedicated 2,100 square metre building and uses the Demand Flow Technology (DFT) assembly process. Each truck is built to the customer's requirements and is tested at each stage of assembly and manufacture.

Yale's VNA and warehouse systems manager, Ron Farr, says space optimisation is one of the most significant trends in warehousing and materials movement and VNA equipment allows customers to get the maximum storage capacity from the minimum site footprint.

"We are seeing increased interest in VNA equipment, or turret trucks, which allow wasted space within the warehouse to be kept to an absolute minimum. Offering lateral fork movement, the truck is able to operate in aisles only fractionally wider than the size of the pallet.

Productivity is increased as the truck is able to travel and lift simultaneously. Further space optimisation is possible as lift heights are significantly higher than those of counterbalance or reach trucks.

"Despite the difficulties presented by the global economic crisis, Yale's parent company, NACCO Materials Handling Group (NMHG), has continued to invest in new product development and bring new equipment ranges to the market.

"Specifically, the company has recognised that demand for VNA equipment would be increasing and the new facility at Masate means Yale is now in a position to respond and deliver products to customers' individual requirements." The investment made in Yale's electric warehouse production site at Masate includes the development of a dedicated product development centre. Huge importance is placed on innovation and product design and the design centre allows the Yale team to perform validation and testing of new features and technology.

A 50 metre test track means both current and new or prototype products can be tested to their full capabilities. Testing includes lift and travel speeds, productivity testing, energy efficiency examinations and internal stability testing.

Farr concludes: "Developing new features and updating current models allows us to offer customers even greater value for money as it results in more productive equipment with lower cost of ownership and service costs.

"Yale will continue to innovate and deliver a wide range of materials handling equipment to cater for the varying demands of our customers across the globe."

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