The new B313 Bendi reverses conventional design by placing the single steer wheel at the front giving better manoeuvrability

New warehouse designed around Bendi forklift
August 15th 2006

To gain best use of valuable space, Gloucester-based Alpha Colour Printers has built a new warehouse designed specifically around the Bendi articulated forklift from Translift. As well as its space saving qualities, the versatility of the Bendi was also crucial because Alpha wanted to use the it to load and unload delivery lorries in the yard, a task unsuited to reach trucks and dedicated VNA (very narrow aisle) trucks.

Alpha was among the first buyers of the new B313 Bendi, a three-wheeler, electric forklift, which reverses the conventional design by placing the single steer wheel at the front to give better manoeuvrability and space saving. Alpha needs to lift 800kg loads to 7.2m in 1.9m wide aisles, although the Bendi is quite capable of working in 1.6m aisles.

Joint managing director, Jeff Williams, explained that before making the Bendi investment Alpha considered all the alternatives. This included a wire-guided VNA truck, but the low usage rate did not warrant such an expensive option. This type of VNA truck is also totally unsuited to outdoor work and would have necessitated a second counterbalance truck for yard work. A reach truck solution would also have needed a second forklift for lorry loading in the yard. The only sensible choice was to choose a truck based on the articulated principle, but then came the decision to choose from among the three suppliers in this field.

What clinched the decision was design and performance superiority “I thought the 3-wheel Bendi was more manoeuvrable than its competitors,” explained Williams, “and I also liked the idea of the weight being on the front wheel. The other models looked outdated.”

Compared with a counterbalance forklift which Alpha had been using in 4m wide aisles, Bendi trucks provide users with up to 50% more pallet positions without increasing the storage cube. The comparison with reach trucks is a 33% gain. In certain circumstances this means that renters of the Bendi can achieve instant truck payback where offsite warehouses are closed down.

There can also be considerable savings from less damage. “What I particularly like is that when you are putting pallets away at right angles you can see the loads better,” said Williams. Unlike reach and counterbalance trucks, the Bendi also lacks rear end swing, a cause of much rack, truck and load damage. To ensure good driving techniques, Translift gave Alpha’s drivers two days of on site, intensive training.

A less known advantage is that the Bendi does not need perfect floors and so in some cases can eliminate the need for an expensive floor upgrade, although this was not an issue at Alpha.

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