Bridging the gap for the MOD
June 18th 2008 The Defence Storage and Distribution Agency (DSDA), an MOD agency, has chosen two Combilift 4-way sideloaders to work at its vehicle and equipment storage facility near Tewkesbury in Gloucestershire.
The Ashchurch site is the central storage depot for components for tank and infantry bridging waiting for repair and maintenance. The large dimensions of these bridge units had been problematic to handle, as Defence Transport Operator Bob Sharples explains: "The maths doesn't add up when you try to get a 13.5m bridge trackway through a 4m wide door by travelling forwards with a counterbalance truck. We knew we had a problem, so we contacted our handling specialist Barloworld, who recommended a demo of a Combilift SL. It was immediately apparent that this system would be the solution."
The two diesel powered C5000SL trucks handle the bridge trackways as well as 8m long ramps, 8m and 4m panels, and long packs of pipes. Sgt. Kingsley Lampshire says that the trucks have made his life a lot easier: "The Combilifts are so manoeuvrable, and the carousel mode in particular comes into its own when we remove the panels from the storage area to the cribs for work to be carried out. Without this we would be doing long, time consuming runs up and down the workshop. We have over 100 bridge parts stored here, so the speed and reliability we get with the Combilift is really beneficial. Health and safety procedures have also improved as the visibility from the cab is excellent.”
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