Bendi: More versatility, less compromise
April 14th 2009 The Bendi articulated truck was originally designed in the early 1980’s to compete in reach truck aisles of approximately 2.4m, however customers demanded greater performance so over the past two and a half decades the design has been developed and enhanced to the multi award winning range we offer today.
More storage capacity in less space
Rising property values as well as heating and maintenance all play their part in the increasing costs of operating a warehouse. Over the years various advances in technology have allowed higher storage densities to be achieved. The Bendi articulated truck represents the latest and most significant advance in this respect allowing much higher storage densities than even highly specialised and costly wire/rail guided very narrow aisle trucks.
As a rule, warehouses designed for counterbalance trucks are the least space efficient, with aisle widths of 3m to 4m in common use. However, the aisle width is only part of the equation – turning and loading/unloading space at the ends of the aisles also accounts for ‘lost’ space. This also applies in warehouses where other types of trucks are operated, although the lost space is much less when using articulated trucks.
A more versatile vehicle means a less compromised warehouse
‘Lost’ storage space at the end of aisles can be greatly reduced when operating articulated trucks. This is not only because the trucks are more manoeuvrable, but also because there’s no requirement for other types of vehicle within the warehouse, to load/unload the warehouse trucks. Bendi articulated trucks can stack/de-stack pallets and load/unload them to or from lorries in your yard, saving space, time and further investment in other vehicle types.
No specialist floor requirements
Bendi articulated trucks can be used in warehouses with standard floor finishes and flatness required for use with counterbalance trucks – even where racking over 12m is used. This eliminates the requirement for costly specialist flooring or grinding of existing floors. There is also no requirement for guidance rails or wires as is usually the case with other high density storage solutions
Following the launch of the innovative Bendi B3 we now have the capability to work safely in 1.6m aisles which even out-performs most VNA (very narrow aisle) machines. The B3 range was produced to broaden the market in two ways; better performance and lower cost. Now more than ever before, if you need to reduce your storage space in order to increase the amount stored, or reduced the space you store it in, there is not a more cost effective way to handle full pallets on pallet racking - £/pallet stored.
As the pioneer and World’s leading manufacturer of articulated forklift trucks, Translift Bendi has produced a comprehensive guidebook, covering all aspects of articulated truck theory and practice. Entitled ‘The Warehouse Revolution’, the book is available from Translift Bendi.
Overall savings in space and time, together with reduced capital costs can create huge savings for operators – for more information, visit Bendi on stand Demo 3, call 01527 527411 or visit www.bendi.co.uk.
More articles from Bendi: | 
