When I-S Manufacturing set up its new manufacturing facility in Coventry, one of the company’s biggest concerns was how to offload, transport and store extremely large loads of OSB, which are one of the major components in the manufacture of its i-SIP Structural Insulated Panels (SIP). The manoeuvrability and 4-way capability of an eight tonne capacity Combilift forklift came to the rescue, and now handles not only the OSB boards but all other materials around I-S’s production facility.
As a subsidiary of Innovaré Systems, I-S Manufacturing supplies bespoke SIP’s for sustainable building systems for contractors and housing associations across the country, and the new facility is capable of an output of 1,000 houses per annum. The loads of OSB which are delivered from a German supplier can be up to 6m in length, but it was the width of 2.7m which was more problematic. Trying to manoeuvre this through the access doors with anything other than a 4-truck was going to be extremely tricky.
“We knew we needed something way beyond a mainstream forklift,” explains MD Andrew Orriss, “so when our factory manager Peter Blunt saw a Combilift at a trade fair we realised that this was the type of specialist truck that could work for us.” A demo of a Combilift by Birmingham based materials handling specialist Abex proved that it would, and Abex’s Paul Raymond advised as to the best model from the Combilift range. Although the loads are not overly heavy at around 1.5t, he recommended the eight tonne capacity truck due to the reach and lift heights involved when storing the OSB panels in the racking. He also advised fitting longer than standard forks to support the deep dimensions of the loads.
The overall width of the Combilift when carrying the OSB panels is almost as wide as the access doors, and with just a few centimetres of clearance on each side, the C8000 can now manoeuvre the boards into the storage area and lift them onto racking or block stack. I-S also made use of Combilift Ltd’s expertise in facilities design: using initial information on the size of the factory footprint, Combilift engineers at the company HQ in Ireland designed the optimum configuration of racking, machinery and aisle widths. By basing the complete layout on Combilift’s 4-way capability, the best possible use of space has been achieved throughout the premises.
Apart from offloading the OSB and reloading finished product, the LPG powered C8000 works mainly inside, managing the internal movement of other products such as expanded polystyrene blocks, packs of timber and adhesives. The Combilift’s excellent 4-way manoeuvrability means that the trucks can precisely position all materials at the automated lines when required.
As the Combilift is the only forklift on site, reliable operation is crucial, but Andrew Orriss has no worries on this count: “The Combilift is an impressive piece of kit. It is versatile and dependable, the drivers are very happy operating it, and, crucially, it has solved our OSB maneuverability problem!”
Combilift 4-way forklifts are all designed and built in Monaghan Ireland, where the company also has its HQ and R&D facility. The current Combilift range now encompasses at least fifteen base models with capacities ranging from 2.5 – 14 tonnes, with LPG, diesel or AC electric power available. Combilift has won numerous awards for its products since the company was established in 1998, and has over 9,500 units in operation around the world.
Combilift Ltd
Tel UK: 07815 314 990
Email: info@combilift.com
www.combilift.com
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