Faiveley Transport is one of world’s leading suppliers of railway systems and services, with its HQ in Paris. One of its two UK depots, in Birkenhead, specialises in the overhaul of train parts such as brake and coupling equipment. Three Aisle-Master AC electric powered articulated trucks are responsible for handling and storage procedures at this site, providing the reliability and fast turnaround required to put Faiveley’s customers back on track with the minimum of delay.
In what Assembly Supervisor Steve Gibbs describes as an extremely specialised operation, stripped down parts are received from train operators across the UK and Europe in stillages or boxes. A major benefit of the Aisle-Masters has been their versatility to offload the parts in the yard and follow their progress through the overhaul, reassembly and testing process before reloading up the finished product. A further deciding factor when choosing the new forklift fleet was robust build and the ability of the manufacturers to offer a range of extra features specified by Faiveley.
“We highly value the opinions of our drivers” says Steve, “and after trialing a number of trucks with our handling providers Carrylift, the Aisle-Master came out on top – our drivers preferred the ease of operation and ergonomics.
Aisle-Master also supplied the add-ons we wanted, and painted the trucks in our corporate colours at the point of manufacture, so when the trucks were delivered they were exactly according to our requirements. The integrated scales have also eliminated constant repairs to the cables needed to attach the scales on our old trucks, which has saved on maintenance costs and downtime.”
The Aisle-Masters have replaced a combination of two other articulated trucks and a gas powered counterbalance forklift, which was greedy on space and not cut out for working inside due to the fumes it emitted. The electric Aisle-Masters are ideal for prolonged internal operation, and the AC technology incorporated into these models provides more than enough power from one charge for an intense daily work schedule.
There are currently 700 pallet spaces at the Birkenhead site, but this will increase when the annex is racked out this year. By basing the new racking layout around the manoeuvrability and narrow aisle capabilities of the Aisle-Masters, Faiveley will be able to maximise the storage density in this area to accord with the company’s growth and increasing volume of parts it receives.
Two of the Aisle-Masters work primarily within the warehouse, while the third is designated to the assembly area, but all are used outside in the yard. “This area has traditionally been very tough on the tyres” says Steve, “but since we have had the Aisle-Masters there has been a noticeable lack of wear and we have saved money on tyre replacement.” Steve has also been impressed with the easy access to parts for service engineers, which has kept maintenance time to a minimum. “We are absolutely reliant on speedy operation here, as when customers’ parts are being overhauled their trains are obviously out of action. The reliability of the Aisle-Masters combined with Carrylift’s excellent after sales service has provided us with a watertight system for very quick customer response time.”
Aisle-Masters can work in aisles of just 1.75m, with capacities of up to 2.5 tonnes and lift heights of up to 12.5 metres, and LPG models are also available. The trucks are all designed and built at the company’s dedicated production facility in Monaghan, Ireland, ensuring a top quality product. Aisle-Master design engineers also offer a site visit and warehouse layout service and supply free layout proposals illustrating how to maximise the use of available storage space.
Aisle-Master Ltd UK Tel: 07725 642 472 Email: info@aisle-master.com www.aisle-master.com
Comments are closed.