A major distribution centre in central Scotland, has installed loading bay equipment – including dock levellers – from sara LBS as part of a project to upgrade facilities. The project is intended to double storage capacity and improve the flow of traffic through the area. sara LBS sales engineers provided advice and support throughout specification and delivery to ensure the new facilities offer the very best in efficiency.
The hub handles many different types of freight, from large scale industrial products to Scotland’s famed and valuable whisky, salmon and tweeds. It is at the heart of Scotland’s road network and well served by rail links. The docks and airports of both Glasgow and Edinburgh are all within 40 miles (60 km), so the hub is an important centre for supplying the whole of Scotland, much of the rest of the UK and lends efficiency to export activities.
The expansion project was carried out in two phases. The first stage saw the development of 930 m2 (10,000 ft) of warehousing with an eaves height of 10 m (32 ft) to increase the racking capacity. The second stage added a further extension of the same size with an eaves height of 6 m (19 ft) to match the original building. With a total of 3,000 pallet spaces in the warehouse the decision was made to support the expansion with new loading / unloading facilities including new loading bays, powered dock levellers and two new floor level loading doors.
Due to the variety of the stock that passes through the hub, the loading bays must be able to accommodate a wide range of vehicle types and sizes. The hubs operator and the main contractor consulted with sara LBS to help specify loading bay equipment with the required flexibility. As a result, four standard dock levellers were installed along with a fifth, bespoke solution with a telescopic lip. Unlike the standard hinged lip designs, the telescopic design allows the leveller to be precisely positioned on the floor of varying sized vehicle – ensuring optimum load distribution.
sara LBS dock levellers have a load capacity of 6,000 kg as standard per single axle load and their platforms are manufactured from 8 mm durbar non-skid steel plate. All the platforms for the Scottish project have been treated with a special non-slip epoxy resin for extra grip.
SARA LBS
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