As one of the UK’s leading supplier of snacks, confectionery and cakes, Bobby’s Foods are feeding the nation with the help of Bendi articulated fork trucks.
Established in 1972, Bobby’s Foods started from humble beginnings with only a single van delivering to local stores in and around Bromsgrove and the surrounding County of Worcestershire.
Since those early days, the business has flourished and rapidly expanded to cover all regions of England, Scotland and Wales serviced from the Head Office in Bromsgrove, 11 regional depots and over 100 salesvans. It was down to the continuing success of the business that Bobby’s Foods first turned to Bendi.
“Our policy has always been to have just one truck in each regional depot” commented Julian Hill, Transport Manager for Bobby’s Foods. “This presented a number of problems as we had to cater for the unloading of vehicles as well as operating in the racked warehouses, so if the outside of a depot was anything other than perfectly flat we had to operate with a three-wheel counterbalance truck which meant that we had to allow at least 3.5m for the internal warehouse aisles”. Even in the depots with Reach Trucks it still resulted in aisle widths of over 2.5m so with ever expanding product lines and space at a premium Bobby’s Foods contacted Bendi Regional Sales Director Paul Berrow.
Success Breeds Success
“The problem Bobby’s Foods were faced with is synonymous with that of many successful companies” commented Paul Berrow. “The need to increase storage space to cope with added demand or the need to house additional production machinery can often lead to companies moving premises or having extensions built but after a number of meetings Bobby’s Foods were convinced that the Bendi could cater for all of their existing needs and that of any future growth”
The innovative design, coupled with the maneuverability and flexibility of the Bendi three-wheel articulated trucks means that Bobby’s Foods really can “have their cake and eat it too”.
Due to Bendi’s patented articulated system, the trucks are designed to operate safely and efficiently both outside on uneven surfaces or inside in warehouses, factories and production areas. The innovative design and 220° rotation means that aisles as small as 1600mm and lift heights of over 12m can be achieved without the need for expensive guidance systems or “super flat” floors, all reasons why the Bendi trucks have been well received by Bobby’s Foods according to Julian Hill. “We were a little sceptical at first but once we had visited the factory and visitor centre in Redditch we were convinced Bendi was the right option for us. We now have trucks that are designed to go outside, unload vehicles, take the products inside and load them into pallet racking in one operation”
Truck reliability is crucial for most businesses but especially so when, like Bobby’s Foods, you are relying on one truck in each depot. The national service support was therefore an important factor in the decision to nominate Bendi as the preferred supplier.
National Service Support
Buying or renting a forklift truck represents a significant investment and one the customer will want to protect, that is why Bendi are proud to offer a comprehensive National After Sales operation. Any forklift is only as good as the team supporting it so Bobby’s Foods have the added piece of mind knowing that Bendi employ some of the most highly skilled and dedicated Service Engineers in the materials handling industry.
The UK Manufacturing facility in Redditch, another important factor for Bobby’s Foods, houses the main spare parts holding and is supported by strategic regional spares stores and engineers van stock.
Web based management software can be configured for larger fleets of machines, enabling tracking of service, maintenance and breakdown costs.
Translift Bendi Ltd
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