The Materials Handling division of Robert Purvis Plant Hire has completely overhauled the forklift truck fleet at Glen Turner’s Starlaw Distillery, in Bathgate, West Lothian. The company has provided the world-renowned whisky distiller with a mix of 3.5-tonne 35B-9U models for its dispatch warehouses and Zone 2 prepared, 5-tonne capacity, 50B-9 forklifts for the site’s barrel storage facilities.
Ten 35B-9U forklifts have been purchased by Glen Turner, while six fire-protected 5-tonne machines have been supplied as part of a seven-year contract hire agreement. Full back-up and maintenance will be provided by Purvis for all of the machines, from its head office location in nearby Lochgelly, Fife.
“We were taken to see Hyundai trucks in use. They were genuinely one of the best we’ve tried,” said Neil Grant, Dispatch Team Leader.
“For feel, comfort and reliability they are the best. You also sit slightly higher, which gives a better view over the forks.”
Glen Turner, which is owned by the French company La Martiniquaise, produces ten whisky varieties, including Label 5, Glen Moray and Cutty Sark. Each of those brands is then available at various ages and in multiple bottle sizes, providing a constantly variable workload for the forklifts loading into road-going trailers.
To cope with this demand, the 3.5-tonne forklifts have been provided with a 5.5m triple boom mast and hydraulically-adjustable, four-fork double pallet frames. These allow the operators within the distillery’s distribution centre to lift two pallets of whisky side by side, greatly increasing productivity.
Glen Turner has three main bottling lines, two producing up to 13,000 bottles an hour and one with a 7,500 bottles per hour capacity. There is a smaller fourth line, for miniatures and other limited volume products. In total, the distillery holds around 3.2 million bottles of whisky in stock at any one time.
“We’ve customised the machines by attaching a computer screen from the roof, so when we pick an order, everything is at eye level for the operator,” said Mr Grant.
The larger 5-tonne models are used to locate casks within the site’s ageing cellars, which can hold more than 750,000 casks over many years of maturation. Due to the volatile vapour that can be given off during this process, known as the ‘Angel’s share’, the 50B-9 forklifts have all been specially prepared for distillery use, with specialist supplier Pyroban installing bespoke explosion protection kits.
This ATEX 3G conversion combines Pyroban’s System6000 gas detection with explosion protection. If gas or vapour is detected above pre-set levels, the driver is given a visual and audible warning to move away from the area of potential danger. If increased levels of vapour or gas are detected the truck can automatically be safely brought to a stop, to protect the driver and the site.
The 5-tonne machines have been equipped with 7.5m lift masts, to allow them to stack up to seven casks high. They have full cabs with heaters and wide, side-shift carriages, with three aluminium-clad forks, to prevent any risk of sparks.
Purvis has provided all of the forklifts with high amp, opportunity-charging lead acid batteries, from local supplier Capitol Industrial Batteries in Cumbernauld. The company has also installed new charging facilities for all of the machines, that allow the operators to charge whenever they have the opportunity, rather than waiting for the end of a shift to plug in. That said, the 3.5-tonne forklifts are easily managing two shifts on a single battery charge within the distribution centre.
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