YALE STEELS THE SHOW

One of Yale’s oldest UK customers is benefiting from improved efficiency and reliability after taking delivery of a new fleet of counterbalance forklift trucks from Forkway Group, a key Yale Authorised Dealer in England, more than 50 years after ordering their first vehicle from the manufacturer.

Heras UK Fencing Systems in Doncaster bought a pedestrian tow truck from Yale in 1956 and still use it every day to transport loads of up to two tonnes around the factory.

The 53-year-old Yale truck now works alongside five new electric and diesel-powered Yale counterbalance forklifts delivered by Forkway’s Doncaster branch with a full maintenance and service contract, ensuring maximum uptime and enhanced productivity for the steel fence making company.

Arthur Street, purchasing manager for Heras, explains why he chose Yale. “Although the tow truck is the oldest piece of equipment we have in the whole company, it is the most reliable truck we have ever had,” he said.

“It has been used all day every day for 53 years and has never once let us down, even having to work on uneven surfaces such as cobbled floors and disused railway lines which ran through our previous factory. When we moved premises in 1999 it was vital that this piece of machinery came with us, whereas most other machinery was replaced.”

The tow truck is used to transport trolleys carrying steel parts weighing one to two tonnes around the factory and makes between 12 and 20 journeys a day, even pulling a skip on some journeys.

The company makes a wide range of steel fencing for the industrial and commercial sectors and having a reliable fleet of trucks is essential for the business to operate.

The tow truck works so well that Heras have not even considered replacing it yet, but its proven reliability and longevity made Yale the obvious choice when its fleet of forklifts needed upgrading.

“Our trucks are constantly on the go lifting very heavy steel parts and are needed in every area of the factory, so it’s really important we have a fleet we can rely on. Having had Yale before we knew that they would be very good trucks.

“Forkway also offered the best value for money and the best overall deal. The contract came with excellent aftercare service, including a monthly fleet management review to ensure our overall package is being delivered and to arrange any necessary maintenance work.”

Heras required a new fleet that could perform a variety of different operations with a maximum load of three tonne and a maximum height of four and a half metres.

Arthur said: “Forkway impressed us with the effort they put into finding the best deal for us. They had the best approach when it came to identifying our needs and satisfying our requirements. They put a lot of effort into determining the best specification and assessing what combination of trucks was needed to maximise our overall efficiency and therefore our profits.”

Forkway identified a combination of counterbalance forklift trucks to best meet Heras’ needs, including one 3 tonne electric forklift, one 2.5 tonne diesel Veracitor VX forklift, two 3 tonne Veracitor VX diesels and one 4 tonne Veracitor VX diesel.

The forklift trucks are used to put steel parts in racks both in and outside of the warehouse, transport finished jobs, take material to the galvaniser, load 40-foot trailers and delivery vehicles, transport steel internally and move material around the factory.

To make the fleet even more versatile the Yale Veracitor VX forklift trucks have been upgraded to include Techtronix transmission and fitted with telescopic forks.

Gary Hawkhead, regional sales and marketing director at Forkway, was in charge of finding the best deal for Heras and oversees the team managing the continual maintenance and service contract. He said: “Forkway didn’t just deliver a fleet of trucks to Heras, we delivered a solution. We concentrate on introducing equipment with enhanced specification to deliver greater efficiency and improved reliability to the customer, with overall focus on uptime.”

For further details on the all of the trucks within Yale’s electric and internal combustion engine counterbalance forklift trucks, and to find your nearest Yale forklift truck dealer, log on to www.yale-forklifts.eu.