Combilift key to merchant’s solution

One independent builders merchant in Nottinghamshire is benefiting from two brand new Combilift LPG-powered four-way forklifts. Frank Key, in Daybrook, Nottingham have considerably improved handling and storage procedures at the company’s four-acre site.

The company, celebrating their centenary this year, chose the Combilift forklifts because of their four-way capabilities.

With gradients in the yard as well as tight confines standard forklifts, such as the counterbalance trucks that were in place, struggled to do everything they were needed for. Major difficulties included the complicated manoeuvring of 4.8m long packs of timber through narrow doorways, or hazardous raised travel with 5.4m wooden decking above other obstacles in the yard.

Chairman Robert Sansom, having read about the Combilift range in a trade publication, recognised that the trucks could eradicate potentially dangerous practices whilst at the same time simplify the movement of loads around the site.

After taking the first Combilift product on a hire contract Mr Sansom has bought the latest Combilift outright, saying that he has never known such a reliable piece of equipment.

Both 4t capacity trucks work inside and out, load and offload delivery vehicles and cope effortlessly with the steep gradient from the warehouse to the outside storage area. Resting loads on the truck’s platform also ensures excellent visibility when manoeuvring around customers’ vehicles in the car park.

The current Combilift range includes more than a dozen models with capacities ranging from 2.5 – 14 tonnes, with LPG, diesel or electric power available. The trucks are designed to work both inside and out, on semi-rough terrain and in all weather conditions. A team of design engineers at the Monaghan factory in Ireland will also draw up free warehouse layouts to illustrate the best possible use of available storage space using the Combilift system.