Case Study - Very Narrow Aisle Forklifts - Chamberlain Group - Landoll - #1

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"The Chamberlain Group, Inc. of Nogales, Sonara. Mexico is I a manufacturer of electric garage door openers. When they were recently looking for a solution to a material handling problem, they called Drexel's dealer Naumman/Hobbs Material Handling lor advice. Naumman/Hobbs sales team then did a survey of the Chamberlain Group's operation to see exactly where the problems were.

Their material handling operation consisted of four sepa­rate zones; the loading dock, a quality control area, a second floor staging area, and a very narrow aisle rack system.

Within this rack system they were employing turret trucks. The turret trucks were working fine within the rack system, but they were of little use in other applications that required a more conventional lift truck. Likewise, the lift trucks they used on the loading dock were unable to operate in the narrow aisles of the rack system or work efficiently between the conveyor lines in the quality control area.

For better productivity, The Chamberlain Group required a lift truck that could operate in all areas of their material handling operation. In other words, they needed one lift truck that could do it all! The one and only lift truck that fit this description was a Drexel SwingMasf. Naumman/Hobbs explained to the cus­tomer that with a Drexel SwingMast. the driver turns only the mast assembly, not the entire truck. This allows it to quickly convert from a front-loading to a side loading operation in a single motion.

As a result, the SwingMast could unload trailers on their loading dock and then transport the loads into the Very Narrow Aisle rack system. The Drexel SwingMast would also be able to drive between the conveyor lines in the quality control area and pick pallets off of the conveyor. This would eliminate the need for multiple pieces of equipment and the double handling of material.

The Chamberlain Group was so impressed by the Drexel's performance that they immediately acquired one on a long term rental from Naumman/Hobbs. They have been using this machine and are quite satisfied, and have since purchased a new unit. "The SwingMast' is a very versatile truck." says Jose Arrióla. Customs Manager for The Chamberlain Group. It's been able to do everything we've required it to do so far"

Landoll Corporation, Drexel Division 1900 North Street, Marysville, KS 66508 USA Tel: 785-562-5381, Fax: 7S5-562-4853, web: www.landoll.com