Hyster NZ has delivered the “toughest, tallest and most reliable” VNA (very narrow aisle) truck in the industry to the country’s largest mānuka honey exporter, Comvita.
The materials handling team recommended the Hyster 1.5S for its very narrow aisle manoeuvrability, strength and stability.
It has a unique quad form mast that is “rock-solid” at heights of up to 17 metres and can lift up to 1500 kgs with “remarkable load stability”, Hyster says.
The equipment is fully electric with a large 80V 620AH lead acid battery which also acts as counterweight.
Hyster NZ Waikato and Bay of Plenty territory sales manager Mark Fabish says the specialist VNA truck allows the customer to maximise warehouse space and allows for much higher racking and shelving than standard applications.
“Comvita chose this product because of its operating efficiency and precision. It’s capable of working quickly in very narrow aisles and is wire guided to maintain a centre line automatically whilst travelling along the aisle, preventing contact with racking,” Fabish says.
The truck is manufactured in Italy and had a relatively quick delivery time of around 32 weeks plus shipping which was a bonus for Comvita.
The operator rises up the mast on a platform and a swivelling turret head in front of the operator allows quick and easy picking or packing from either side of the aisle.
A typical aisle width is around two metres and the C1.5S model supplied to Comvita can lift 1500kg to over eight metres. Hyster can supply VNA equipment to lift up to 17m.
Once delivered to site, Hyster provide hands-on training exercises and demonstrations plus repeat visits to the customer to ensure safe and efficient operations that meet the customers objectives.
“Hyster has a team approach to the supply of new equipment with collaboration from technical staff, sales staff, and even international/regional management,” Fabish says.
“In the case of a VNA, the site survey is pivotal to correct specifications for the customer requirements and requires a joint effort from staff with technical know-how.”
Comvita says it’s very happy with its new tough truck and complemented the Hyster team for their dedication to customer service.
“Mark Fabish and his team at Hyster were very professional – we really appreciated the extra time taken to personally handover the new forklift.
“It was great for our warehouse team to receive training and support from day one,” Comvita says.
*Go to hyster.co.nz for more information.
This article appeared in the May edition of TransportTalk.
