n When your business is growing quickly and storage space is at a premium, more often than not the only way is up. This was the case at Kenley Warehousing, which provides warehousing and distribution services to paper manufacturers. As the paper rolls weigh up to 3,000kg, and need to be handled carefully to avoid damage, the limitations in space posed an awkward question.
n Barloworld Handling provided the answer in the form of the Hyster Spacesaver S5.50XMS, 5500kg capacity LPG-powered lift truck equipped with an 8,000mm mast and which can operate within the confines of 3,500mm aisles.
n Kenley, based at the 12,741sq m Darwen Paper Mill, Darwen, also has two other storage facilities at neighbouring Blackburn giving it a further 4,650sq m and a total capacity for 25,000 tonnes of paper and 6,500 pallet positions.
n The company’s primary operation is providing storage and distribution in dedicated warehouses for paper rolls from the local mills of St Regis and Mondi. The two companies have installed their own software so that all reels can be tracked directly. It also has an import/export operation for household goods that arrive from the US and the Far East in bulk and which are then picked and distributed to supermarkets, national shops and mail order companies.
n Thirteen years ago Kenley bought its first used lift truck from Barloworld. Since then it has gradually increased its materials handling fleet by purchasing new trucks and now has 19 lift trucks of either 4,000kg or 5,500kg capacity. All the Hyster lift trucks are Spacesavers which are able to operate in the tight confines of the warehouses, with the S5.50XMS trucks being fitted with an 8,000mm mast that enables it to stack the paper rolls up to 11,000mm high.
n The trucks are also used for loading and unloading lorries, with 600 vehicles coming and going in one week – a throughput of 2,500 rolls a week and some 500 pallets. They are also used for stock rotation and general housekeeping with all LPG being supplied from a bulk tank on-site.
