Condor Logistics has rolled out a new materials handling fleet of 32 Yale VL & VT four wheel and three wheel electric counterbalance lift trucks, supplied by the Forkway Group to handle the off-loading of inbound vehicles and the loading of outbound freight vehicles.
The Materials Handling Requirement
Established as a RO/RO freight forwarding/logistics company to The Channel Islands for over 60 years, Condor operates freight forwarding services from its Portsmouth, West Midlands, Jersey and Guernsey Freight terminals. The company has a comprehensive fleet of ambient and temperature controlled, specialised and purpose built trailers and vehicles for distribution services to the Channel Islands.
When Condor Logistics was approaching the end of their materials handling contract with its previous fork lift truck supplier, Paul Charlton, the company’s general manager of operations, who was responsible for overseeing the replacement of the fleet, invited a number of manufacturers to tender for the business.
Before an agreement with a supplier was signed, a visit to the NMHG manufacturing plant in Craigavon, Ireland was organised so that Paul, who has an engineering background, could liaise directly with engineers and appraise at first-hand the fork lift truck build process.
Commenting, Paul said: “I found the visit to Craigavon to be really informative, especially the quality processes they have in place in the factory, and what really impressed me was the fact that Dave Portway, southern region sales manager from Forkway, spent time getting to know our business in order to gain a thorough understanding of what we actually needed from our materials handling fleet.”
The Solution
Although freight movement is planned to increase to the islands, the 32 VL & VT electric counterbalance lift trucks have replaced 35 existing trucks and have recently been deployed to four Condor sites in Portsmouth, Solihull, Jersey and Guernsey.
Condor supplies the Channel Islands with all essential and non-essential products, which can include explosives, controlled pharmaceuticals and hazardous and dangerous substances, not to mention food and drink. Some of the most interesting recent shipments include an original Lowry painting, torches for this year’s major sporting event, replacement aircraft engines and temporary cabins for use at the airport at Guernsey whilst it is being updated. Indeed, the majority of goods needed by the population of the Channel Islands go through the Condor Group.
