Company Announcement - House & Home’s new DC in Gosforth Park, Germiston, designed and developed by South Africa’s leading supply chain and logistics consultancy, Industrial Logistic Systemshas opted for a Goscor Lift Truck Company range of warehouse equipment. Two of the machines - Crown TSP 7000 turret trucks - are fitted with FurniBox® attachments, which is a first for the South African industry. Gary Benatar, ILS MD says that the FurniBoxes®, which were specified by ILS, reduce the risk of damage to the furniture because they enable the furniture to be handled to an absolute minimum in the warehouse. “The furniture need, in fact, be handled only once – when it is received at the warehouse. Once it is securely placed on the FurniBox®, direct contact with the furniture is eliminated until the furniture is despatched to the customer. In this way even the most sensitive items are moved, stored, stacked, picked and dispatched safely and quickly and can also be delivered in complete consignments – without any risk of damage,” says Benatar.

He adds that the use of FurniBoxes®, in very Narrow Aisles with the Crown Turret trucks enable House & Home to maximise their cube in the building, which will give House & Home enough capacity for 10 years growth in the same footprint, obviating the need for the rental of extra space.
GLTC MD Darryl Shafto complimented ILS on their House and Home solution. “The ILS solution not only utilises space exceptionally efficiently but also helps increase productivity while keeping the goods protected – all vital requirements in the furniture business,” says Shafto.

He adds that Goscor is particularly pleased to have been able to play a role in ILS’s solution for such a prestigious company as House & Home and paid tribute to Crown for having made the fit-for-purpose FurniBox® turret trucks in time and on budget. “The quality of Crown equipment and the extraordinary levels of service they have provided us over the years have been instrumental to the success of both the Crown brand in South Africa and to GLTC as a whole,” Shafto says.

Benatar said that Crown was chosen because of the GLTC’s high level of service and the superior quality of Crown machines. “We go back a long way with Goscor and their service levels have been consistently excellent. With this in mind, the proven reliability of Crown machines, the convenience of having Goscor technicians right next to our site  24/7, the ergonomic detail of the machines which enhances operator comfort and productivity, and the competitive pricing of the deal added up to an offer that couldn’t be refused,” he says. All in all the deal involved six machines: 2 X Crown TSP 700 turret trucks for furniture pallets and FurniBox®, 2 X Crown ESR 5300 reach trucks for pallets and 2 X Crown SC 5340 3-wheel electric forklifts for moving appliances.

Shafto says the TSP 7000 turret truck, which has a lift height of 17, 2 metres, is unique in the industry.

“Warehouse space is at a premium, and businesses are always looking for efficient solutions to maximise cube utilisation. Turret trucks allow businesses to take advantage of tall, narrow aisles in order to maximise pallet positions. With the TSP 7000’s 17,2 metres of lift height, operations can achieve more than ever,” Shafto says.

He adds that turret trucks must cope with some of the most demanding tasks in material handling, tasks that set the pace for every other process in the warehouse. These include full-pallet put-away and retrieval at soaring heights, precision handling of loads of all sizes, high-level order picking, travelling long distances and transferring between aisles.

“Given that no two turret truck applications are the same, and no one solution can address every application variable, choosing the right turret truck is an important strategic decision. There is no doubt that ILS has chosen wisely especially with the FurniBox® modification.

On the question of the TSP 700 ergonomics, which impressed Benatar, its cabin is designed to maximise operator comfort and control, with advanced features including an anti-fatigue floor mat and the patented MoveControl™seat with integrated controls and full adjustability to support the operator’s every move.

“In the demanding environment of busy warehouses like the House and Home DC, the importance of the comfort and safety of the operator cannot be overestimated,” says Shafto. “It helps make the entire operation significantly more efficient and is thus an important part of the overall solution,” he concluded.

Goscor Lift Truck Company is the sole distributor in South Africa of Crown, Doosan and Bendi and has, since 1984, offered a world-class sales and support service in materials handling equipment industry.

With manufacturing facilities around the world, Crown is the world leader in the manufacture of electric materials-handling equipment. Catering to the ever-changing demands of retailing, Crown has equipment to suit every conceivable operation. Its range of products in South Africa include hand-pallet trucks, powered forklifts, powered stackers, low-level and mid- to high-order pickers, rider pallet trucks, wave mobile ladders, reach trucks, counterbalanced trucks among many others.