Warehouse materials handling equipment supplier Crown was presented with the International Forklift Truck of the Year (IFOY) Award in the Forklift Truck Solutions category in June this year.

Sponsored by the German Engineering Federation (VDMA) Materials Handling and Intra-logistics Sector Association, the competition’s independent jury of internationally respected journalists report that they were impressed by how Crown’s InfoLink fleet management system streamlined operations at Spicers, which is one of the UK’s largest wholesalers of stationery and office supplies.

The jury voted based on the efficiency shown in Crown’s integrated system solution. By opting for an all-new fleet of Crown lift trucks, complete with the full integration of Crown’s InfoLink system, Spicers succeeded in reducing fleet maintenance and repair costs by 90%.

Further, the fleet management system enhanced the company’s intralogistical efficiency to such an extent that Spicers cut the size of its lift truck fleet by 40%.

“In intralogistics, the availability of real-time information on a company’s entire fleet of lift trucks and operators is essential to enhance productivity. The wireless InfoLink fleet and operator management system processes real-time and historical data to produce itemised, prioritised information. This can be used to make well-rounded decisions that result in significant cost and time savings,” explains Crown.

In the course of the one-week IFOY test, held in purpose-built facilities on the trade fair company Deutsche Messe site in Hanover, Germany, Crown’s customer project was ranked ahead of competing solutions from two of the industry’s leading companies in the Forklift Truck Solutions category. This category gives precedence to system solutions that show novelty, innovation, customer benefits, sustainability and marketability.

In South Africa, the sole distributor of Crown warehouse materials handling equipment, Goscor Lift Truck Company (GLTC), notes that Crown deserves the award.

“I am never surprised to hear when Crown receives a prestigious award. Crown equipment is simply the best in the world and they deserve every recognition for their sustained professionalism over many years,” says GLTC MD Darryl Shafto.

The purpose of the IFOY Award is to recognise the year’s best forklift trucks and forklift truck solutions. The event is among the most prestigious award in the intra- logistics industry and is presented yearly in partnership with German intralogistics company, CeMAT.

Meanwhile, the company expanded its Port Elizabeth premises in Deal Party, in May this year. The operation, which includes GLTC and Goscor Cleaning Company (GCC), was expanded as the growth of the business required a larger premises.

“Our growth has been phe- nomenal and the increased space will make it easier for us to give our clients the kind of personal, comprehensive service they have come to expect from Goscor,” says GLTC and GCC Eastern Cape branch manager Mike Burley.

The new premises are two-and-a-half times the size of the old premises in Neave township. They include larger warehouse space, a much bigger and more structured workshop, more office space and a dedicated showroom area for the display of Goscor’s range of high-quality products ranging from vacuum cleaners to large lift trucks.

“The move will make it possible to include more machines in the short-term rental fleet and increase the number of parts in stockholding, thereby improving parts availability and readiness,” adds Burley.

He says the much bigger and better-structured workshop also means more machines can be serviced more quickly. “This improved service capacity will clearly translate into even less downtime and increased productivity for our customers,” Burley adds.

The Goscor group of companies, which is part of the industrial services and retail group Imperial Group, has been supplying the local market “with the latest industrial equipment and world-class solutions” for 29 years. The group has operated in Port Elizabeth for more than 20 years.