Impact Handling has delivered its first Konecranes empty container handler to Leeds-based freight services specialist Northern Containers, supplying the new truck within 10 days of the specification being confirmed.
The new truck will be used by the company to unload empty containers from delivery vehicles, before stacking them up to six containers high. It will also load departing trailers when a shipper requests a container for exporting cargo, plus transport containers to and from the workshop when repairs are needed.
It joins a fleet of four existing container handlers at the site which sees up to 200 ‘gate moves’ each day – just a fraction of the intensive materials handling operations the machine will undertake when accounting for in-yard movements.
Patrick Coghlan, Managing Director at Northern Containers, says: “We needed a new machine on the fleet as soon as possible and, once we’d finalised the specification, Impact Handling expedited our order and was able to deliver it to us in just 10 days.
“We’ve had previous experience with Konecranes, back in the days when it used to be called SMV, and the quality and reliability of the machines really impressed us. With our fleet in constant use, maximising uptime is a top priority. This new truck sets the benchmark for build quality, and we have full confidence in Impact Handling’s team to deliver first class technical support over a long life in service.”
Konecranes’ empty container handlers are built onto a rigid, box-section chassis, and are optimised to deliver maximum efficiency, with load-sensing hydraulics adapting the lifting power to the weight of the load. This helps to ensure that maximum power is only delivered when really needed, minimising fuel consumption, reducing emissions and limiting external noise.
Nigel Richardson, Divisional Sales Manager, Impact Handling, says: “Having access to a stock of ready-built Konecranes lift trucks means we can cut delivery times for certain key models. We’ve also got the engineering ability in-house to tailor machines to the customer’s precise needs; in the case of Northern Containers we added an auto lube system and a number of ancillary features to ensure the customer received the perfect machine.”
With more than 25 years’ experience in the industry, Northern Containers acts as a depot for principal container shipping lines and leasing companies as well as offering a range of shipping and storage containers for hire or sale.
Impact Handling was appointed as a distributor for Konecranes Lift Trucks in 2014, extending its materials handling portfolio from the smallest pallet trucks to specialist port-based trucks with lifting capacities of up to 80 tonnes.
