Well known for their multi-directional machines, the latest Combilift is as manoeuvrable as you would expect, but a slight departure being the company’s first pedestrian reach stacker.
The WR-4 (Walkie Reach Truck) has already grabbed it’s first FLTA Award for ergonomics. Not a bad achievement for a stacker that requires only a two metre pallet-to-pallet gap. The multi-position tiller no doubt impressed the voters, whilst electronic power steering and fingertip controls make it simple and easy to operate.
Congratulations to our shrinking violet, Paul Williams, for his award-winning year of Atlet sales. The top salesman at the top dealer knows how to bring a smile to the faces of the Swedish warehousing experts!
JLG is the global leader in aerial access equipment and they are adding to their extensive range with the new RS Series of Scissor Lifts.
The all new JLG RS scissor lift provides increased reach, reliability and durability with a cost-effective design that allows for value for money without compromising on performance.
Designed with three basic principles in mind, the RS Scissor lift is effective, durable and great value.
The two models on offer, the 6RS and 10RS, operate with smoother, proportional control of drive and lift and the rugged steel deck, covers, rails and control box provide ample space for operators and their equipment with maximum security and safety. Strict regulations for working at height mean that the scissor lift is an increasingly popular option for the workplace.
Allowing you to work at height safely and with stability, the new RS series includes new safety features fitted onto the platform such as steel caging and rails.
The direct electric drive motors offer exceptional duty cycles, allowing a reach of 5.79m on the 6RS and 9.75m on the 10RS with platform capacities of 230kg and 320kg. Both deliver great transportability and the added passive pothole system eliminates 70 moving parts, enhancing manoeuvrability and safety.
The extraordinary seven week voyage from Belgium to the South Pole, completed by Komatsu’s latest hybrid excavator wasn’t the end of the journey. The HB215LC was then transported using a giant sled to the Princess Elizabeth Station, around 250 miles away! It’s not the first time the company has delivered snow vehicles to the Antarctic. The first machine arrived in 1956!
The hybrid excavator was loaded on the Mary Arctica at the port of Zeebrugge in Belgium, and the ship departed for the White Continent the day after. After a short stopover at Cape Town, South Africa, it headed out for Crown Bay on Antarctica’s coast, where cargo for the Princess Elisabeth Station is usually unloaded.
The HB215LC was unloaded onto the icy continent of Antarctica. The ship could not arrive at the usual site at Crown Bay due to the worst sea ice conditions in the last 30 years.
Soon after it arrived at the station, the HB215LC was already hard at work, removing snow and preparing the site for the reconstruction of the technical storerooms. “It is fantastic to see how much work the excavator can do in one day,” says Mr. Alain Hubert IPF founder and Belgian polar explorer. “The power and the precision of this new HB215LC are amazing.”
In Komatsuʼs unique hybrid system, the electric swing motor/generator captures and regenerates energy as the upper structure slows down and converts it into electric energy. The regenerated energy is stored in the capacitor and used by the generator/motor to assist the engine when it needs to accelerate. Thus, the hybrid system reduces fuel consumption significantly. Most components of the system are developed and manufactured by Komatsu.
Doosan has won its fifth FLTA Award, nicknamed ‘Archie’, this time for the G2 diesel engine. Managing Director of Overseas Sales, Kun H Lee, collected Doosan’s first award back in 2005.
This latest win means Doosan has now received prizes in each of the three main categories of Safety, Ergonomics and Innovation. Said Kun H: “It is a great way of recognising the effort that has gone into building up our product range over the past decade. The G2 is a new engine that reduces emissions so much that a particulate filter is no longer needed.”
Japanese manufacturer Komatsu is a world leader in the field of construction, military and mining equipment, and now they are hoping to take this field to a whole new level; deep underground.
Komatsu is joining forces with General Electric Co. to venture into the market of subterranean mining equipment. With a rising demand for metal and mineral commodities, mining companies are going deep underground in search of resources, leading to the needs for new products to be developed.
Since Komatsu already have the product knowledge and expertise in producing mining machinery, they feel that they offer serious competition in this field.
Together, with their established engineering backgrounds, Komatsu and GE hope to become leaders in the market and with mining equipment accounting for 33 percent of Komatsu’s sales last year, pioneering new underground mining products will be an attractive new long term venture.
Next Day delivery may be a thing of the past if Amazon make their new futuristic bug a same day reality…
The autonomous octocopters can carry orders from warehouses, straight to customer’s doorsteps, maybe within 30 minutes of ordering.
Yet although the idea of same day delivery is a fascinating one Amazon seem to be overlooking numerous obstacles in the way of their revolutionary robot; the weather, aviation regulations, too many drones being in the air, to name a few, all of which will affect the bugs’ delivery service.
Although the drone concept is an interesting one for those eager for fast delivery, the truth is that it’s a long way off becoming a reality. Perhaps more realistically, developments like eBay Now and ‘anticipatory shipping’ could be the real future.
Amazon recently revealed that they have obtained a patent for their “anticipatory shipping” system, shipping products before customers even order them by looking at the information they have gathered from purchasing trends. eBay meanwhile are well advanced with local deliveries in the US within 1-2 hours.
However what is clear is that, as technology advances, delivery is increasingly becoming a way for retailers to stand out from their competitors.
Anyone that knows us will probably already be familiar with our fondness for a beer or two! Now the top brass at our Sleaford branch decided to put their beer money where their mouths are and sponsor the annual Sleaford Beer Festival. Held by The Rotary Club, the annual festival raises funds for charitable causes, while having some tasty real ale beers. Around 30 beers and ciders are on offer, many of which are brewed by micro breweries in the Sleaford area. That calls for a ‘Cheers!’
We’re delighted to be sponsoring a new mural to honour former player, Paul ‘Lockers’ Loughlin. Born in St.Helens in 1966 on the day England won the World Cup, Paul scored over 2,000 points for Saints, and still holds club records for ‘points in a game’ and ‘goals in a game’. Four Challenge Cup finals and 14 caps for Great Britain were also racked up by the ‘amiable giant of a man’. A much respected Saints’ Great, Paul was also part of the Super League title winning Bradford Bulls side of 1997.
Paul also happens to be a friend of our own St.Helens legend Peter Dennett! Pete first met Lockers as a rising 16 year old star, eventually becoming a Godparent to Paul’s children!
The 2014 F1 season is already causing headlines thanks to a host of rule changes and the apparent breaking of Red Bull’s recent dominance. We may be a little biased, but we’re happy to see our friends at Mercedes doing well! Each F1 team now travels something like 100,000 miles a year between races and testing. For the European rounds most of the equipment – cars, spare parts, tools, etc., is transported by road, so you can see our Komatsu truck comes in pretty handy!
