As a market leader in premium logistics services, InBond has a reputation for providing high quality warehousing and document management services to some of the biggest names in the UK. Serving the likes of Tetley’s, NHS, Next, KP Snacks and Fujifilm, the company has a high level of customer service and efficiency to maintain.
So, when InBond were in the market for a new fleet of forklifts and access machinery, Windsor Materials Handling began a quest to find the best equipment to serve the narrow aisles and high racking at their Stockton-on-Tees facility.
Over the past 40 years, Windsor Materials Handling has grown from representing and being the exclusive supplier of the Komatsu forklift truck product range into an independent materials handling company that is able to provide an unbiased consultative approach for any application.
Inbond says: “In the past, we have had suppliers that promised the world when selling the services, but fell short when it came to delivery. With a warehouse as versatile as ours, we needed the equipment to match, and Kraig at Windsor pulled out all the stops to provide us with exactly what we needed.”
The racking at InBond’s facility towers at 12.2 metres high in some places, while in other areas it stands at 8.6 metres. Coupled with extremely narrow aisles, it took vigorous planning to source machinery fit for purpose. After careful consideration, Windsor supplied the firm with a mix of access equipment, including scissor lifts from JLG, QuickStock lifts from Genie, and forklifts from Flexi and Komatsu.
InBond purchased four forklifts – two Komatsu and two Flexi – while the rest of the fleet were rented from Windsor along with a service contract.
“ Stock comes in and out all of the time, and at times it is very unpredictable. If one of our trucks is down for longer than a day we need a replacement quickly. Compared to the engineers we have worked with previously, Windsor has a super-fast service when it comes to repairs and maintenance. We were also pleasantly surprised by the speedy equipment turnaround.”
Windsor Materials Handling Washington, who has a long standing relationship with InBond, was pleased to see the equipment was well-received.
“For many of our customers, finding the machine for the job is simple because the stock and racking height is consistent, but for InBond there’s a variety of stock and a range of racking heights in different parts of the warehouse. Due to this we had to shop around various manufacturers for specific machinery to serve each area. I’m really pleased that our determination has paid off, and I’m looking forward to continuing our work with InBond in the future.”
Windsor operates from twelve branches across the UK, offering materials handling and access equipment, for sale, hire and maintenance. Established in 1976, the business is now the UK’s leading independent supplier of Komatsu, Kalmar and Doosan forklifts, Baumann sideloaders, Atlet warehousing and JLG access equipment.
Luxus Ltd was founded in 1965 to provide the then emerging plastics industry with solutions for plastics waste. The firm’s first laboratory opened in 1982, and has rapidly grown into a business that takes pride in reusing plastics that would otherwise be sent to landfill.
A state-of-the-art Technical Centre replaced the laboratory in 2014, and today, the centre enables the re-engineering of plastic waste materials into high performance plastic compounds. The business now supplies over 45,000 tonnes of the quality assured compounds each year for a diverse range of industry applications, including those in engineering, automotive and packaging sectors.
The technical plastics compounder was the first, and still is the only, UK business to achieve approval for its recycled grades in car interior trims. The busy Louth site also now includes temporary storage to accommodate the finished goods. “We recycle a huge range of plastics in our advanced on-site facilities,” says Peter Laking, Luxus’ Maintenance and Project Engineering Manager. “It helps our customers to proactively manage scrap plastic, reduce costs and minimise their own environmental impact.”
In order to reflect their environmentally friendly culture, Peter was keen to ensure the exhaust emissions from their materials handling equipment were kept to an absolute minimum – and Windsor Materials Handling helped them make an informed decision through a unique test.
Branch Manager for Windsor’s Sleaford office explains: “Luxus wanted to ensure they selected the forklift with the lowest emissions, so we suggested they do a simple test with a clean sheet of paper on the exhaust pipe of each machine.”
The new Doosan D25S-7 Series came out on top, with its piece of paper finishing the test as clean as ever, while its rival trucks left soot behind on the sheet. The truck’s diesel engine is built with Ultra Low PM Combustion technologies to meet Euro Stage IIIB emission regulations, providing a sturdy performance and excellent fuel efficiency.
“ We are genuinely very pleased with the performance of the new kit and the support from Windsor. We may be a large business and significant employer in the town, but we still rely on suppliers to give us great support and understand our needs. It’s been quite a few years now and the relationship is still going strong!”
Peter Laking, Maintenance and Project Engineering Manager
A national company, Windsor’s Sleaford branch covers industrial centres across the region, from Boston to Grantham, Skegness to Newark, in addition to Louth and the surrounding area. “We’ve been serving the area for quite a few years and throughout that time we’ve been able to see customers like Luxus grow and flourish. Obviously, requirements can change over time, and we like to think of ourselves as responsive and flexible, so being able to refresh the fleet once more and for it to be very well received is of course tremendously satisfying.”
Windsor has been an authorised distributor for Doosan since 2009, offering a brand that meets the operational and environmental needs of businesses across the UK. In addition to supplying a wide range of materials handling equipment, Windsor also specialises in access platforms and has developed throughout its 40 years of operation to offer a single supplier solution.
“Our business is partnership driven,” says Windsor Managing Director, Stephen Burton. “We know that means providing the best possible deal and backing that up with great support. We are able to offer flexibility where other companies cannot and we hold dearly the ability to listen to our customers.”
Over fifty years since being founded, the Luxus head office and production facilities in Louth is home to over 150 dedicated individuals and the company is recognised as one of Europe’s foremost polymer recyclers and plastic compounds specialists. Luxus is also committed to innovation and continually invests in the latest recycling and manufacturing technologies.
The ongoing relationship with Luxus is testament to our business being driven by partnerships, and our commitment to providing the best possible deal while backing it up with great support. As one of the leading independent materials handling suppliers in the UK, we are able to offer flexibility where other companies cannot, and we hold dearly the ability to listen to our customers before providing an unbiased consultative approach.
It all began in 1860 when the Leigh brothers, William and Joshua founded the business, with paint being playing second fiddle to the core business of building.
Four generations later, the family is still involved in a business that has transformed into a modern specialist supplying coatings to North Sea oil rigs, HMS Ark Royal, Premiership football clubs, and the iconic Forth Rail Bridge, amongst many others.
In the early 2000s, CEO Dick Frost realigned the business with its main markets, turning it from a product-led organisation, into a customer-centred one. “Our employees were hugely influential. They were brutal in their criticism, whilst being generally supportive and determined to help us bring about change,” says Dick.
With a new impetus behind it, the business teams were able to focus on the resources they needed, such as the materials handling fleet. Re-evaluating needs and assessing future requirements for the successful business became part of the transformational development.
The journey led them to Windsor. A review process ended with (or perhaps more accurately began with) Windsor not only maintaining a fleet of over 30 trucks, but also providing new long-term hire trucks.
A critical element of the materials handling operation is the presence of flammable materials. Specialist flameproofing products are therefore included to remove the sources of ignition whilst retaining the original ergonomics and performance of each vehicle.
Specialist flameproofing products are therefore included to remove the sources of ignition whilst retaining the original ergonomics and performance of each vehicle.Conversion, testing and certification takes place to ensure the equipment is compliant with the European Directives ATEX 94/9/EC.
“ Windsor has itself spent a great deal of time focussing on providing customers with exceptional service and support. “
Dick Frost, CEO
Flameproofing is of paramount importance and obviously a very specialist area. Our engineers have expert knowledge in ensuring the correct procedures are followed, ensuring the correct use for long term safety.
Windsor also delivered in introducing massive savings to the business. By bringing costs down and providing greater productivity, we help the future prosperity of the company. We’re also on hand for any questions or changes in requirements. For the ability of the team to be able to get the right equipment and the right supplier, it’s possible to trace a line back to those days in 2000 when the restructuring of Leighs Paints took place. At the time, all the factory supervisors were removed and replaced by a totally flat structure based on self-directed teams.
If you were to ask Dick Frost for the most important lesson learnt from that time, he’ll say understanding the importance of customers, people and vision, and getting the right people onboard, as “you can’t do it without a great team to help you make it happen. ”With Windsor as a key partner, we think he’ll agree that continues to this day.
A supplier of caravan and motorhome parts based in Grimsby has reached new heights with a helping hand from the Immingham branch of Windsor Materials Handling.
Established in Grimsby in 1992, Magnum Motorhomes & Caravan Supplies is a family run business specialising in building materials and accessories for caravans and motorhomes. Operating from a facility working as both a warehouse and a customer-facing retail environment, the business needed a new way to retrieve stock from the high racking.
“With up to ten customers browsing the aisles at once, Magnum needed a compact solution to ensure optimum safety and space to walk around,” said Windsor sales manager Steve Austin. “After taking multiple factors into consideration, I recommended a JLG Toucan Duo vertical mast lift.”
The compact dimensions and low stowed height of the Toucan Duo allow access to confined space areas, while the six-metre working height, 130kg platform capacity and great turning circle make it ideal for the application at Magnum Motorhomes.
Magnum was founded when Ken Carter, after years of building caravans for Abbey Caravans, decided to begin building his own motorhomes and selling surplus caravan parts. Since then, the business has manufactured all types of conversions, from coach-built to panel vans, race units and even a 52-seater coach. More recently, Magnum has become well-known for being one of the UK’s largest stockists of building materials and accessories for caravans and motorhomes.
” When Steve first recommended the Toucan Duo, we were sceptical because it was only available brand new, but when we trialled the piece of equipment we knew it would have to stay,” said Magnum managing director, Ken Carter. “We reallocated a few of our stock locations to ensure it had a clear path to all the high racking. The machine has revolutionised our day-to-day operation, it’s extremely rare we ever get the ladders out now!”
Ken Carter
Windsor’s Immingham branch is based just a 15-minute drive from Magnum’s store, meaning the business also receives a fast response when advice or an engineer is needed – especially beneficial during busy times.
“We supply to trade, public and DIY enthusiasts,” continued Ken Carter. “While we do get especially busy during spring when we start to experience more sunny days, we are also busy throughout winter with customers aiming to get their motorhome ready for the warmer months.”
Ken believes introducing the JLG Toucan Duo to his shop has sped up the order fulfilment process, as workers can retrieve items at any level with simplicity. Magnum employee Tom was especially pleased with the new equipment. “It does exactly what it says on the tin, I don’t know how we managed without it! It’s firm, stable and you feel safe on it. It is a magic bit of kit and I’m really surprised at how well it works in small spaces.”
Now in its 10th year of providing access equipment as part of its first-class portfolio of services, Windsor is a unique player in the materials handling and access industry, having remained independent throughout its 40 years of operation. Ken Carter concludes: “I can’t fault Windsor at all, they have provided a great service. The engineers are flexible and Steve is always on hand whenever we need advice.”
Established by George Kime in the 1930s, George H Kime & Co. Limited has experienced over 80 years of operational success. Initially set up as a provider of transport services for local food businesses in Boston, Lincolnshire, the company has grown to serve not only the fresh food industry, but a wide spectrum of customers internationally.
Over the years, Kimes have served all sorts of customers – from sole traders to blue chip companies – and many of these have continued to use the firm’s services for decades. With branches in Wrangle nr. Boston and Lincoln, the firm’s continued success saw the opening of a third warehouse in November 2015, based in Sleaford. Kimes hit a milestone eight months ago when they bought the facility after renting it for most of their first year of operation.
The icing on the cake for the business expansion was a brand-new fleet of forklift trucks for the Sleaford depot, which Windsor helped specify. A pair of two-tonne capacity Still trucks were supplied, and just a week after delivery, drivers at Kimes were already endorsing the forklifts.
One operator, Gary Rose, is typically impressed. “The new forklifts feel stable, and the various different settings make the job so much easier. The manoeuvrability of the machines is incredible, and the automatic braking on ramps gives you extra confidence.”
Still’s RX 70 series has a particularly stable driving behaviour due to the truck’s low centre of gravity. George H Kime will also benefit from low operating costs through the trucks’ hybrid diesel-electric drive with a powerful industrial motor. This also allows the forklifts to deliver a high volume at a low V-engine speed due to the electrically activated hydraulic pump.
Gary continued: “I’m thankful for the glass cab too – trucks I’ve used in the past have been open to the elements. It not only protects you from the weather but from dust and debris left behind in trailers too!”
“ This is the first time we have had brand new trucks, and I can’t fault Windsor at all for their service and response times. With the local Windsor branch only five miles down the road, a helping hand is never far away. Their engineers are experienced and do their jobs quickly too.”
Still has been delivering its products and services for over 90 years now, and have an outstanding reputation for the dependability of their trucks. Starting out by repairing motors in the 1920s, the company has used its expertise to develop into one of the leading full service providers for intralogistics. Windsor formed a partnership with Still due to their mutual belief that personal relationships are the basis of a long business relationship.
For George H Kime’s Sleaford warehouse manager, Tony Clifton, this is just one of the reasons for choosing to work with Windsor. “I have worked on this site for 22 years – before Kimes the warehouse belonged to Staples Disposables, and I worked with Windsor for many years in that capacity too,” said Tony.
As one of the leading independent materials handling suppliers in the UK, Windsor Materials Handling was founded on service in 1977. Since then, the Windsor name has been synonymous with materials handling and access systems, providing a first-class range of forklift truck and access platform hire, sales and maintenance services.
Branch Manager for Windsor’s Sleaford office echoes this: “Our business is partnership driven. This means providing the best possible deal and backing that up with great support,” he said. “I have known Tony for lots of years – I met him when I was working for the local pest control company. He was surprised when one week I was fitting pest control and the next week I was pestering him about forklifts! For me, this is what Windsor is all about – providing the best quality local service on a national level.”
Hadfield Wood Recyclers is one of the oldest wood recycling companies in the UK and a founder of the Wood Recyclers Association, the industry’s trade association. With 35 years of experience in the industry, the award‐winning business has gained an enviable reputation for service and quality.
Growth does not come without its challenges, however, particularly for a business that is keenly aware of its surroundings and environmental impact. Hadfield Wood Recyclers is a UK leader in developing environmentally sound recycling solutions for wood waste, and it takes its responsibility for protecting the environment very seriously.
“We have great respect for our neighbours and work in a way so as to reduce our potential to become a nuisance,” says operations manager, Neil Ogden.
As a result, night work is largely restricted to indoors, whilst a surrounding wall, dust and noise monitors, and fast turnaround of loads, all help keep disruption to a minimum. In fact, having two forklifts available to simultaneously unload lorries speeds up the process, and was part of the original brief to Windsor.
We listen closely to what the customer wants, but we also want to offer a fresh perspective if needed. Cost savings, fuel consumption, emissions and noise were important factors. We’ve come up with a great balance for Neil and proven the new equipment is excellent on fuel. We supplied Doosan and a low cost Tailift, which Neil was surprised to see the dramatic differences in fuel usage (“a real eye‐opener” he says).
Neil believes good support and honesty are critical in business relationships, which is why Windsor, which has itself spent a great deal of time focusing on providing customers with exceptional service and support, was the ideal match.
In busier months, the baler, producing packs of equine, poultry and cattle bedding, can be running round the clock. As well as loading the finished packs, the five‐strong fleet of forklifts are there for loading up to eight vehicles a day, engineering work and handling raw materials.
“ We came here with a different attitude to other suppliers. Five different brands were here on demonstration. Operators were comparing notes on visibility, fuel consumption, seats and so on. We gave Neil’s team two weeks to trial the Doosan. We upgraded our seat, added blue lights and ensured that it ticked all the boxes. A manufacturer shifts metal and it’s easy for them to lose the relationship‐building approach. We are a business, but we are ultimately customer‐driven.”
Hadfield also recycle wood into feedstock for panel board, arena surfaces, play area surfaces and filter beds and were the first wood recycler in the UK to sign a long‐ term contract with a large wood‐ derived domestic biomass station.
For Mark, that flexibility translates to changes in the Doosan forklifts to make them ideally suited to the application. Front screens were modified with protective guards, whilst light brackets were also changed to reduce costly damage.
Fresh from a procurement process involving all the UK’s major forklift suppliers, timber specialists Metsä Wood, welcomed a select number of guests to their Boston site to celebrate the implementation of a new partnership with Windsor Materials Handing.
In choosing Windsor, the former Finnforest business cited the company’s independent approach and commitment to delivering additional safety, efficiency and fleet management capabilities as crucial elements of their winning proposal.
“Our key strength is industrial efficiency,” explained host Mike Lomas, Metsä Wood’s UK’s VP of Operations. “We continuously demand more from both ourselves and our partners, as we look for true commitment to partnerships, quality in production and reliability in operations.”
Metsä Wood is part of Metsä Group, a unique Finnish co-operative comprising some 123,000 forest owners with 5.2 million hectares of forest land under its control (about 46% of all private forests in Finland) and 13,000 employees globally across 20 countries.
The UK operation covers four manufacturing and distribution sites focused on softwood planing lines at Boston and Widnes; MDF processing at Boston and the manufacture of Finnjoist i-beams and a timber treatment facility at King’s Lynn.
Gary Isherwood, operations purchasing manager at Metsä Wood UK, said: “Our commitment to improving our operational capabilities is a key part of our ethos, as is delivering industrial efficiencies across the business. In this instance, we really wanted to focus on allowing the operator to drive the truck, whilst the service provider takes care of the rest.”
Metsä are clearly delighted with the outcome of the procurement process. As well as delivering a new nationwide service partner, it also features newly-developed equipment from both Doosan and Baumann, floor care units from Nilfisk, a high level of fleet management and utilisation data provided by GPS trackers from Fork Truck Controls, and custom-designed improvements and upgrades by Invicta Attachments.
