The European headquarters of AGS Packaging Solutions Provider has taken delivery of its third Aisle-Master VNA articulated forklift to keep pace with growing business and the consequent rise in the volume of materials handled in its manufacturing facility and distribution centre. Established in Ireland in 2003 by its parent company in Massachusetts, a quarter of AGS’s 100,000 ft² premises in Cork is taken up by warehousing.
The original Aisle-Masters were chosen in part for their versatility to work inside within pre-existing narrow aisles as well as outside. Operations Manager Noel Finnegan also adds that the company was looking for something more contemporary to meet evolving requirements.
“We looked at a number of different brands and the warehouse staff were heavily involved in the decision-making process,” says Finnegan. “We saw the Aisle-Master as comparable to a combination of a VNA and counterbalance truck, and a demo proved that it could do just what the manufacturers stated. It’s a great improvement on our previous turret trucks: the ability to pick from racking and load directly to HGVs in the yard is particularly beneficial as this eliminates double handling and really speeds up operations across the twelve hour shifts that the trucks put in.”
Inside the facility, the Aisle-Masters’ manoeuvrability enables them to move easily around the manufacturing areas to take semi-finished or finished products to and from the storage bays. Most of the pallets are not overly heavy, but the 1.5t AM15 SHE electric powered models ensure that 1t loads can be easily lifted to the top bay height of 7m.
It’s a busy time for AGS and the arrival of the latest Aisle-Master coincides with the installation of a third row of racking which will increase the pallet count to 2,500, to enable AGS to pack even more into its available space.
