Pictured above: (l-r) Operations Director Carl Worgan,
Chief Executive Michael Conroy and Central Operations Manager
Richard Southern
Palletforce has invested more than £1m in a new fleet of
high tech 'super' forklift trucks.
The company has upgraded its fleet of 40 forklifts to make
operations at its £30m central hub even more efficient.
As the UK's leading palletised distribution network, Palletforce
prides itself on being industry leaders in new technologies.
Last year it spent £500,000 developing specialist scanning
and axle weighing technology that was fitted to each of its
forklifts.
The technology has now been fitted on its new fleet with
additional upgrades including a touch screen and larger scanner
memory.
Operations Director Carl Worgan said: "We are always looking at
how we can use technology to drive improvements and increase
efficiency.
"The new weighing and scanning technology is something we
created ourselves and has proved very successful. These new
forklifts and scanner upgrades will further add to the speed and
accuracy of our network."
The technology took Carl and his team two years to develop from
scratch, and was the first of its kind in the UK.
It allows Palletforce to track and trace every pallet from the
moment they enter its central hub in Burton-upon-Trent.
Each outlying Palletforce member barcodes its pallets before
delivering them to the hub.
Once at the hub they are unloaded by the forklifts, which read
the barcode and automatically weigh the pallet. A message then
appears on the display screen on the forklifts, telling the driver
which of the 96 loading bays to transfer the pallet to.
Palletforce's central distribution hub was opened last year and
acts as a nerve centre for the overnight delivery of palletised
goods across the UK and Europe.