Several years ago, Amcan Threaded Products Corp. built a new warehouse and distribution center to meet growing product demands and increase productivity in handling its lines of industrial fasteners.

'We not only added space, but we upgraded our pallet handling equipment,' says Jean Calgaro, president of the Saint-Bruno de Montarville, Quebec, firm. Three kinds of lift trucks, walkie, reach, and counterbalanced models, each powered by new AC drive technology, help make their operators more efficient while they reduce maintenance time dramatically compared to conventional, DC-powered forklifts.

'We discussed our materials handling needs with a local distributor,' Calgaro continues, 'and he suggested three different vehicles that could handle the various tasks in our facility. As a bonus, the vehicles he suggested were all provided by the same supplier.'

Moving pallet loads of the company's nuts and bolts, Calgaro points out, 'puts an extraordinary strain on equipment.' The lift trucks previously used by Amcan required 'a preventative maintenance program that had profit robbing consequences.'

Now, however, with the new AC trucks in service, 'we have noticed an increase in production efficiency and significantly reduced maintenance requirements,' he says. The AC drive systems, with their regenerative braking capability, help conserve forklift battery power and prolong operating cycles.

Amcan receives and ships about ten trailer loads each week. Daily, it moves 200 to 250 pallets. A counterbalanced sit-down AC forklift loads and unloads trailers; a compact AC reach truck moves pallets from staging into seven-level-high storage rack. And in storage areas with very narrow aisles or tight spaces, an AC walkie pallet truck easily maneuvers loads.