Man-up lift trucks double productivity for Continental/Midland

Located in Park Forest, Ill., Continental/Midland produces fasteners for manufacturing applications, including automotive, household appliances, truck and truck trailers, and gasoline engines. After better pairing its lift truck fleet to the application, the company reduced touches and improved productivity.

Throughout its 100,000-square-foot warehouse, the company uses lift trucks to move product and perform picking duties over multiple shifts, six days per week. Operators were using man-down trucks, requiring them to handle products twice to pull product from the racks, fill orders and replace the unused product. This led to reduced productivity and the increased risk of handling damage.

“Our biggest concern was how narrow our aisles were,” says Ken Breiner, warehouse manager for Continental/Midland. “Being able to pivot large pieces of equipment to get our freight down and ready for market has been huge.”

Three new very narrow-aisle man-up turret stockpickers (Crown Equipment, crown.com) have enhanced operator comfort, ergonomics and productivity. The three-wheel lift trucks feature a swivel seat and backrest, cushioned armrests, height adjustability and 110-degree flexibility.

The equipment has increased productivity by allowing operators to touch the product only once and move product twice as fast. Breiner says operators appreciate the new stockpickers because they are able to pivot within a tight space.

“They like it a lot better than being on a man-down vehicle since they had to turn their head each time and look 25 feet in the air to see what they were moving,” Breiner says. “We have grown as a business and through that growth we have not had to add additional personnel because of the use of this equipment.”