A new fleet of Baumann helps Dudley Tubes double it's operator output

In a deal worth £410,000, Briggs Equipment UK has sold a fleet of five Baumann Sideloaders to Dudley Tubes Ltd to assist with its movement of steel in high racking.

The machines were modified by Briggs Equipment, the UK’s national CAT Lift Truck distributor, to meet the high lifting requirements of Dudley Tubes. As the sideloaders are usually designed to carry timber they needed stronger reinforcements in order to cope with the 12 metre-long heavy steel, which can be lifted as high as six metres in the specially designed warehouses. Extra strengthening was needed around the cab of the machine to protect the driver, while heavy duty guarding was placed around lighting to prevent damage.

Dudley Tubes is the UK market leader in the cutting, fabrication and stockholding of cold formed steel tubing, handling up to 30,000 tonnes of steel tubing each year. Its decision to use the specially modified sideloaders in high racking has enabled it to move away from using labour-intensive overhead cranes. This has meant that the company has been able to reduce the number of operators in its warehouse by more than 50%, thereby almost doubling operator productivity.

“The time savings we have made in loading, unloading and storing steel has significantly increased our productivity and customer lead times,” says Wayne Peters, Director at Dudley Tubes Ltd. “And with Briggs’ support it is rare that we have downtime now. Our fleet is running 99% of the time and if we do have a breakdown, Briggs get us up and running again almost immediately.”

Dudley Tubes chose Briggs Equipment because of the strong relationship between the two firms and the excellent back-up support available. “Our relationship with Dudley Tubes goes back five years, giving us in-depth knowledge of their business,” says Darren Field, senior account manager at Briggs Equipment. “We were able to work with them from the early stages and observe their warehouse design and racking, in order to make the product right for the application.”

Of the five sideloaders contracted to Dudley Tubes, four are on long-term rental and one is on short-term hire. The seven year all-in maintenance contract gives the company dedicated engineering support, with Briggs Equipment assuring a three hour call-out time, if any maintenance is required.

The Baumann sideloaders were supplied to Briggs by Cooper Specialised Handling. Darren Field adds, “Whilst 90% of our business is Cat Lift Truck distribution, we are fully equipped to supply and service other leading brands.”

www.briggsequipment.co.uk