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Based in north Devon some 30 miles
outside Exeter, Bluemay Weston
produces a range of non-metallic
components used by manufacturing
companies operating in industry
sectors as diverse as aerospace and
cosmetics. Established in the late 1960s
under the name Weston Manufacturing,
Bluemay Weston remains a family-
owned business with a reputation for
quality and reliability with a large and
growing list of customers.
Alongside the company’s
manufacturing plant – where
components are punched, pressed
or water-jet cut – is a 25,000ft
2
warehouse facility where a mixture of
raw materials and finished products are
housed. The facility was purpose-built
in 2008 but, with the company’s output
growing all the time, the warehouse’s
original layout was not able
to cope with the resultant
increase in throughput of raw
materials and components
leaving the production line.
The fact that the warehouse redesign
and switch to Flexi articulated truck
technology has more than doubled
Bluemay Weston’s storage capacity,
means that the company can now buy
in raw materials in far greater quantities
than was previously possible –
something which has not only resulted
in a drop in the purchase price paid but
has also alleviated a potentially sticky
production issue, as the company’s
sales manager, Kevin Bendle, explains:
“Such has been the increase in
demand for our products since the
warehouse was originally built we only
had the space to store some six weeks’
worth of expanded polyethylene. Our
expanded polyethylene supplier is
based in Belgium and was quoting
a lead time between ordering and
delivery of 8 weeks. With only enough
storage capacity to hold 6 weeks stock
we faced a potentially devastating
supply chain shortfall. However, thanks
to the extra pallet capacity the re-
configuration and the Flexi NANO has
brought, this is no longer an issue.”
Another key production-related benefit
resulting from the warehouse redesign
is that now the narrow aisle storage
cube allows raw materials to be
stored flat – whereas previously they
needed to be coiled. Coiled materials
removed from storage and sent to the
production lines would sometimes
prove difficult to machine as they had
become curved. This is no longer an
issue for the company.
John Maguire, sales and marketing
director of Narrow Aisle, comments:
“The new entry-level Flexi AC NANO,
is a cost effective alternative to the
range of high performance high lift
Flexi AC models that are also available.
The NANO is perfect for companies
that do not operate around the clock
or demand a high level of handling
performance but would still like to take
advantage of the space and materials
handling cost savings that Flexi
technology offers.”
Nano technology
saves space
Having committed a significant amount
of capital to the construction of the
original building, Bluemay’s Weston’s
management team understandably
sought a solution to their storage
space problem that minimised capital
costs and achieved a fast payback.
After undertaking a detailed analysis
of various options, it was decided in
Spring of this year to reconfigure the
pallet racking within the existing facility
around a narrow aisle layout and
replace the counterbalanced truck that
had been used within the store to put
away and pick palletized loads with a
Flexi AC NANO articulated truck – the
latest articulated forklift model to be
added to Narrow Aisle’s range.
By condensing the warehouse
aisles Bluemay Weston was able
to accommodate extra
pallet racking locations
within the store, also the
height of the racking was
increased to 5m at the top
beam. These simple steps
resulted in an increase in
pallet capacity at the unit
of well over 50%.
The Flexi AC NANO
articulated truck is far
more space efficient
than the forklift truck that
Bluemay Weston had
previously relied on within
the store. Designed and
built in Tipton, the Nano
was introduced to provide
a lower cost, entry-level
articulated forklift that can
lift loads weighing up to
1.6 tones to heights of up
to 5m. Thanks to its front
wheel drive technology
that allows the truck’s
front end and load
to articulate through
220º, the NANO offers
optimum pallet put-
away and retrieval in
aisles as narrow as
1.6m.
56
Logistics Business Magazine | November 2015
WAREHOUSE TRUCKS