Impact enhances efficiency and safety at Weedon Corrugated

Weedon Corrugated Products, a leading independent corrugated packaging specialist, has agreed a new five and a half year, full maintenance, rental agreement with Impact Handling for its lift truck fleet.

The new fleet, consisting of Cat® Lift Trucks’ GP50, GP20 and GP15 machines, will be located at Weedon’s Manchester manufacturing site. The trucks have been specified to function across a variety of roles, which include the transportation of paper reels, the handling of finished board and the loading of recycled bails.

Impact worked closely with Weedon’s procurement team, applying its extensive expertise in the paper and packaging industry, to help guide the specification of the new machines. The fleet takes advantage of the latest generation of Cat® lift trucks, which offer cutting-edge levels of performance and efficiency, to bring welcome improvements to Weedon’s existing operational environment.

Power sources were carefully evaluated and following a full operational audit, as well as successful on-site trials, Impact structured a full transition across to LPG power for the entire fleet. Paul McCormack, Production Director at Weedon Corrugated Products, comments: “At Weedon we recognise our responsibility to preserve, conserve and sustain. Our new gas-powered fleet is fitted with three-way catalytic converters, meaning the machines produce zero emissions. This creates a better environment to work in, a better environment to package food in and a better environment to pass on to future generations.”

Dedicated paper roll clamps, fork positioners and Hyd turner forks have also been employed on machines across the fleet. The specialist attachments ensure that each and every application is handled optimally while at the same time elevating on site operational safety.

Nigel Somers, Regional Sales Manager at Impact Handling explains: “Weedon are a very environmentally conscious company. However due to their operational environment, it was simply not practical to specify an electric truck fleet. Moving the machines across to LPG from diesel made enormous sense and makes a very positive step to reducing the site’s carbon footprint.” He goes on to say. “Space proved a real challenge, so we helped establish an on-site bulk supply of LPG which removed the need for any additional storage areas to house the numerous individual gas cylinders, which would otherwise have been necessary.”

Safety enhancements have also been introduced across the entire fleet with the new trucks now employing the very latest electronic systems. These include; Red proximity lighting – to increase onsite pedestrian safety; Continual camera monitoring – to increase operator accountability; and individual access control with safety check functionality – to ensure driver compliance and to maintain best practices. Additional efficiencies have also been realised through the fitment of ‘TXT’, an anti-wheel spin technology which reduces tyre wear, as well as through the use of ‘Idle Shut Down’ software which reduces fuel costs by switching off the trucks when not in use.

Weedon also takes advantage of Impact’s unique flexibility, which allows customers with existing fleets to replace all of their equipment – even if of mixed renewal dates and financing – with a brand-new fleet, all under one simple agreement. This sees Weedon exchange their legacy machines and offset off-hire liabilities, without financial penalty.

Mr Somers remarks: “Because of our ability to deliver this unique level of flexibility we are able to go that extra mile. In this case, that has meant taking back a machine, even though it still had a full three years left to run on its existing contract and replacing it with a brand new machine without any additional upfront costs to the customer.”