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Material Handling

the Wr4 Pedestrian reach Stacker from Combilift offers four-way capabilities so staff can work in an aisle with a width of about 6 feet pallet to pallet. it offers a pantographic reach, side-shift and tilting-fork carriage for handling long loads and pallets in narrow aisles. among its features are electronic power steering and fingertip controls.

LBMJournal.com / August 2015 / LBM Journal 47

Spurred by updated engine requirements, new technologies, and a desire for more efficiency, dealers are evaluating new equipment and racking so they can optimize their yard operations.

By Craig a. Shutt

Dealers are learning how effi-cient their yards can operate as sales pick up and invento-ry turns happen faster. Some

are discovering they’ve delayed equip-ment purchases long enough or need to revise their layouts to make them more effective. Those needs have resulted in a growing interest in new vehicles and racking systems.

“The market is definitely coming back,” says Sam Krauter, designer and marketing manager with Krauter Au-to-Stak Lumberyard Solutions. “More dealers are ready to invest to make their yards more efficient as sales pick up. This has been our best year to date since the mid-1990s.”

Gearoid Hogan, vice president of mar-keting for Combilift, agrees. “Dealers are more conscious of the need to make the best possible use of the space they have available, and they’re looking for ways to use storage and machines to best uti-lize what they have. They realize that the forklifts they use can help them do that.”

Sales growth has been spurred in part by the sales declines experienced during the height of the Great Recession, when dealers held back on many capital im-provements. “In the past, there has typi-cally been a three- to five-year cycle of exchanging and updating equipment,” explains Richard Benton, CEO and president of Center-Line Group. “That trend became delayed due to the reces-sion. Companies have been keeping their equipment longer, and in current efforts to expand, much of their fleet is in need of repair. Companies now are looking into their best options to replace outdated equipment.”

Many dealers grew lean in those years and don’t want to lose their edge as sales return. “Companies that came through the recession want to maintain efficien-cies they’ve built into their businesses,” says Travis Darnell, president of C.T. Darnell. “They don’t want to add staff or expand their land as sales pick up again. They want to invest in material-handling systems that will help them remain effi-cient no matter how good the economy is. They want to reduce man-hours and waste to be more efficient and improve their operation.”

Looking to UpgradeAs dealers review their needs, many are opting for upgraded equipment, which comes at a premium. But dealers recog-nize the higher value that provides. “Peo-ple making purchasing decisions expect high-quality equipment as a minimum standard,” says Greg Sneek, product man-ager for articulating cranes at Palfinger. “The key factor in the buying decision

Center-Line Curtain Side trailers eliminate the need to tarp loads to protect them during transit, ensuring drivers remain safely on the ground during deliveries. the trailers increase transportation efficiencies, allowing materials to be loaded to evenly distribute weight rather than by destination. Forklifts also can unload deliveries faster due to greater access.

is if the company offers local service and technical support of the product.”

Dealers are showing a willingness to spend money upfront to save money over the long term. “The number-one trend we see is that customers want to better manage their material-handling fleets to save money,” says Herman Klaus, director of application solutions for Hyster Co. “They’re looking beyond the purchase price at the total cost of ownership and the total cost of moving products around in their yards. They want to get a firm handle on what it costs them per ton or per hour.” �

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Center-Line Group’s Benton agrees. “Everyone knows our trailers are out there, and I feel that a company can ex-pect a solid return on their investment with a curtain-side trailer, while simul-taneously distinguishing them from their competitors.”

Sales have been dampened some-what, however, by the EPA’s Tier-4 engine-emission requirements, which recently went into effect for all vehicles. The regulations limit particulate matter, oxides of nitrogen and air toxics from

non-road diesel engines. Those rules require more costly engines that need more maintenance.

“Some dealers bought new equip-ment before the legislation hit, so there was a little surge in sales, followed by a gap,” says Hyster’s Klaus. “But the reces-sion also has put many users into a po-sition where they need to catch up with having put off purchasing new equip-ment to handle their increased business.”

Hyster took advantage of the require-ments to revamp its line and introduce

new features. “With new turbochargers and high-pressure fuel systems, we can provide equal or better performance in a smaller package, with better fuel economy and lower maintenance costs,” Klaus explains. “That’s important to cus-tomers, as they’re looking at the cost of ownership overall. And after labor, fuel is the highest cost they have for their equipment.”

Not all dealers are wary of the chang-es, Klaus adds. “A lot of companies see the benefits to the new equipment, as they understand that green savings are important—and in the long run, they also save money with the new products. Most customers are interested in any-thing that will save them money or help them work more efficiently.”

Adds Combilift’s Hogan, “Energy use is very much at the top of customers’ minds. Most forklifts in the yard today are electrics because they’re cheaper and easier to use indoors without having ex-haust to worry about.”

Safety Features GrowDealers also are paying closer attention to safety features for forklifts, Hogan adds. “We’re seeing more awareness of the need for enhanced safety. More deal-ers want forklifts that can help them achieve high safety levels.” One of the key features is a safety blue light, which throws a blue spotlight onto the ground behind a forklift, alerting pedestrians to its presence. “Many companies are going down that avenue,” he says. “The safety blue light has become a hot topic when we talk with customers.”

Another key feature is an on-board hydraulic scale, to ensure lifts aren’t overloaded. “They want to be sure the lift can handle the load. It’s another part of the growing interest in safety con-cerns for drivers.”

Safety also is driving increased inter-est in curtain-side trailers, says Center-Line Group’s Benton. “Curtain-siders keep drivers on the ground, because manual tarping is no longer necessary. Drivers no longer have to spend exces-sive amounts of time tarping down or

RiGht: hyster has introduced two industrial lift trucks that offer 30,000- and 33,000-pound capacities with a shorter wheelbase. Running on a Cummins QSB 4.5 L tier 4 interim engine mated to a three-speed power-shift ZF WG 161 transmission, they claim to provide smooth shifting, precise inching and fast acceleration, as well as a short outside turning radius for compact operating conditions.

BeLoW: palfinger’s new line of material- handling cranes ranges from four- to nine- story machines and incorporates increased capacities and reach in their designs. they feature an advanced turntable Rotation System rather than a rack-and-pinion rotation system, which is said to reduce downtime and maintenance costs. Warning lights on stabilizers are standard on all models.

crawling over loads,” he explains. “It also keeps drivers out of the harsh elements.” That can decrease insurance costs and claims.

Technological advances are welcome, but they need to solve an issue. “Cus-tomers don’t want new technology for the sake of technology,” says Hyster’s Klaus. “We see that a lot in consumer products, but in the business world, users are more focused on the benefits they’re receiving.”

A key addition recently is telemetry services that can monitor forklifts wire-lessly from a distance, transmitting data on performance or maintenance issues that arise. “It allows users to deal with problems before the equipment stops working and prevents bigger problems,” Klaus explains. “It’s a great tool to help manage the fleet.” It also can report how long forklifts are idling and monitor impacts to gauge individual users’ per-

formance. “The goal is to ensure users can proactively manage their fleet rather than react to issues.”

Maneuverability is KeyManeuverability is a key factor when purchasing forklifts. “Side-loading fork-lifts are becoming more popular to help maximize the use of aisle space,” says Darnell. “We have worked on a number of layouts where narrow aisles were the key to achieving the dealer’s goals, and the dealer bought new forklifts to make that work, so he could take advantage of the capacity that the closer racking could provide. It requires an investment in new forklifts, but that’s less than add-ing more land or a bigger warehouse building.”

Combilift’s Hogan agrees. “Versatility is a key attribute today, as more dealers operate between two buildings that often aren’t sized the same way. They want to

use the same machine in both buildings, even when they have different storage heights. But they also don’t want to ex-ceed the lift maximum that each building has. Dealers want flexibility in every loca-tion, regardless of the situation.”

More powerful equipment is also growing in popularity. “Some dealers are going for more heavy-duty machines to add capacity to handle bigger product loads. We used to see most of our sales in the 8,000-pound area, but now more are going for the 10,000-pound size. Materi-als aren’t getting any lighter, and dealers need more power to move them around.”

Palfinger has addressed this need with a new line of material-handling cranes. “These new models are designed with longer reaches and capacities with the lowest overall crane weight,” says Sneek. “This offers the maximum chas-sis payload and the lowest total cost of ownership.” �

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new products GrowingNew and expanded lines of products are a key reason why dealers are up-grading their vehicles and racking sys-tems. “Products are getting longer and heavier, and that requires bigger fork-lifts to load the trucks and efficiency in shipping them,” says Hogan. “We’re seeing more dealers moving up in ca-pacity for lifting.”

It has also led to racking changes. “There’s been a noticeable uptick in the amount of storage racking being

asked for, to handle composite prod-ucts, including decking and siding,” says Krauter. “Those products are more du-rable and popular, so dealers are stock-ing them in-depth.”

They have different racking needs, agrees Darnell. “The composite boards are more flexible than wood and need additional support to prevent them from sagging.” MDF products also aren’t as rigid as wood. “As more of those products are sold, they are taking up more space and need additional support

RiGht: the A-Frame Vertical Storage Rack from Krauter-AutoStak Lumberyard Solutions features a tilt-back base design with a continuous face plate, which allows a variety of products, including mouldings, boards, ladders and pipe to be stored. the racks, with different base depths available, were made to accommodate any length run of products.

BeLoW: the Sunbelt Rack power Bin from C.t. darnell handles and stores lumber, siding, MdF moulding, composite decking and other building materials. A battery-operated loader deck loads material into pigeonhole bins equipped with heavy-duty rollers in approxi-mately one minute. Bin can be configured to specific needs.

compared to traditional wood products. They require more arms or rollers or would have to sit on a pallet. Each prod-uct has its own requirements.”

Krauter-Auto-Stak customizes racks as needed. “We try to design racking sys-tems to accommodate any products that dealers could consider stocking, so the racks aren’t an issue for taking on new products,” Krauter says.

new Racking ideasOne new category of racking C.T. Dar-nell has created helps dealers handle automated saw systems. Devising an ef-ficient system in a layout that hinders ef-fectiveness can reduce capabilities. “All the cutting and storing that is needed can be handled efficiently with the right shed design,” Darnell says. That requires a wide, shallow plan with an open side and protection on the back, with roller conveyers. “More dealers are investing in saw equipment today, but they don’t have the setup to handle it well. Design-ing a building to work effectively with the needs of the saw will speed up pro-duction and maximize efficiency to turn out the job quicker.”

Dealers are open to new ideas if it optimizes their site. “Dealers are getting very creative in how they use their space,” says Krauter. “They want to maximize the space and use it as efficiently as possible, and they’re willing to reconsider what they’re doing if there’s a better approach.”

Krauter-Auto Stak has seen growth in popularity for its stacking racks, a por-table millwork rack that can be stacked three or four units high. “It has casters so it can move to where it’s needed to pull together the order and then be rolled into the truck,” he explains. It sometimes remains in the truck to ship the orders, saving more steps. “It makes efficient use of forklifts.”

The company also has designed “mi-croyards,” featuring three-tier mezza-nine systems that maximize cubic-stor-age space. “We offer a variety of systems so dealers use completely different ways of thinking about their storage than what they’ve been using.” �

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Some dealers are retrofitting exist-ing yards, he notes, while others are revamping new acquisitions. Some are adding protection to existing racks. “A lot of dealers now are retrofitting their existing yards from cantilever racks to new roofed structures,” he says. “They are looking to adapt their existing rack-ing to provide new layouts and create new buildings.”

Dealers usually contact rack compa-nies with challenges needing solutions. “Dealers typically are looking for con-sultative advice rather than coming to buy a specific product immediately,” says Darnell. “They know how to run a lum-beryard, and they know where the bottle-necks are, but they don’t know the most efficient way to resolve them. We review the overall approach they’re taking and provide the best racks and planogram the system, slotting products into the best position based on their needs.”

The reviving economy means deal-ers will continue to look for efficiencies. “Companies want to remain lean after many down years, so they’re manipu-lating their footprint to maximize stor-age,” says Combilift’s Hogan. “They are keenly aware that sales could start drop-ping again, and they don’t want to invest more than needed to remain efficient. They want to condense the space they have and create tighter aisles holding more products.”

Adds Krauter, “This has been a great market this year, as dealers see the ben-efits that efficiency can provide if they have the right system. This is a good time to be making changes, as sales grow again.” ■

Craig A. Shutt, senior contributing editor ofLBM Journal, has more than 35 years of experience covering the LBM industry.

To learn more about these companies’ products, visit these websites:

Companies in bold participated in this article.

internet information

Center Line Trailers: www.center-linetrailers.com

Combilift: www.combilift.com

C.T. Darnell: www.ct-darnell.com or www.sunbeltrack.com

Demountable Concepts: www.demount.com

Hiab: www.hiab.com

Hyster: www.hyster.com

Krauter: www.autostak.com or www.ks-ka.com

Palfinger: www.palfinger.com

Sellick Equipment: www.sellickequipment.com

Timberline Rack: www.timberlinerack.com

In Depth:Fasteners anD FastenIng systems

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OctOber 2015