A light and nimble fleet of Toyota battery-electric forklifts are helping a busy West Australian 4x4 vehicle accessories company stay productive while handling ‘ugly’ freight in a tight warehouse layout.
The five 1.8-tonne Toyota 7FBE18 three-wheel forklifts feature the ability to make pivot turns, meaning they can operate well in tight spaces.
“We deal with everything from protective and safety equipment like canopies, winches and bull bars to camping accessories,” ARB Corporation WA State Manager Rick Long says. “These products are often ‘ugly’ freight: nearly everything we do involves over- or under-sized pallets making for an interesting and fairly tight warehouse layout.
“The Toyota 7FBE18s we use are perfect for this type of storage facility as they are light and nimble so our operators can easily manoeuvre them around,” he says, adding that two forklifts the company recently commissioned “were specially fitted with six-metre masts to take full advantage of the warehouse’s height”.
Other features of Toyota’s 1.0 to 2.0-tonne 7FBE range include a four-way adjustable suspension seat, rack and pinion hydrostatic power steering, and System of Active Stability.
ARB was founded in 1975 by 4WD enthusiast Anthony Ronald Brown as a means of making high quality and durable 4WD equipment widely available. It has since grown to become Australia’s largest manufacturer and distributor of 4×4 accessories, with an office in the US and an export network that extends through more than 100 countries.
TMHA staff promotions
In related news, TMH Australia has announced two senior management promotions.
General Manager Branch Operations Australia Cameron Paxton is to take up the position of General Manager Sales Australia, reporting to TMHA Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer Steve Takacs.
Effective from October 1, Paxton will have overall accountability for policy and procedure “to achieve new equipment market share, volume and profit targets”.
Paxton’s current position will be filled by Roy Norris, currently Branch Manager Melbourne, who will relocate to TMHA’s Moorebank headquarters in Sydney.
His new position “carries overall responsibility for national branch operational results, including work health safety & environment, compliance, and all branch operational KPIs.
All TMHA branch managers will report directly to Norris.
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