Tasmania's largest non-alcoholic beverage manufacturer, Juicy Isle, has recently added three new Toyota BT RRE160M electric reach forklifts to its fleet.
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Juicy Isle warehouse and logistics manager, Glen Mackenzie (left) and forklift operator, Tim Williams, on one of the new Toyota BT RRE160M electric reach forklifts. Mr Mackenzie said the new machine replaced one sold into the business 20 years ago, proving how reliable and durable the BT reach trucks are.
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The new BT RRE160M reach trucks replaced three units in a fleet of seven such models.
Located in Cambridge Park, outside of Hobart, Juicy Isle is an Australian-owned and run business producing a wide range of high-quality beverages, including juices made from Tasmanian organic fruit and also locally sourced still and sparkling mineral water products.
The business was founded in Tasmania nearly 50 years ago and employs between 80 and 100 people, seasonality-dependent.
Juicy Isle General Manager, Michael Goward, said in addition to its beverage production the business has a sales distribution network covering all of Tasmania and distributing beverages, snacks and confectionary for global FMCG brands.
The Toyota BT Reach forklifts are at the heart of the business’ warehouse operations, helping it squeeze out material handling efficiencies.
Juicy Isle warehouse and logistics manager, Glen Mackenzie, said the businesses’ latest warehouse facility was designed with input from Toyota Material Handling Australia (TMHA), particularly in regard to the BT reach trucks’ turning circle.
“That process involved consultation with TMHA and their rep’, Rodney Jones, who examined the technical data for the warehouse layout and matched it to machine performance,” Mackenzie says.
“Rod advised the Toyota BT forklifts would be the most suitable because of their manoeuvrability and tight turning circle – it was mainly worked around the turning circle – and high-reaching capabilities, allowing them to go all the way up to our ceiling.
Jones says the service life of Juicy Isle’s BT reach trucks points to another key part of the Toyota Advantage: “Some of their reach trucks are very old but still in service, which is remarkable because Juicy Isle is close to what we call a ‘grocery-line’ operation.”
“They’re pretty much working the forks at six- or seven-metre heights all day, so a lot is demanded from them,” Jones adds.
“Juicy Isle has been very pleased with the reach trucks because they’ve had such a good run out of them; they’ve been up-to-the-task with long service life.
“It’s another example of our famed reputation for quality, durability and reliability.”
Along with Toyota petrol forklifts, the BT reach trucks comprise the bulk of Juicy Isle’s material handling fleet and TMHA are its preferred supplier for all forklift equipment.
“Toyota is our preferred supplier for all forklift equipment. We have a couple of other brands in counter-balance and order-pickers, but we’ll be looking to replace those with Toyotas as they wear out,” Mackenzie says.
“I’ve used other brands in this role and in previous roles at other companies and to me the Toyotas are first-and-foremost more reliable and also superior to operate in terms of the ergonomic controls, the comfort and visibility.
“Safety is another consideration for our reach trucks. When the BTs are at full extension – in our case 7.5 metres-high – their operations automatically slow down.
“Once the mast gets down to two metres, it resumes all its normal speeds and capacities again. It’s an inbuilt feature and greatly contributes to the safety of our operators and their colleagues.”