“By utilising Articulated Forklifts from Translift, we were able to increase the storage capacity of our warehouse by 50%.”
Solus Ceramics began life back in 1995 and since then has made massive strides towards their goal of being recognised as the trusted market leader of tiling solutions to the architectural specification industry.
Back in 2008, having experienced rapid expansion, the company moved to a modern, purpose-built facility at Cole River Park. This 40,000sqft head office, consists of office and warehouse space.
In the years to follow, the business doubled in size and in 2015, Solus Ceramics made a significant investment in their warehouse infrastructure in order to meet the demands of the growing business.
The main aim of the project was to maximise the space available and improve the efficiency of their warehouse operations. After speaking to a number of Racking and Storage experts, it became evident, a narrow aisle solution was the way forward. In stepped Translift, the UK’s leading narrow aisle Articulated Forklift specialists.
Before implementing a narrow aisle solution, the warehouse consisted of pallets stacked on the floor and shelving which was used to store sample stock. With this layout, Solus were able to store between 2,200 and 2,400 pallets at any one time which were serviced by standard Counterbalance Trucks.
Firstly, in order to maximise storage space, a Mezzanine Floor System was installed to house the sample stock, tripling in size and making it the largest samples department in the country. By installing the Mezzanine, this released more space for pallet storage in the warehouse.
A new narrow aisle Pallet Racking System was then built, and we supplied 2 x Bendi B3 Series Articulated Forklifts. The Trucks were responsible for replenishing the racks in 1.8m aisles and up to a lift height of 8m.
“By utilising Articulated Forklifts from Translift, we were able to increase the storage capacity of our warehouse by 50%”, commented Marcus Bentley, Managing Director at Solus Ceramics. “We went from being able to store around 2,400 pallets to having 5,000 pallet spaces available which was a huge selling point for us as we need to hold bulk stock for a number of our regular customers.”
After the first 12 months, Solus added a 3rd Bendi to the fleet before adding a 4th a couple of years later. The latest addition coming from the new Bendi Premium Range of Articulated Forklifts.
Our comprehensive range of narrow aisle forklifts offer exceptional performance, reliability and manoeuvrability, helping customers like Solus maximise the productivity and efficiency of their warehouse operations.
“On the very odd occasion we’ve had issues with trucks, the response time of the service team has been fantastic, getting our equipment back up and running in no time. We can’t fault the level of service and support from Translift. Paul is always available and constantly keeps in touch to see how we are getting on with the equipment.”
At Translift, we pride ourselves on providing the best possible aftersales support to our customers. With significant investment over the past couple of years, it’s always really satisfying to receive such positive feedback from our clients.
