Absolute dependability required

From dim sum to dragon fruit, steamers to spring rolls and toothpicks to tablecloths, the UK’s leading oriental food specialist SeeWoo stocks over 5,000 products which are delivered to its cash and carry outlets as well as to clients in this country and across Europe.

Five Aisle-Master articulated forklifts ensure the streamlined movement of tonnes of products a day at the company’s HQ and distribution centre in Park Royal and a further warehousing facility nearby, in what is a very fast paced operation.

Before moving to SeeWoo House around fourteen years ago the company used a mix of counterbalance and reach trucks, but then switched to the narrow aisle articulated system for best possible use of space – costs per square foot are understandably high in this part of London.

In the intervening years two brands of articulated trucks had been used, with limited success, as technical services manager Henry Pirie explains: “We had major issues with reliability and this obviously had a knock on effect on every department in such a busy environment. As we do not factor in any standby machines we need absolute dependability. I was impressed with the manufacturing process and build quality of the Aisle-Masters when I visited the plant in Ireland, and since we have had the trucks downtime has essentially been eradicated.”

The 2.5t capacity trucks work in ambient, chilled and cold store environments and were built to a tough cold store specification and fitted with quad masts. “This means that the trucks can be interchanged to be wherever they are needed in a matter of minutes and we can easily transport them for deployment at another site if necessary,” said Pirie. “The quad masts enable them to access low doorways whilst still being able to work in the 9.5m racking in the ambient warehouses, so we benefit from maximum flexibility and speedy operation, which is exactly what we require.”

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At the HQ the three Aisle-Masters work predominantly indoors in pre-existing aisles widths of 2.1m, and the two trucks at the Acton Road site are used indoor and out for all tasks – from offloading, placing pallets in racking, picking and reloading for despatch, covering all the jobs that SeeWoo’s old original combination of trucks did but with the added benefit of narrow aisle operation. Powerful batteries ensure non-stop thirteen hour operation, even in the very low temperatures of up to -22⁰ in the cold store, eliminating any need for mid shift battery changing. 

SeeWoo has a long standing partnership with its materials handling provider Forkway Group, who also provide a mixed fleet of Yale warehouse and counterbalance equipment across 4 sites to supplement the role fulfilled by the Aisle-Masters.

“As an independently owned and run business, Forkway is similar to SeeWoo in its outlook and knowing that our trucks are in good hands for even the most basic of daily checks leaves us to concentrate on our core business of supplying our customers.” said Pirie, who adds: “The combination of Forkway’s great service, the 5,000 hour/5 year guarantee offered by Aisle-Master together with its very accommodating attitude towards  adding customised features to the trucks instils a high level of confidence.  Our annual rental costs have actually decreased, proof that choosing cost effective rather than merely cheap equipment has been a wise decision.”

Aisle-Masters have capacities of up to 2.5 tonnes, and offer lift heights of up to an impressive 15m, with a choice of AC electric or LPG power. The range, which includes a variety of chassis widths and options, is designed and built at the dedicated production facility in Monaghan, Ireland, and can be customised for individual requirements. Aisle-Master design engineers also offer a site visit and warehouse layout service and supply free proposals illustrating how to maximise the use of available storage space. 

SeeWoo Foods have been pioneering oriental food since 1975. For four decades the Tse brothers have been making authentic Oriental food accessible to restaurants, retailers, wholesalers and private customers.

www.aisle-master.com

www.seewoo.com