Family owned logistics provider invests in premium Windsor forklifts

Established by George Kime in the 1930s, George H Kime & Co. Limited has experienced over 80 years of operational success. Initially set up as a provider of transport services for local food businesses in Boston, Lincolnshire, the company has grown to serve not only the fresh food industry, but a wide spectrum of customers internationally.

Over the years, Kimes have served all sorts of customers – from sole traders to blue chip companies – and many of these have continued to use the firm’s services for decades. With branches in Wrangle nr. Boston and Lincoln, the firm’s continued success saw the opening of a third warehouse in November 2015, based in Sleaford. Kimes hit a milestone eight months ago when they bought the facility after renting it for most of their first year of operation. 

The icing on the cake for the business expansion was a brand-new fleet of forklift trucks for the Sleaford depot, which Windsor Materials Handling’s David Fletcher helped specify. A pair of two-tonne capacity Still trucks were supplied, and just a week after delivery, drivers at Kimes were already endorsing the forklifts.

One operator, Gary Rose, is typically impressed. “The new forklifts feel stable, and the various different settings make the job so much easier. The manoeuvrability of the machines is incredible, and the automatic braking on ramps gives you extra confidence.” 

Still’s RX 70 series has a particularly stable driving behaviour due to the truck’s low centre of gravity. George H Kime will also benefit from low operating costs through the trucks’ hybrid diesel-electric drive with a powerful industrial motor. This also allows the forklifts to deliver a high volume at a low V-engine speed due to the electrically activated hydraulic pump.

Gary continued: “I’m thankful for the glass cab too – trucks I’ve used in the past have been open to the elements. It not only protects you from the weather but from dust and debris left behind in trailers too!”

Still has been delivering its products and services for over 90 years now, and have an outstanding reputation for the dependability of their trucks. Starting out by repairing motors in the 1920s, the company has used its expertise to develop into one of the leading full service providers for intralogistics. Windsor formed a partnership with Still due to their mutual belief that personal relationships are the basis of a long business relationship.

For George H Kime’s Sleaford warehouse manager, Tony Clifton, this is just one of the reasons for choosing to work with Windsor. “I have worked on this site for 22 years – before Kimes the warehouse belonged to Staples Disposables, and I worked with Windsor for many years in that capacity too,” said Tony. “This is the first time we have had brand new trucks though, and I can’t fault Windsor at all for their service and response times. With the local Windsor branch only five miles down the road, a helping hand is never far away. Their engineers are experienced and do their jobs quickly too.”

As one of the leading independent materials handling suppliers in the UK, Windsor Materials Handling was founded on service in 1977. Since then, the Windsor name has been synonymous with materials handling and access systems, providing a first-class range of forklift truck and access platform hire, sales and maintenance services. 

Branch Manager for Windsor’s Sleaford office, David Fletcher, echoes this: “Our business is partnership driven. This means providing the best possible deal and backing that up with great support,” he said. “I have known Tony for lots of years – I met him when I was working for the local pest control company. He was surprised when one week I was fitting pest control and the next week I was pestering him about forklifts! For me, this is what Windsor is all about - providing the best quality local service on a national level.”