Cesab Material Handling Europe

XL Joinery, which distributes over half a million doors to merchants and retailers across the UK each year, chose nine, three-wheel, electric counterbalanced Cesab B315 forklift trucks from Cesab dealership Spartan Forklifts after trialling five different brands side by side.

The forklifts are helping facilities manager David Crossley and his team in their mission to create a world class distribution centre at the Birstall, West Yorkshire site. 

David Crossley: “We had previously been using 2.5 tonne gas trucks that were quite simply over specified for the jobs that they were doing. We needed to look at cleaner sources of energy, without compromising productivity. Moving away from gas power to electric trucks immediately helped to create a more seamless and near silent environment.”

To support quick and efficient battery charging, Spartan proactively supplied the Cesab trucks with high frequency chargers and battery auto-fill systems, enabling batteries to be easily topped up at the truck charging station between shifts. 

Spartan also fitted the Cesab trucks with a deionising system which purifies tap water for use in the batteries. Together, the battery autofill and deionising system ensure optimum care of the batteries. 

XL Joinery’s new site is designed for safety, efficiency and colleague welfare. This includes colour coded pathway systems, a one-way warehouse layout and clear, concise signage. The Cesab forklifts have been tailored for this environment with speed limiters set to five mph.

David Crossley:     “The Cesab B315 models are just right for the job. From the very start all our operators appreciated the simplicity of the Cesab trucks. Their build quality is excellent, and operators can simply climb on and go, with minimal guidance. These forklifts offer ease of use and from a safety perspective, extremely good all-round vision.”

“We had dealt with Spartan Forklifts previously, taking a couple of trucks on casual hire and we have always found them easy to deal with. You ask for something and it will be done. The support from the service engineers is also superb. When it comes to being proactive and responsive, Spartan get it just right.”