Cesab Material Handling Europe

Its bottling plant is situated about 600 metres above sea level on the slopes of Mount Gazzaro, near Florence.

This production facility is equipped with state of the art machinery in bottling, labelling, sorting and quality control, with four bottling lines producing over 300 million litres of natural water each year.

The demands made on material handling equipment at the site are numerous. Productivity and safety are both of paramount importance. Forklifts are limited to a speed of 10 kilometres an hour but also need to work effectively by handling as many loads as they can to ensure production targets are met.

Handling equipment is also needed to work in restricted spaces where it has to manoeuvre around quickly and safely without damage to goods or property. Other forklifts are required to work outdoors often in cold conditions over the winter months, with drivers expected to operate productively in all weather. The need for safe, efficient operations on inclines is another consideration, with equipment often working on slopes around the facility.

A strong long term relationship with Cesab dealership SAMET led to Acqua Panna’s decision to trial Cesab trucks against a number of competitors, leading to the operators choosing Cesab for its ease of use and high performance.

The fleet of 14 Cesab forklifts bought by Acqua Panna to date includes B400s, B200s, Drago 400s and Mak 400s.

The Cesab B400s work in the warehouse, manoeuvring goods and loading pallets into the container, where they are required to travel up and down a slope.

The Cesab B200s are operated on the production shopfloor where they move packaging through the production areas.The Drago 400s work in the external loading bay where they collect pallets containing water bottles and move them through the external warehouse area and the loading bay placing full pallets onto the lorry.

The Cesab Mak 400s employed in the warehouse are fitted with special Cascade attachments, which enable them to lift a combination of small and large pallets in one manoeuvre.

All the electric CESAB CB forklifts are productive throughout multiple shifts because they feature a customised lateral battery extraction, which enables batteries to be quickly and easily replaced during shifts.

“We have been impressed with the service and support we receive from SAMET and the performance of the Cesab equipment on site. Our operators were unanimous in selecting Cesab trucks because they find them easy to use, they answer all our handling questions and as a result, overall productivity is increased.”

Giuseppe Gallo Logistic Manager, Acqua Panna