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Craig Geary has assessed the switch to high performance Linde material handling equipment by specialised floor covering 3PL company GMK Logistics. The impact has been immediate and substantial.

Geary, the Third-Party Logistics Manager at GMK Logistics’ 22,000 square metre Gregory Hills warehouse in Sydney, has over a decade of experience, initially driving forklifts and reach trucks of all types and now also managing their operations. 

GMK Logistics has a national footprint of warehouses with specialised racking for carpet and vinyl rolls as well as pallet racking, bulk storage and sophisticated cutting machines for carpet and vinyl product.

Since switching to Linde our pick rates have gone up and we’ve found that the morale in the team has gone up. Our drivers are more comfortable and at the end of the day they get out of the forklift feeling fresh.

It switched to Linde equipment to help improve efficiency and take advantage of its outstanding ergonomics and operator comfort to ensure its operators can complete high-tempo, productive shifts still feeling fresh.

SKILLED OPERATORS, SUPERIOR EQUIPMENT

Those features headed a lengthy list which prompted a switch to Linde at GMK Logistics’ Gregory Hills warehouse where the high racking configuration calls for skilled operators and highly capable equipment.

We have 13 Linde high reach forklifts here,” Craig Geary explained. “They can reach up to nine metres high, which is ideal for us because we have heavy rolls of carpet and vinyl stored right up to our top bays. The Linde equipment is more than capable of lifting that for us.

The GMK Logistics Linde fleet consists of 13 Performance Plus 1120 Series R20HD electric high reach trucks as well as 14 Performance Plus 392 series H25T gas counterbalance forklifts.

The new generation Linde reach trucks have individual adjustment options for the air suspension comfort seat including height, lateral movement and lumbar support.

The seat automatically adjusts suspension to the operator’s weight and together with the adjustable, integrated control console and the electric steering with variable torque, enables every operator to select their preferred working posture.

The workstation, comfort seat and intuitive location of all the operating controls, which include the finger-tip control joysticks, digital instrument display, compact steering wheel and the adjustable, integrated control console, gives the operator assured, total control at all times.

MATCHED TO THEIR ROLES

Picking carpet rolls from the top-level racking is a more complex task than everyday forklift driving in a conventional warehouse, but the Linde machines have special high strength masts with exceptional anti-sway characteristics to suit their specialised roles.

We have 13 Linde high reach forklifts here,” Craig Geary explained. “They can reach up to nine metres high, which is ideal for us because we have heavy rolls of carpet and vinyl stored right up to our top bays. The Linde equipment is more than capable of lifting that for us.

Excellent all-round visibility of their loads and surrounding environment is enhanced for GMK Logistics’ operators by Linde’s torsion-resistant fixed clear view triplex fixed mast with two-cylinder configuration and hydraulic hoses fed through the mast.

Cameras, load scales, height indicator and carpet prongs with load plates specially made to GMK’s specification also assist the three-shift per day GMK Logistics operation.

“One thing I really love about the Linde forklifts is their dual pedal configuration,” Craig Geary commented. “It is very easy to change direction and the steering is also very easy.

PRODUCTIVITY GAIN WITHOUT PAIN

“On our last brand of forklifts there was a need to keep our left foot on a sensor for the forklift to move.  At the end of the day when you got off the forklift you would have a pain in your left leg.

“Now, driving the Linde, everything is very adjustable and within easy reach and I can set the controls the way I like to set them, and I also have 360 degrees of vision.

“When we changed to Linde equipment, they organised a familiarisation session. It was only 20 minutes per operator, but pretty much by the end of that day everyone was really comfortable with Linde.

“Since switching to Linde our pick rates have gone up and we’ve found that the morale in the team has gone up. Our drivers are more comfortable and at the end of the day they get out of the forklift feeling fresh.”