To book your place or to find out more about what the qualification involves and what it could do for you, click here or call Rachel on 01432 277180.

Our hire fleet has over 300 forklifts, pallet trucks, elevated platforms and other equipment. If you need something quickly, we're sure to have the one for you.

Think an apprenticeship might be the right direction for you but not quite sure what's involved? Listen to George who has passed his Level 3 qualification with flying colours, talking about why he chose this route and how it worked for him.

Once you've decided that an apprenticeship is right for you, you need to make sure that your placement is with a business that is going to support and nurture you. Hear about our approach from Commercial Operations Manager Emma Bennett.

A tailored design to turn awkward into efficient

Ever increasing production volumes for a leading UK manufacturer & distributor of timber products required a creative solution to increase storage space and allow for easier, quicker access to products.

Objective

Create a storage system that accommodates multiple, diverse pack sizes & lengths and enables streamlined picking. Increase efficiency and maximise storage space within the existing structure, ensuring capacity of foundations.

Challenge

Timber packs were stored on the ground which meant that product had to be moved around every time stock needed to be accessed. Not only an ineffective use of the space but a lot of wasted time and difficulty stock taking.

Considerations

• Although there was a concrete foundation in place, what was below was unknown and could have had a significant impact on weight restrictions.
• The building was an open steel frame which presented height and width restrictions.
• The racking system needed to work with the existing Combilift sideloader to avoid more expense on new equipment.

Solution

With initial ground core samples showing that the depth of the concrete floor was sufficient to hold the load, Mark quickly identified that Cantilever racking was the best product for the task. Specifically designed to optimise storage of long, bulky loads, Cantilever racking enables seamless product retrieval. Four runs of 20m racking made best use of the space, freed up a lot of previously encumbered floor area and overcame the height and width restrictions of the building. The Combilift is the perfect partner for this type of racking; tracking easily down the aisles for access to the front of the rack, making awkward loads look elegant. Mark's knowledge of the site, racking products and his ability to sculpt individually tailored systems made for a very effective solution that has brought significant benefits to M&M Timber.

The Customer's Verdict

'Mark worked very closely with our team to overcome many complications to maximise our storage requirement in our timber stock sheds. He made several site visits to ensure every aspect was covered - his attention to detail and ability to focus on all areas of the project was impressive. The system was completed on time and in a very professional manner, I would highly recommend using Mark Benbow and HFT for any racking project.'

Operations Manager, M&M Timber

For further advice, information and free site surveys, contact our experts:

Racking & Storage: Mark Benbow 07714 145914

Material Handling equipment: Rob Perry 07714 257880

Objectives

• Create a mix of racking that would accommodate a wide range of building products ensuring all available space was put to effective storage use.
• Design, deliver and install a week before the scheduled grand opening!

Solutions

Mark's design carefully balanced a mix of adjustable pallet & cantilever racking which maximised the height of the storage systems to give extra pallet locations. The narrow aisles further increased storage space, complemented by the Aislemaster supplied by HFT's Sales Manager Rob Perry for easy and efficient picking.

Mark says "Having worked with CBS on a lot of their sites, i know the way they work and what they need from their storage systems. Our suppliers are first class so I know I can rely on them for quality products and to deliver on time with precise installation. It's such a pleasure to have been part of another branch opening."

From the customer

"I approached Mark again as he has completed many racking & storage projects at lots of our sites over the years and has never lets us down.

We wanted to store a mix of products so I sought guidance from Mark for the most effective solution. The process was quick & easy with Mark visiting site plenty of times & creating CAD designs so we could easily visualise the project. The job was completed a week before the branch opened which gave us plenty of time to stock our products.

I highly recommend using Mark and HFT for any racking, storage and material handling projects."

Ian Stacey-Barlow

Director, County Building Supplies Ltd