Big surprises from the small but mighty EDiA
Compact Mitsubishi electric truck rises to manufacturer's unique site challenges with powerful performance.
Bottled beverage manufacturer Montgomery Waters has welcomed the delivery of two Mitsubishi EDiA FB20ANT forklifts from HFT.
Montgomery Waters, based in Churchstoke mid-Wales, expanded its business with the purchase of a second and more compact site in the area of Church Stretton in 2018. Kit was required for the new operations but there were limitations on what equipment could be used.
Space is a premium at our site,” said Jed Rowley, Shift Manager at Montgomery Waters. “Our warehouse contains 4 aisles of drive-in racking, each at 4 levels high. There is also a bottle filler and palletiser so there isn’t much room to move around, which is why storage needs to be so high.
“We needed a counterbalance truck that would lift 1200kg of packaged product to 6.3m, which is the highest point of our racking, and none of the trucks we looked at previously could do it.”
Unable to find a forklift that could meet the criteria, Montgomery Waters contacted us, an award-winning dealer that had extensive experience in providing reliable Mitsubishi forklifts to that same site some years previously.
“We are very familiar with the challenges of this site, and I was confident we had the right truck for Montgomery Waters,” said Rob Perry, Sales Manager at HFT. “The EDiA FB20ANT is compact but extremely powerful, and I had no doubt it could do what was needed.”
Rob recommended the 2-tonne, 3-wheel EDiA FB20ANT electric counterbalance truck, which at less than three metres long, including forks, is exceptionally compact — making it ideal for high manoeuvrability in the tightest spaces.
“There is a lot going on within the warehouse and any forklift we use has to be agile enough to get around other equipment; so although the ability to lift was vital, the size of the forklift was also a key consideration for us,” said Jed.
Unlike with competitor models, the EDiA did not need any alteration to the overhead guard, which ensured a competitive price. In addition to the counterbalance truck, Montgomery Waters ordered a second battery, a PBPL12N lithium-ion pump truck to support with battery changing, and a PBP16N powered pallet truck. All the equipment is on long-term rental with a full repair maintenance plan.
The trucks have already made a big impression. As well as loading and unloading racking and trailers, they are used to service the production line with materials, shrink wrap, labels and preform bottles — working continually to support Montgomery Waters in meeting its daily targets.
“I’m amazed by the EDiA,” said Jed. “It’s smaller than any truck we had before, but it’s already surpassed all my expectations.
“Rob had a lot of experience of our site and understood our constraints in terms of space and a need for multiple operations. I trusted his judgement that this model could do what others couldn’t… and he was right.”
Montgomery Waters has also benefitted from greater flexibility by using a counterbalance rather than a reach truck, which would typically be used in this sort of application.
“We have a small team, and there are more of us with counterbalance qualifications than reach, so the EDiA gives us the ability to easily rotate job responsibilities.”
From site assessment to delivery, we kept ongoing contact with Montgomery Waters throughout the process.
“We’ve had excellent support from HFT,” continued Jed. “Delivery was very efficient; the drop off only took 15 minutes, which was great for us as it minimised any disruption to our site. And we’ve had follow-up visits from them, just to check that everything is going ok, and that’s very reassuring. It’s great working with them.”
