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How Narrow of an Aisle Can You go to Maximize Space?
Labelmaster, located in Chicago, IL provides software, products, services, and training for shipping hazardous goods by land, air, or sea. They help customers to ensure that each hazardous shipment they make has the proper regulatory-compliant labeling, placarding, and packaging so their items arrive safely and on time. Orders are constantly being placed, picked, packaged, and shipped all over the world.
They needed something done fast, and waiting weeks for a new forklift wasn’t an option.
Edward Iacconi, Warehouse Manager for Labelmaster received a recommendation from his superior to contact Wolter, as he had a great experience with previous products and services. We visited on-site to evaluate Labelmaster’s application to accurately recommend the right forklift for the task.
Labelmaster stores products of a wide variety of sizes in a highly organized, compact environment. Their pallet racking aisles range from only 38” – 42” wide. Wolter needed to find the right forklift that could easily drive through these narrow aisles, and be able to pick and put away products at various levels.
Due to the fast time frame, Wolter recommended purchasing a used Aisle-Master, which is an electric articulating very narrow aisle (VNA) forklift used most often for compact applications. The Aisle-Master 44E was gently used and had only a couple of years’ worth of hours. A great find, at a great price point.
For Labelmaster to properly evaluate the effectiveness of the Aisle-Master, Swakow arranged for a full-day demo at the Labelmaster location.
Each forklift operator had an opportunity to test drive the unit and ensure this was a solution they could work with. After a full day, the forklift operators all agreed that the Aisle-Master would be a beneficial addition to the Labelmaster forklift fleet.
“Wolter took great care of us by allowing the forklift drivers to experience the Aisle-Master before making a final decision,” said Edward Iacconi, Warehouse Manager for Labelmaster.
Efficiency in Large, But Small Space
To keep up with demand, Labelmaster stores its products in a 50,000 sq. ft. facility with a combination of eight reach trucks and forklift trucks. Due to continuous expansion, a mix of gas and electric forklifts and reach trucks are of various ages. Eight trucks were the exact amount needed to perform their daily tasks, but one of them was showing signs of issues.They needed something done fast, and waiting weeks for a new forklift wasn’t an option.
Edward Iacconi, Warehouse Manager for Labelmaster received a recommendation from his superior to contact Wolter, as he had a great experience with previous products and services. We visited on-site to evaluate Labelmaster’s application to accurately recommend the right forklift for the task.
Labelmaster stores products of a wide variety of sizes in a highly organized, compact environment. Their pallet racking aisles range from only 38” – 42” wide. Wolter needed to find the right forklift that could easily drive through these narrow aisles, and be able to pick and put away products at various levels.
Due to the fast time frame, Wolter recommended purchasing a used Aisle-Master, which is an electric articulating very narrow aisle (VNA) forklift used most often for compact applications. The Aisle-Master 44E was gently used and had only a couple of years’ worth of hours. A great find, at a great price point.
Test Within the Application
Labelmaster’s seven other reach trucks and forklifts are all rear-wheel drives, while the Aisle-Master is front-wheel drive.For Labelmaster to properly evaluate the effectiveness of the Aisle-Master, Swakow arranged for a full-day demo at the Labelmaster location.
Each forklift operator had an opportunity to test drive the unit and ensure this was a solution they could work with. After a full day, the forklift operators all agreed that the Aisle-Master would be a beneficial addition to the Labelmaster forklift fleet.
“Wolter took great care of us by allowing the forklift drivers to experience the Aisle-Master before making a final decision,” said Edward Iacconi, Warehouse Manager for Labelmaster.
Operator Benefits Using the Aisle Master VNA Forklift
- Ease of picking products from both sides of the aisle
- Speedier “truck to rack” operation due to elimination of double handling, AND ability to operate both indoors and outdoors
- Effortless maneuverability within compact spaces
- Great visibility in all directions
- Reduced maintenance and repairs with front wheel drive relieving wear on the drive axle
As Labelmaster continues to expand its business to various locations around the U.S., the forklift fleet must be highly effective and efficient. The Aisle-Master VNA forklift will be an important addition to their growing and evolving fleet.