Toyota Forklift are the sole distributors of Toyota Forklifts, BT Equipment, Raymond Equipment and Kalmar Container handlers Forklifts in Southern Africa. In addition, the company markets an extensive range of quality materials handling accessories. Distribution and service is carried out through branches in the main centres with depots and dealers complementing the Southern Africa network.
Home In the News News Toyota Forklifts for the SACD facility
Toyota Forklifts for the SACD facility
IT comes as no surprise to learn that Toyota Forklift, one of the world leaders in the field of forklift trucks and other industrial equipment, has the contract to supply all the new forklift equipment for SACD Freight’s new R160 million warehouse and wine storage facility at Paarden Eiland. The facility was completed in mid-December by the contractors, NMC Alliance, two months ahead of schedule, and is due to be open for business this month. (See page 26) As Craig Childs, Toyota Forklift’s key account manager in the Cape points out, they have supplied the bulk of the forklift equipment SACD Freight currently has in operation, and this has been the case over the 20 years or more that the two companies have been doing business together.

The new equipment they have supplied, says Eugene Steenhuisen, Toyota Forklift’s national BT specialist, includes three V& A narrow aisle ‘man up’ turret trucks guided by electrical wiring installed in the cement flooring. These incorporate the very latest technology, and operate with complete reliability within a tight 1.86m wide aisle. A unique feature of the BT VCE150A turret truck is that it has an articulated chassis which gives it rapid aisle-changing capability.

Over a day this translates into a significantly faster work rate, and thus a very worthwhile cost saving. In fact, he says, in a series of tests recently carried out in Europe, this machine was shown to be the fastest in its class – as well as having the lowest electricity consumption, due to a unique patented energy accumulation system that enables it to lift most of the load before it uses any battery energy. Effectively this means it can do a double shift on one battery, another very worthwhile cost saving Toyota are also supplying four heavy duty powered pallet trucks, used for cross docking, and capable of bearing a weight of some 3 tons. In addition, two new forklift trucks will be added to SACD’s existing fleet of mainly Toyota forklifts, which have been doing excellent duty in their previous warehouse, now being demolished and put to other uses by the Port of Cape Town.

SACD Freight have been looking at ways to achieve high volume storage, with better density whilst still being able to have ready access to any of the 18 800 pallets in their storage area - which is some 40% greater than in their previous premises. This is what they are getting with their improved computer system and Toyota’s state-ofthe- art equipment - machinery which can readily identify which aisles it should go to, and adjust to either of the two different sizes of pallet it has to handle.