Dube Trade Port given a lift with new forklifts

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
(Free-Press-Release.com) August 11, 2010 --


Taking delivery of his new equipment, General Manager at WFS Darren Coleman was enthusiastic about the prospects for the TradePort. “This is the beginning of what we believe will be one of the biggest operations of its kind in the world,” he said.

And, as the world’s biggest air cargo handling company, WFS should have a good handle on the likely development of the King Shaka facility. The company has over 14 000 employees at over 140 stations around the world and already about 70 at its Durban operation.

The new Crown materials handling machines have helped provide WFS with the capacity to handle up to 50 tons of air freight cargo during an eight hour shift. “At this stage we are handling about 30 tons a day and our machines are in operation about five hours,” says Coleman. “The machines handle air cargo of all shapes and sizes and the narrow isle forklifts and counter balance trucks are fitted with barcode scanners and data terminals to enable us to track and trace cargo easily and efficiently.”

The equipment has proven its worth to WFS in terms of dependability and reliability. “As far as we’re concerned they’re business critical,” says Coleman.

The Crown machines are equipped with state of the art technology and, according to Coleman, have proved to be totally reliable. “Our central requirement from equipment of this nature is the minimisation of downtime,” says Coleman. “So, not only is machine reliability essential, but also the back up service one gets from the supplier, which has been second to none’

The cargo terminal, which WFS won the five-year contract to operate in August 2009, is located to the north of the passenger terminal, and is in the approximate centre of the airport precinct. It is some 15 000 m2 in size with an initial capacity for 150 000 tons of cargo per annum.

The cargo terminal forms one component of the Dube TradePort's Trade Zone Precinct, which is also home to trade and logistics warehousing as well as cargo and light industry activities that need quick access to air cargo services.

The range of Crown machines delivered to WFS include: Crown Man-Up Turret trucks, 3 and 4 wheel counterbalance forklifts, pedestrian stackers, powered pallet trucks and 5 ton Electric forklifts. All trucks are battery operated.

“Crown units are robust and reliable. Not only do they offer excellent ergonomics resulting in operator comfort and productivity, but they also have a proven track record in the industry for extreme durability and lowest total cost of ownership over the long run. Any Narrow Aisle operation is extremely dependent on equipment uptime. In this regard, we pride ourselves on being able to provide unrivalled performance, in our industry,” says GLTC’s national sales manager Patrick Barber, who put the deal together.

Micheal Keats GLTC Durban branch manager says that it is truly a feather in Goscor’s cap to have won this contract. “It demonstrates our ability to compete against leading international players in our industry and successfully supply and service a company like WFS, which is one of the world’s leading users of materials handling equipment,” he said.

Goscor Lift Truck Company is the sole distributor in South Africa of leading materials handling brands Crown, Doosan and Bendi.

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