RollerForks Forklift Accessory

RollerForks helps Dutch Cocoa with handling tools

By bringing in the RollerForks, Cacao producer Dutch Cocoa cleverly solved an internal transport problem. The fork with rollers is ideal for the transferring of pallet loads from the hygiene plastic pallets onto the wooden distribution pallets. With a minimum effort, Dutch Cocoa gets a maximum output. HACCP regulations requires expensive plastic pallets   Whatever the ultimate goal of the cacao bean is, at Dutch Cocoa they all pass the red and white departments that are strictly separated for the production process. The red department concerns the logistic supply and transport routes. The white department is the actual production process in which the highest requirements to hygiene in accordance with the strict HACCP standards are applied. After all, we are dealing with foodstuffs. All cacao is put into sacks in the white department. The larger sacks are then palletized in the red department. “For this purpose, we use normal Euro pallets”, says Danny while a steady flow of sacks rolls towards the palletizing robot. “The bottleneck for us was the transport handling of the smaller packing variants, such as the consumer packages. These smaller packing variants are palletized at the white department, but in order to comply with HACCP and ISO we are not allowed to use wooden pallets for this. That is why we put the products on expensive plastic pallets, however we do not want to use them for the external transport. With their price of dozens of euro’s each they are just a bit too expensive.”     RollerForks faster than pallet inverters Of course, Dutch Cocoa could manually transfer and stack all boxes onto the wooden pallets. In view of the labour cost that was not an obvious option and besides, according to the Working Conditions Act this is not very good for our employees. A pallet inverter might bring relief, but it requires more manoeuvres. Danny Rolvink: “In a roundabout way, we tracked the RollerForks down. We saw the short video on internet and were definitely surprised by its simplicity and functionality. After a few reference visits we were sure: we can certainly make chocolate (head and tail) of it.”  In the white department, the smaller packages are placed onto special plastic RF-pallets. The pallets have an extra set of plastic slats on the upper deck and the RollerForks fit perfectly between them. By first laying a cardboard slipsheet on the pallet, the forks later roll effortlessly under the cardboard and in fact, it does not matter what the size of the stacked boxes is.   RollerForks replaces plastic pallets to cheaper new wooden pallets While Rolvink explains the system, a plastic RF-pallet is supplied from the warehouse via the hygiene sluice. Warehouse manager and forklift truck driver Jan van Loon gets his forklift and sticks the RollerForks in the openings under the cardboard slip sheet. The tapered forks are equipped with two rows of rollers that are above one another. Upon contact with the floor of the work space, in this case the deck of the synthetic RF-pallet, the upper rollers turn into the opposite direction of the fork movement. This way, the load is smoothly picked up onto the fork. While Jan lifts the load and releases it from the RF-pallet, the rollers drop and the load rests stably on the fork. Danny Rolvink: “And during the placement onto the wooden pallet, exactly the opposite principle occurs. Look, while withdrawing the fork, the load easily rolls from the fork. Now we can use the RF-pallet again for the next load. The wooden pallet goes into the lorry. Thanks to the RollerForks, the switching has really become a piece of cake.”   For more information, please visit the topic about plastic pallets of the Rollerforks website.

Almost 50% more cheaper with RollerForks international logistic services.

Delcave has purchased RollerForks for unloading their containers fast and easily because of an increasing stream of goods that are being transported in containers. A good choice because it saves the logistic service industrial in wine and spirits a lot of time and also unhealthy handwork is avoided. “ It is simple and perfect, think about it!” Koos Janssen, manager at Delcave from Doesburg enjoys the sight of RollerForks at work. A recently arrived transport ship is almost completely unloaded. The lift truck driver places the “forks with rollers” (RollerForks) under a load of Jacob’s Creek Chardonnay from Australia. As if helped by an invisible hand, the whole stack slides easily on the forks. The driver lifts it up, drives backwards, makes a turn and places the load on a pallet. There are no pallets in the container because this would create an unnecessary loss of volume. For optimal use of space a load is placed on ultra-flat slip-sheets. “ By doing this we create an extra volume of 8 % in every container”, says Janssen. “ To use the correct metaphorical term: more drink for your dollar!” Unloading beverage on slipsheets As a distribution organization for Pernod Ricard Holland, Delcave Services from Doesburg has taken care of the international logistic services since a year. This production- and trade organization imports exclusively for the Dutch market. Pernod imports various famous spirits like Sandeman Sherry from Spain and the sparkling Canei from Italy. Goods do not only come from Europe. Lots of strong liquids come from overseas. Whiskies from Scotland, Ireland and the US, wines from Australia and rum from Central-America. About 10 percent of the goods arrive in carefully loaded containers at the storage doors in Doesburg. “ These containers have to be emptied fast”, continues Koos Janssen while the last stack is rolling inside the storage room. “ If it takes longer than prescribed one even has to pay a surcharge.” Already at the first shipment Janssen and his six employees experienced that manual unloading ship was not a pleasant option. It is a tough job, ergonomically irresponsible and it just takes too much time. Only two men fit in a container, these two men needed at least 4 hours to unload whilst the permitted time is 2 hours. It is faster, more reliable and cheaper. With the device “ it can be done faster and easier” Janssen started looking for a solution. The use of a push-pull system came up as a possibility, but it was soon forgotten when he ran into the RollerForks at the Logistica fair in 2003. “ That system works 25 % faster and is more reliable than a push-pull unit,” says Janssen.” If you have got a bad slip-sheet without a lip you cannot do anything about it. Moreover investing in Rollerforks is 50 % cheaper. This is also an important issue.” After being accustomed to the Rollerforks in the beginning, they have been used successfully for almost a year now. The forks have been mounted on an electric four-wheeler made by Jungheinrich. It can drive inside a containers without any problems because of its height.   Of course it is possible to change the RollerForks quickly, but these stay on the truck constantly. The maximal lift height of the energetic four-wheeler is not sufficient for all girderheights at Delcave. Koos Janssen: “ If we want we can use the truck for standard pallet transport as well. They easily fit in euro’s and block pallets.” It is of great importance that high-quality slip-sheets are used when RollerForks are used. The forks easily fit under anything, but because of the total weight cardboard with bottles could be damaged during transport. Koos Janssen:” Artificial slip-sheets are perfect; we prefer thicker cardboard when using cardboard. Working with RollerForks is in both cases child’s play.” For more information, please visit the topic about slipsheets of Rollerforks websites

Less damages handling of FIBCs or flexible containers

Venlo, the Netherlands – The groundbreaking RollerForks® improves Teijin Kasei Europe’s handling operations. The palletless handling of intermediate flexible containers, or FIBCs, has become the most natural thing in the world.

Plastic slipsheets instead of pallets

The distinctive sound of the RollerForks has become music to the ears of manager Maurice Beurskens. He can now watch as driver Ferenc Beelen unloads two big bags at a time using only a plastic slip-sheet under the load rather than a conventional wooden pallet. Goods are unloaded and handled more efficiently – pallets are now used for internal storage only.

“The first thing I thought when I saw the RollerForks for the first time was: is this it? Compared to our previous push-pull system the RollerForks looked quite simple” says Maurice Beurskens.

 

Push-Pull gives damage and malfunctions
The use of push-pulls was seen as a necessary evil because there was no other option available at the time. “Lift truck drivers had to learn to work with it. Moreover, two trucks were needed; one equipped with a push-pull and one with standard forks for transporting a load to our temporary storage. The second driver often had a long wait while FIBCs were placed on pallets.” Similarly time was lost due to problems with the push-pull. It appeared that the irregular shape of the FIBCs work well with the push-pull equipment. Cylinders broke, steel deformed and repairs had to be carried out regularly. “The unloading of the containers was slowed down and costs increased,” emphasizes Beurskens. “This was not only due to the weekly repairs, but also because drivers accidentally damaged the packing of products during handling operations. In order to prevent all possible product impurities we have to reject damaged FIBCs and recycle them. This is big waste of money taking into account the market value of one kilogram of high-quality polycarbonate.”

 

RollerForks reduces handling times by at least 30%

The system has already been shown to work for a variety of loads. “We have been using RollerForks® for some years now but also other facilities of us are using them now ” ends Maurice Beurskens. “The drivers were able to use them straight away and it is a fast way of handling. We reduced handling times by at least 30%. This matters when you have to unload dozens of containers every week. We are also able to do all the work with just one lift truck. The Rollerforks® can be used as standard forks as well. The sound of the rollers reminds me of the good choice we made.”

Changing to RollerForks® means:

-	30 % reduciton in handling times
-	damage reduction for products, so lower costs
-	less repairs, so lower down time
-	a volume increase of 8% in sea containers because of palletless handling
-	FIBCs are transported without any difficulties

For more information, please visit the page about plastic pallet products of the Rollerforks website.

Loading slipsheeting bagged goods in sea containers

The innovative RollerForks® save space, money and time for Jonker & Schut b.v. The handy forks make it possible to handle a load without using pallets, for loading and unloading. No more clumsy heavy handwork and damage to products, it all belongs to the past!

Arjo Slotboom, logistics manager at Jonker & Schut bv in Barneveld saw the RollerForks® at the Logistica exhibition in Utrecht and became very interested. “The system appealed to me,” he explains. “But I still had some doubts. Would a simple system like the RollerForks® also work for bagged goods which are piled up on pallets?” Jonker & Schut, a powder processor, were at the Logistica fair looking for a solution for loading sea containers. Some of their export is done via 40 containers, between 10 and 15 a week. J&S use special pallets (130cm x 110cm) which do not fit easily into the containers and need to be retained. “ We are able to handle bagged goods in a much more stable way compared with euro pallets (120cm x 80cm) and block pallets (120cm x 100cm), “Arjo Slotboom explains. “Instead of four bags per layer we now use five bags of 25 kg. Ten layers on top of each other create a much better and more solid stack.”

Adjusting Pallets
Jonker & Schut bv saw problems with the push-pull system. They even considered using telescopic loaders to bring bagged goods into the containers. “This investment in multiple machines was too large. We first wanted to try a set of RollerForks®,” says Arjo Slotboom. The first trials with the RollerForks® did not go that well. Placing the forks directly under the bags resulted in damage to the product. Something had to be placed between the forks and the FIBC (flexible intermediate bulk container), but it had to be cheaper than a synthetic slip-sheet. A solution was found in low priced cardboard slip-sheet with a thickness of 5 mm. However, even this change didn’t provide the perfect solution, requiring a second truck to be used in some instances.“ It was a real headache for the manufacturer of the RollerForks®,“ Arjo Slotboom continues. “Luckily they came up with a solution for the problem: the patent RF-Pallet”. A RF-Pallet has got an extra unique profile on top. These extra laths creates an inserting opening of approximately 2cm deep. This increases handling speeds enormously allows the cheaper cardboard slip sheets to be used. In order to save more money, Jonker & Schut equipped their own special pallets with the same type of extra boards on top. “Handling bags has not been a problem since,” Slotboom states. “Placing goods in the container is now a piece of cake.“

 

 

Large Saving
Changing over to RollerForks®had generated large savings for Jonker & Schut. “We have been using Rollerforks®since March this year, after a successful trial.” ends Maurice Beurskens. “The drivers were able to use them straight away and it is a fast way of handling. We reduced handling times by at least 30%. This matters when you have to unload dozens of containers every week. We are also able to do all the work with just one lift truck. The Rollerforks®can be used as standard forks as well. The sound of the rollers reminds me of the good choice we made.”

Arjo Slotboom is also happy with the RollerForks®. A lift truck driver can now complete in 30 minutes what used to take an hour. We also had to employ two people to stack the 20 special pallets with 50 bags weighing 25 kg each. “Partly because of the tough working conditions, it was difficult to hire suitable employees,” Arjo Slotboom concludes. We were not flexible enough to load a container immediately when it was necessary. Now we are able to change from standard forks to a set of indestructible RollerForks®in just two minutes. It truly is a great system.”

For more information, please visit the topic page about equipment loading solutions of the Rollerforks website.

Palletless handling in Coldstore

Cold store Lau van Haren loads their containers in a fast way without any damage with three RollerForks®. Because there is no more expensive manual work and no packaging, the palletless system easily pays back the costs in only half a year.


Costs are an important issue
Preventing extra costs is an important issue within deep-freeze logistics. The conditioned space for storage and transport is expensive and therefore it has to be used optimally. This is the case during storage but also during transport. Especially when it concerns long distance transport as for instance cooled sea containers. “It is because of this that we prefer to work without extra expenses like for instance pallets and slip-sheets,” says managing director Van Haren. “A pallet takes up a lot of extra space and costs, Euro 7,00 minimally. Slip sheet handling uses less space but still costs at least Euro 1,00. Manual handling is also possible, but this will increase labor costs with an amount of 10 to 15 per ton. We do not need that. Especially when we are talking about a lot of containers.”

A single container a week was no problem for Van Haren, it could be done manually. A new client who supplied Van Haren with tons of extra containers a week made them choose for another solution. Seeing that pallets were overturned to remove the airflow spacers, Van Haren came up with a solution for loading and unloading of 40 ft sea containers without the use of pallets. By replacing the standard a pallet with a couple of extra supporting laths it would be possible to place the boxes directly on the forks. An extra third arm in the middle could support a load. Now the only problem was how to remove the boxes from the forks.

 

No extra lift truck with RollerForks

Wieck van Haren :” We hoped that we were able to pull the forks from under the load. This did not work so we considered renting a pull and push system to push a load off the forks. It was then that we read about the RollerForks® in a professional journal. It was the answer to our question.” The apparent simple RollerForks® system convinced Van Haren immediately. Van Haren ordered three units. “The costs did not matter,” explains Wieck van Haren. “A push-pull is more expensive and needs an extra lift truck because you cannot change the system to standard pallet handling. RollerForks® do not have that problem. In actual practice it appears that RollerForks® give credit to their name. After having turned a load and having removed the airflow spacers a load is placed on one of the hundred special pallets that Van Haren had made. Four extra laths offer an extra inserting opening for the three RollerForks®. After having placed a load on a special pallet it is temporarily stored in the freezer. As soon as Van Haren is going to load a container a load on a special pallet is first brought to the forwarding department. Here the RollerForks® pick up the boxes and transport them into the container. “Then it is only a matter of retracting the forks,” says Van Haren. “ It just rolls!” If necessary the lift truck drivers can also pick up a load directly from the stationary pallet inverter device when a load has been turned over. The base of the tipping device is also equipped with extra laths so that the RollerForks® also fit. Partly because of this direct possibility and the high handling speed of containers the amount of a hundred special pallets is more than enough.

 

Earning back the costs in a fast way

The total investment did not cross the limit according Van Haren. The hundred special pallets, the profile in the tipping device and purchasing the RollerForks® have cost approximately Euro 10.000. This amount of money is earned back in half a year given the saving of time, labor costs and forwarding costs. “ The costs caused by damage are not even included,” concludes Wieck van Haren. “ A lot of companies that work with push-pull systems have got this problem. All things considered, the RollerForks® are safer and easier to use. RollerForks® are robust and do not need any maintenance. Not even when it is as cold as it is in here.”

For more information, please visit the topic page about equipment unloading solutions of the Rollerforks website.