Exhibition enquiry leads UK forklift attachment company to deliver solutions to Middle Eastern business

B&B Attachments is the partner of choice for the UK forklift truck industry. The company exhibited their products at the Industrial Materials Handling Exhibition (IMHX) 2013 in March of this year. Whilst there, one of their on-stand visitors was Sea Sands Shipping, a Dubai-based company, running a private container terminal in Dubai, who needed assistance in the handling of drums as a core part of their business. After this initial meeting, B&B have now provided the exact products to suit, and maximise, their customer’s requirements by delivering the product to site within just one month of the exhibition.

Managing Director of B&B, Mike Barton has 47 years of experience in the forklift truck industry, and also manages the export side of the business. He tells us more about Sea Sands Shipping, and the specific details of their request:

"When Managing Director of Sea Sands Shipping Osamah Meshir approached me at IMHX, he had a very clear idea of what his company needed. They deal in the loading and transportation of drums of all sizes, by receiving drums onto pallets, loading them into single containers, and also moving drums from one container to another as a part of their operation carried out in their container terminal in Dubai. After my discussions with Osamah, it was clear that they required mechanical drum handling equipment to allow them to complete their work more efficiently."

IMHX, which takes place in the National Exhibition Centre in Birmingham every three years, is attended by 20,000 logistics professionals. At the show, over 400 companies exhibit innovative products and services over the four day event. The scale of the exhibition unites materials handling businesses from across the globe, allowing materials handling issues like Sea Sands Shipping’s to be solved.

Mike continues:
"After some discussion with Sea Sands Shipping, both during the exhibition and in the weeks that followed, we agreed that products from Grab-o-Matic would be the best choice for them. Grab-o-Matic specialise in all types of drum handling equipment, and B&B has worked extensively with them over the years. They allow for single, double and four drum handling, depending on the work required. Their products are also flexible enough to be used on drums of different heights, and easy to retain on forks with a simple screw clip. They also have an automatic quick release system as an option, if preferred."

The result was Sea Sands Shipping’s purchase of two double drum handlers and four single drum handlers from B&B. Prior to this, all of the company’s drum work was palletized, so the attachment has allowed them to de-palletize their work. This has made their processes more efficient, whilst saving the company the costs of the pallets.

Mike concludes:
"This story is a testament to IMHX and the opportunities it brings, both for the customers and the exhibiting companies, as all parts of the supply chain are together in one room. I’m very pleased to have worked with Sea Sands Shipping, and to have provided them with an attachment that suits their business, and enhances it even further. With the Grab-o-Matic, they got the best quality product on the market, which is perfectly-suited to a long-term investment."

B&B is a nationally and internationally-operating forklift truck attachment company. Specialising in the sale of attachments for over 30 years, they distribute the products of leading worldwide manufacturers. Alongside this, B&B has a growing Hire Department, which offers long and short-term rental contracts to suit all requirements. They also design some of their own products in-house, to tackle customers’ more unique handling issues.