A mobile powered platform from Transdek UK Ltd is enabling a single operative using a powered pallet truck (PPT) to load over 22,000 eggs on to delivery vehicles in just 30 minutes at a production site run by Deans Foods Ltd.
The whole site is on one level, and the company chose the Transdek platform as a safe, fast, cost-effective method of lifting the pallets up to the trailers with the PPT, which is quicker and easier to operate than a manual truck. The vehicles generally carry 26 full pallets.
The equipment has a platform 1750mm long x 2400mm wide, with a load capacity of 2250kg. Guard-rails automatically enclose the operator as the platform rises, and a lead-on ramp and bridging plate provide continuous surfaces between the concrete yard and the trailer. The electro-hydraulic system that raises and lowers the platform is powered by a 2.2kW motor that can run from 24V on-board batteries or on 110V mains electricity.
Because of the uneven ground at Deans' site, Transdek fitted the platform with over-size pneumatic wheels to enable it to be moved easily when required. The front uprights of the lift frame have also been specially widened so that drivers can see the platform clearly when they are reversing into position.