The successful use of Stertil Koni wireless mobile column lifts has prompted Warrens Warehousing & Distribution (Midlands) Limited to purchase another set to support workshop operations at its premises in Rugby.
Established in 1960, Warrens remains a family run business with its head office in London and a network of sites throughout the UK. The company’s main hub is located on the Swift Valley Industrial Estate in Rugby complemented by sites in Bolton, Sheffield, Seaham, Cardiff and Cannock. As the preferred primary haulier for the distribution of bread and cake products for Tesco and Sainsbury, Warrens also delivers to Morrison’s, Waitrose and ASDA plus a significant number of ad hoc destinations. The company continues to invest heavily in both infrastructure and systems evidenced by over 200,000ft2 of purpose built warehousing and a dedicated workforce of 360 employees to ensure reliable operations throughout 364 days a year.
Warrens has steadily expanded from its original modest fleet of 15 lorries and the Rugby hub now operates over 140 Scania tractors and more than 230 tri-axle trailers. To ensure top performance and availability from this growing number of vehicles, the company recently decided to augment the hub’s set of Stertil Koni wireless mobile column lifts by purchasing another set, type ST1075FWA.
Each of the four columns in the set provides a lifting capacity of 7.5 tonnes which means that the combined capacity of the set is an impressive 30 tonnes. Also, each column incorporates Stertil Koni’s revolutionary ebright Smart Control System which allows workshop staff to operate the columns individually, in pairs or in any other configuration from any column in the set. Positioning of the wireless columns is flexible, enabling them to be used in any configuration around a vehicle.
Incorporating wireless mesh network connectivity and full-colour touch screen consoles, the ebright Smart Control System has been designed and developed to simplify operation by providing maximum visual information about every lifting operation - all at the fingertips of the workshop engineers. For added safety and performance, the ebright Smart Control System also shows how many columns in the set are being used plus the battery status of each column.
Long-life deep cycle batteries power the lifts for at least a week on average before recharging is necessary. Also, battery life is prolonged due to the fact that, unlike a screw-lift, power is only used to raise the vehicle therefore less time is spent recharging the lift which is carried out via a 230v single phase supply. With no cables on the workshop floor, the risk of tripping is removed, providing valuable health and safety benefits and, with no wired power supply, the system can be used safely inside or outdoors.
The absence of power and communication cables also means that set-up time is greatly reduced thereby making the system fully operational much more quickly. Significantly, the lift’s unique synchronisation system ensures a smooth lifting and lowering cycle, even in the event of extremely uneven load distribution. The ST1075FWA provides a maximum lifting height of 1.85 metres which is reached in just 75 seconds thereby making it one of the fastest commercial vehicle lifts available. This is an important feature of the new lifts which are used throughout 12 hours a day, seven days a week to inspect, repair and service as many as 50 vehicles and trailers weekly.
In order to simplify the raising and lowering of the latest tri-axle trailers, the workshop also specified a Stertil Koni A-Frame beam to work in conjunction with the ST1075FWA wireless mobile column lifts. This custom-designed beam safely lifts a heavy duty trailer independently of the tractor and engages with the trailer at the fifth wheel.
“We purchased our first set of Stertil Koni wireless mobile column lifts around two years ago,” says Ian Purkiss, Fleet Manager at Warrens’ Rugby hub. “They’ve performed well and been very reliable. However, the qualities that we’ve appreciated most are their versatility and portability. Space is always at a premium so we can handle an extremely wide range of vehicles and tasks in the most convenient areas within our workshop even at our busiest times.”
For further information, please contact:
Tony Edge
Stertil UK Limited
Tel: 01604 662049
Email: lifts@stertil.co.uk