Repeat Business for One Supplier Whilst Another Clocks Up 35 Years of Cooperation

UK – Materials handling news this week includes a major milestone for a well known Scottish plant hire group whilst, south of the border, a major pallet supplier has opted to stay with its current fork truck provider for another five years. Kettering headquartered Fox Pallets has been established for over 50 years and, in that time, has expanded operations from wooden pallet supply to encompass different fields, dealing in pallets of all types and materials as well venturing into waste management.

With the existing contract running out on the fork lift trucks supplied by Jungheinrich, Fox has signed up for three DFG 316 models, these diesel engined trucks have a 1.6 tonne capacity and a lift height from its standard mast of 2900 to 7500 mm. The trucks are on a 5-year contract hire deal, the third such 5-year contract renewal, which is an endorsement of the quality and reliability of Jungheinrich’s trucks and service.

Hardly surprising then that Fox’s 2.5-acre site at Kettering has a busy yard. The company operates a pallet collection service for orders from 50 to 50,000 pallets and holds stock of up to 30,000 pallets. With the company operating a same day / next day free delivery service, there are plenty of loading and unloading movements for its fleet of four forklift trucks. The Jungheinrich trucks are used for loading and unloading lorries in the yard, 7am to 5pm, six days a week, and need to be unloaded / loaded quickly. Arthur Fox commented:

“We have operated two trucks from Jungheinrich on a year contract over the last ten years and have an extra truck under the latest contract. We also operate a truck from another manufacturer but, in contrast, it has been nothing but trouble. We never have any breakdowns, if we do need a part, somebody from Jungheinrich arrives within a couple of hours. The manufacturer of our other truck took 5 days to replace a battery.

“I could get a cheaper truck from another supplier but you get what you pay for and for our experienced drivers, who have worked here for 15-20 years, the Jungheinrich truck is the firm favourite, they dislike driving any other lift truck. The fact that we have continued our relationship with Jungheinrich for so long is because the trucks are so reliable. Over the course of this partnership we have had around a dozen trucks from other suppliers but they remain onsite for no longer than a couple of days. Our drivers will try them out but they soon want to get off and back onto the Jungheinrich trucks. We are more than happy to stay with Jungheinrich due to the quality of its equipment and the service backup.”

Another well established outfit is Glasgow-based Douglas Gillespie Plant, which has reached a milestone in its membership of the Fork Lift Truck Association (FLTA), celebrating 35 years as part of Britain’s materials handling elite. The company, set up in 1968 by Douglas and Margaret Gillespie, is one of the longest-standing members of the FLTA, the UK's independent authority on fork lift trucks and Europe's leading body of its kind. Managing Director Douglas recalls that achieving FLTA membership was crucial to its successful growth. He said:

“As an independent fork lift truck dealer we would have struggled to compete with the large suppliers if not for the extra status that FLTA membership brought us. We have found that larger customers, in particular, like to see the FLTA name behind companies with which they do business. The secret of our success is understanding our customers’ businesses and being able to respond quickly to their needs. We are fortunate to have a great team that care passionately about supporting our customers operations.”

Douglas Gillespie Plant is well known within the FLTA, which conferred its greatest honour –the rarely bestowed Lifetime Achievement Award, on Douglas Gillespie himself in 2009. More recently, in 2013, his company won the FLTA’s inaugural Customer Focus Award, recognising the team that has best demonstrated a commitment to service.

Rapid expansion throughout Scotland in the 1970s, and beyond, established Douglas Gillespie Plant as a leading independent fork lift truck specialist. In the last few years its core counterbalance and warehouse business has been extended to include such specialisms as higher-capacity models, side-loaders, multi-directional trucks and flameproof conversions.

With many of Scotland’s leading manufacturing and distribution companies as long-standing customers, this is testament to the company’s reputation and quality of customer service. To qualify as an FLTA member, an impeccable reputation and faultless financial security are essential. Members must also sign up to a stringent code of practice covering business conduct, customer service and safety.