Two new cold store MR reach trucks supported by two MPX power pallet trucks are proving to be a robust, reliable and low-cost materials handling solution in sub-zero temperatures at Chiltern Cold Storage.

Operating in temperatures down to -23°C, a fleet of just four lift trucks is all that is needed to keep the brisk pace of operations going at Chiltern Cold Storage’s 3,300 pallet position cold store in Bourne, Lincolnshire.

The Bourne operation, one of four sites the temperature controlled logistics specialist runs, was established three years ago and houses food products including fish and poultry destined for restaurants, pubs and other food outlets. With a turnover of some 1,500 pallets a week and all the usual challenges of such cold temperatures, it is vital the cold store has a flawless materials handling operation with the most robust equipment and the best backup in the business. 

That requirement has been met with a fleet of two cold store MR14 reach trucks and two cold store MP20X power pallet trucks from Yale Europe Materials Handling, supplied by Chelveston, Northants dealer, JST Forklifts.

Working with pallets typically weighing 800kg and measuring up to 1.8 metres high, the two MR14s work in the Bourne site’s three metre wide aisles, predominantly on full pallet putaway and retrieval operations at heights of up to 6.2 metres.

The two MR reach trucks have a lift capacity of 1.4 tonnes ­- more than enough to accommodate the load weights and lift heights involved at the site - and work full twelve hour shifts (6am to 6pm), five days a week.

The two MPX power pallet trucks are both 2.0 tonne models, which are fitted with enclosed Chariot-style operator platforms and Scooter Control handlebars in place of more common tiller arm control, and are used to support the reach truck operation by carrying out vehicle loading and unloading via the site’s loading docks.