Linde Materials Handling supplies new fleet of nine diesel powered forklift trucks to Premier Forest Products, one of the UK's leading independent importers and distributors of timber and panel products.

The nine Linde four tonne plus diesel counterbalance trucks are used at Premier's sites at Alexandra Dock, Newport, South Wales to handle timber, fibreboard and panels. The products, which have been imported from China, Brazil and the rest of Europe by road, rail and sea, are supplied to merchants and manufacturers throughout the UK.

"We need robust, totally reliable and highly efficient forklift trucks for our operation," says Gareth Howells, Operations Manager."Linde Severnside put together a package that had forklift trucks of unrivalled quality, great productivity, low fuel consumption and environmentally low noise levels. They also offer fantastic local service level support."

Premier Forest Products has the advantage of fast and easy access to experienced and dedicated local people at Linde Severnside, as well as to Linde's network of service centres and service engineers - the most comprehensive support system in the UK materials handling industry.

The Linde H40D trucks have front drive axle isolation, making them especially suitable for driving over the varied surfaces across the 200,000 sq ft used by Premier in Newport. Independent tests have repeatedly shown that they are more fuel efficient than any similar truck on the market, giving both cost and environmental advantages.

Also, the Linde hydrostatic drive transmission has no clutch, brakes or gears and, consequently, none of the wear associated with these components. Operating costs - and downtime - are therefore minimised.

Jason Salter, Logistics Coordinator, says: "Linde's reputation within the industry and the exceptional quality of the product with key innovative technology designs, such as hydrostatic transmissions and front axle suspension made it easy for Premier Forest to choose Linde."

Leigh Small, Senior Area Manager Linde Severnside Ltd, says: "We are pleased that Premier recognised that they needed to invest in the most efficient and productive materials handling equipment to handle their growing business. We look forward to a long and happy partnership with them."

About Linde (China)

Linde (China) Forklift Truck Corp., Ltd., the Asian base of Linde Forklift Truck was established in Dec. 1993 with a total investment of RMB 1.7 billion, which is the biggest forklift truck manufacturer in China with advanced technology. Since entering China, Linde has developed a comprehensive network of sales and service providing advanced materials handling equipment and professional service. Linde provides the best solutions to improve material handling efficiency and reduce costs.