Materials handling supplier, Barloworld Handling, has generously supplied a forklift truck to help international development and relief charity, Samaritans Purse, with its Operation Christmas Child campaign in Wrexham.

Last year, through Operation Christmas Child, over 1.2 million shoeboxes packed full of gifts and goodies were wrapped, packed and sent to children in disadvantaged situations across the world. The shoeboxes are donated by the general public at over 1,700 outlets across the UK, which are then collected, checked and sorted at 70 processing centres.

The charity has one of its largest operations in Wrexham where materials handling supplier Barloworld provided a forklift truck from its local short term hire fleet. For the last three years a Hyster H2.0FTS diesel forklift truck has been used for four weeks during the operation's busiest period before Christmas, free of charge.

"Wrexham is where Operation Christmas Child started 19 years ago and the campaign has grown tremendously in that time. This year, we are expecting more than 50,000 shoeboxes to pass through the depot" explains Ian Macleod, Head of Operations and Logistics for Samaritan's Purse, who is also a member of the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport.

"After the shoeboxes arrive, they are checked, placed in cartons and then palletised. It is an impressive logistics operation that relies so heavily on the time given by volunteers and the added generosity of the local Barloworld team in Wrexham" explains Ian.

The Wrexham operation uses the 2,000kg capacity Hyster forklift to help manage the storage and loading of the pallets onto lorries and containers. Over 300 volunteers help process the boxes at the depot which are then exported to children in Africa, Eastern Europe and Central Asia.

For further information about donating to Operation Christmas Child, visit www.operationchristmaschild.org.uk.

Barloworld Handling's hire fleet of around 2,500 forklifts is one of the largest in the UK, offering a wide range of electric and engine counterbalance trucks, warehouse trucks, and heavy capacity forklift trucks to suit most applications nationwide.