A Scots-based family business is celebrating after winning a £1million contract with water company Highland Spring.

Northern Forklift, which is based in Glasgow and has clients all over Scotland, was awarded the contract for the supply of a fleet of 30 bespoke STILL forklift trucks following a highly competitive tender process. As the exclusive Scottish Distributor for STILL, Northern Forklift were able to offer the latest technology in the trucks with a unique gas powered hybrid drive system.

The trucks are mainly gas powered however also include some electric warehouse forklifts which in total will be used to manage up to one and a half million litres of bottled water each day.

Andy Sirel, managing director of Northern Forklift, said:

"This is a really important win for Northern Forklift as it secures our position as one of the leading providers of forklifts in Scotland and Northern Ireland. More importantly it demonstrates our commitment to the environment with the supply of hybrid technology, offering substantial fuel savings and reduced carbon footprint which all goes towards improving green credentials for Highland Spring."

Highland Spring offers natural mineral water from the Ochil Hills of Scotland.

Daniel Muir, Customer Supply and Logistics Manager at Highland Spring, said:

"At Highland Spring we are constantly looking for ways to reduce our carbon footprint and Northern Forklift's trucks met our high standards. The bottled water industry has come under fire for not being green but we always strive to do the best for the environment. Our water source is in the Ochil Hills, where the land has been kept free from pesticides and pollution for over 20 years, enabling us to become the first British brand of natural mineral water to achieve organic status for our catchment area. We rely on this water being pure and of high quality so it is only right that we nurture the environment."

He added: "Our warehouse can hold 12,000 pallets of water and up to 2,000 are shipped each day. The plant is very busy so the reliability of trucks was essential. Other factors we looked at were strong customer service, driver acceptance and health and safety - luckily Northern Forklift ticked all the boxes with the STILL product and their after sales support."

As part of the contract Northern Forklift will provide innovative Fleet Manager technology, offering a full recording system that helps improve Health & Safety and further reduces costs.

Sirel explains: "Fleet Manager is quite a new concept for our industry and was developed by STILL to enable large organisations to monitor and control activity of the machinery. The key card system controls which drivers can use each truck and programs the equipment with personal driving preferences. It also records details of accidents should they occur and overall offers a comprehensive record of forklift utilisation, which for a large organisation such as Highland Spring, is essential."

Northern Forklift is Scotland's premier supplier of forklift trucks. The company was launched 11 years ago and has a turnover of in excess of £3million per annum.