A fleet of five electric Toyota Traigo forklift trucks has been installed at a new state-of-the-art Clothing Collection Division building for the Salvation Army Trading Company (SATCoL).

A new customer to Toyota Material Handling, SATCoL operates a network of over 220 shops, employing around 800 people and more than 3,500 volunteers in order to raise millions of pounds each year to support The Salvation Army's charitable and community work. In early 2021, SATCoL opened a new 55,000sq ft facility located in Kettering, Northants which is purpose built to manage the reuse and recycling of clothing.

Representing Toyota from initial pitch and for ongoing support is account manager Richenda Forster. Richenda explains the important role the Toyota Traigo trucks perform at this site:

"The main role of the fleet is to transfer large 120 KG bags of textile which have been sorted from the bagging station - two at a time - to the new bag containment area from where the bags are loaded into containers. The trucks are each fitted with dedicated bale clamp attachments which enables the secure and safe handling of the bags. The trucks are powered by lithium ion batteries and provide a more environmentally friendly solution compared to the gas-powered trucks from another supplier that were in operation at SATCoL's previous site.

"As well as delivering improvements from an environmental perspective, the use of lithium-ion batteries enables the trucks to be opportunity charged, much like the charging of a mobile phone. This means the trucks can be charged whenever the truck is not in use, allowing increased ‘up time' when the trucks are required."

Jay Fleming, Business Relocation Project Manager - SATCoL said:

"I worked with the Toyota team previously and was interested in learning more about the enhanced performance of the Toyota Traigo trucks as a good fit with our sustainability ethos. Richenda engaged with us right at the beginning of the project to get an understanding of our requirements. We mapped out the usage of our fleet, including staff breaks and lunches to take into consideration battery charging patterns of the Lithium Ion trucks.  Operationally we have been very impressed with the fleet to date!  I cannot thank Richenda and the wider team for their exceptional knowledge & support from both technical and budget-planning perspectives, I highly recommend them."