Producing banknotes may appear an exotic pastime to the uninitiated but it should come as no surprise to find that, in practice, it demands simply the best in modern manufacturing and product handling practices - errors are costly and the margins understandably tight.
Leading UK security printers Portals of Basingstoke - part of the DelaRue group - are a case in point. Faced with the need to meet modern health and safety legislation in the handling of an ever-increasing volume of mould paper and foil threads (banknote stock and security silver strips to you and I), the company sought to replace traditional manually operated hand pallet trucks with battery powered equivalents.
Robust ROBUR proposals
Project Engineer Lennie Ladd was faced with 'ifs and buts' and vague commitments from a variety of potential truck suppliers approached with the proposal. " No-one, he says, would commit their equipment to high frequency schedules handling palletised loads over inclines which, in places, can be 12% - except that is - Stanley Handling who were robust in their recommendation of a ROBUR K9/TL20 Powered Lift and Drive Pallet Truck."
"We duly purchased the K9 and it has more than proved its capability in transferring goods from store to workstation. The powered drive has made light work of handling loads of up to 850kg, eliminated the strain involved and made the task much safer." The machine, in fact, has a capability to handle pallet loads of up to 2000k so is working well with its operational capability. Its electronic speed control and electromagnetic braking make it easy and safe to handle.
On-site training
Proving trials were carried out on site and operator training and a preventive maintenance programme formed part of the contract.
The machine has both powered lift and drive and was specified with a higher than standard 240AH capacity battery to cope with the gradients. Options within the range include capacities up to 3000kg standard and up to 6000kg special duty, fork widths to 1000mm and lengths to 2000mm, an explosion-proof model and accessories including a reel handler, low profile forks and a hinged driver platform.
Portals supply a range of specialist paper-based products for applications such as UK passports, Microsoft manuals and certificates of authenticity, Marks & Spencer gift vouchers and most of the world's international traveller's cheques.
For more information, please contact :
Mark Stanley at mark@stanleyhandling.co.uk or tel 01582 767711 fax 01582 765994