Handling long, awkward loads with ease

Modern Materials Handling - October 2, 2006

Large industrial steel distributors have materials handling demands that are quite different from companies that handle palletized loads. Macsteel USA's Fontana, Calif., service center, which provides structural steel to the American southwest and northern Mexico, is no exception.

The 108,000-square-foot facility stocks wide flange beam, structural tubing, angle, channel, flat bar and plate steel for next-day delivery. While it would be easier to handle such long, heavy loads in wide aisles, that wasn't an option. In fact, Macsteel wanted to increase its storage density by going to a narrow-aisle configuration. That required a special type of lift truck.

The company selected a sideloader with the ability to drive forward, backward and sideways. It can operate in aisles as narrow as 80 inches, and is specifically designed to handle bulk steel.

That move immediately paid big dividends to Macsteel. It found the new truck handles steel and loads delivery trucks more efficiently than conventional lift trucks. Just as important, the change requires far less space—giving the company the flexibility to rearrange its storage layout for maximum efficiency.

"In a 120-foot bay, we were able to put 15 stacks of tubing with mixed sizes and lengths because we needed at least a 25-foot turnaround in aisle space between everything for the forklift," says Mike Starrine, manager of plant operations at Fontana. "Since we got the new lift truck, we've turned those 15 stacks into 60 stacks, and individually separated products and that makes everything much easier. It is much quicker to retrieve material and put material away. There is far less damage."

With training, Macsteel's operators quickly became comfortable with the increased maneuverability of a truck that could not only move forward and backward, but also side to side.

"Then they extend the mast out, lift the product up, bring the mast back, rest the product down on the platform and then drive off sideways," says Starrine.