Delivering trouble free operations
November 1st 2005 Ian Clay attended the recent CeMat exhibition in Germany. Here, amid the giant stands of the German manufacturers, he found that BT Industries also had a great deal to say
Mostly boosted by the boom in the logistics and distribution sector warehouse truck sales are at an all time high and there has never been more demand for materials handling equipment.
It is against this background that BT Industries, part of the Toyota Materials Handling Group introduced some new products and new goals at the recent CeMAT exhibition held in Hanover, Germany.
The introduction of a number of new products by BT emphasises its desire to market and support a full range of products, essentially to be a 'one stop shop' that end users can work with to fulfil their entire materials handling requirements.
However, as Hans van Leeuwen, vice president for marketing BT Europe, said at the exhibition "Our business is not just about trucks. We are today essentially a service organisation, and while we believe customers appreciate the quality of our product's, it is the total service offer that is the key thing." This is why BT has invested heavily in service in recent years with all service engineers now using PDAs linked to a single ERP system. The visibility of assets that this brings is reflected in the fact that when required all spare parts (BT genuine parts at that) are delivered overnight to the service engineer. This asset management information, while invisible to the end user, is reflected in the speed of response of service engineers and in the first time fix rate. BT's stated desire is to deliver 'trouble free operations' to their customers and is a vital part of their business as both long term and short term rental markets continue to grow apace.
New hand pallet truck with weighing scale
The BT LHM200SC is a 2000kg pallet truck complete with high accuracy scale. It is suited to improving accuracy in work cycles that have previously not included load weighing. For example, in manufacturing, processes such as dosing and mixing can be carried out with fewer pallet movements.
The integrated scale has an accuracy of 0.1 % of the applied load. An accurate reading is guaranteed - no matter how the load is placed on the forks - thanks to the use of a load cell at each end of both forks.
Weighing is easy thanks to the large display, that can be read over a wide angle, and the simple keypad. The scale unit meets IP65 and features an integrated printer.The scale's battery will serve for 35 hours of continuous use and when it needs to be recharged, it can simply be removed from the scale housing and recharged in a separate tabletop recharger. Special versions include a stainless steel truck for food/chemical applications and a 'legal for trade' version certified to 01ML Ill, for commercial transactions.
Expanded Minimover range
The new BT Minimover HWE100 can be used as a stacker, pallet truck and order picker. It is derived from BT's Minimover LWE130 electric pallet mover, launched in 2001. The HWE has a single column mast, available in two lift heights (1580 and 2000mm). With its low weight and compact dimensions it is designed for use in confined areas such as retail floors and factories. It has a capacity of 1000kg and is suitable for first level stacking and for low intensity order picking and horizontal pallet transport.
The HWElOO's single column mast allows excellent visibility at all times. Two fork widths and lengths are available as standard. The HWE100 model has fixed support arms with single wheels. A version with straddle support arms is also available (HWE100S). The distance between the support arms on the HWE100S can be adjusted from 900mm to 1300mm. The fork width can also be changed to suit all types of pallet.
The HWElOO's maintenance-free, valve regulated battery can be recharged from an ordinary wall socket. The HWElOO's automatic height adjustment option makes it suitable as a worktable. The forks automatically move to an appropriate working height when a layer of items has been removed or added.
New stacker with single column mast
The BT Ixion SWE080L is a stacker that, thanks to its single column mast and elevating support arms, can also be used as a pallet truck and order picker. A choice of two mast heights increases the SWEOSOL's flexibility. The 600mm mast version is for operation in shops and warehouses. The 1580mm mast version is suitable for pallet stacking. Both versions are also suitable for the handling of smaller pallets carried on larger standard pallets (so called slave pallet handling).
As part of the BT Ixion range, the SWE080L models include BT Powerdrive - an integrated drive and control system.
Simple CAN-Bus wiring connects a central processor, that monitors and controls all performance aspects of the truck to a separately excited motor. Smooth, powerful performance comes from the combination of the separately excited motor and the switchless control system. Acceleration and travel speed is virtually unaffected by load weight. Low energy use and regenerative braking mean that the SWE080L can achieve more work cycles per battery charge.
The company also launched a new compact three wheel, rear wheel drive electric counterbalance truck range (which is covered on page 6 of this magazine), demonstrating again the company's commitment to being a full range supplier and not just a warehouse equipment supplier. These new products, allied to the company's investment in the service side of the business are all geared towards the company's promise of 'trouble free operations' for its customers. However, BT as Hans van Leeuwen explained in Germany, is moving beyond this with the introduction of a new pay-off line across its European operations. "We deliver" is the phrase, and from what was seen in Germany it is not an empty boast. More articles from Toyota Material Handling (UK) Ltd: | 
