SHUMANI Industrial Equipment has supplied close to 50 forklifts to logistics service provider Liquor Runners for a beer producer in South Africa.
The 3.5 t units are capable of handling two pallets at a time for maximum stacking and offloading efficiency.
Shumani clinched the order late last year explains National Sales Manager Mathew Goby. The logistics service provider is also in the process of switching its client’s forklift fleet from lead acid to lithium-ion batteries. This has necessitated driver familiarisation on the new units as they require opportunity charging. All the units are brand new, imported directly from the manufacturer, while Shumani has also secured a service and maintenance contract for the fleet.
Apart from warehousing solutions, Shumani also supplies cleaning equipment such as floor scrubbers, and even generators and compressors. This allows it to supply its customers with end-to-end solutions for all their materials-handling and ancillary requirements. Major brands include Doosan, Crown and Bendi.
Whereas traditionally internal combustion engine units running on either gas or diesel were the preferred option, Goby reveals that two of Shumani’s major beverage clients are now standardising on electric units for the sustainability and efficiency benefits this offers.
“Food and beverage is one of those industries always showing exponential growth, especially as new competitors are constantly entering the market with lower-priced products. This means that the demand for quality materials-handling equipment is critical,” adds Goby.
“If any of our forklifts are not running, it means downtime and lost productivity for our client. It is our main aim to ensure that all of our units are fully operational and optimised at all times.” One of the ways that Shumani ensures such a proactive response to any maintenance or service issues is via remote monitoring, which can red-flag any issues that need attending to, and also provide critical information on both machine performance and driver behaviour.
