At the recent AUSPACK expo, the Irish-owned and manufactured Combilift WR and WR-4 pedestrian reach stackers on stand were “attention grabbing”, according to Chris Littlewood, country manager, Combilift Australia.
This was no surprise, Littlewood told PKN, confirming that the WR models are the most commonly produced pedestrian reach stackers for the Australian market and that the local pedestrian market “is going from strength to strength”.
Littlewood believes that one of the reasons for this is that no forklift licence is required in Australia to operate the pedestrian reach stackers, so their running costs are significantly reduced.
He also says that the stackers are convenient to use, as they can be safely operated by anybody within an organisation – a plus, particularly when there are staff shortages, which has lately become a common problem.
Running through a comparison of the two models, Littlewood pointed out that that the WR 4 is specifically designed for long loads and narrow aisles and can travel in multi-directions, whereas the WR operates in one or two.
“The WR 4 is extensively used within other organisations particularly those dealing with timber or steel or concrete, but also within a more internal warehouse environment, simply because it allows you to operate in a four-way direction,” he explains.
Also on display at the stand was the Combilift CS counterbalance stacker with a lift capacity ranging from 800 kilograms to two tonnes, which Littlewood says provides enormous flexibility and is well suited to a warehouse and packaging environment. All models on display are equipped with Combilift’s patented multi-position tiller arm, which Littlewood says provides optimum safety for the operator and those around them.
He explains that the tiller arm can be turned to the left or right to allow an operator to remain at the side of the stacker, enabling full visibility of the load and forks, while maintaining full steering control.
Littlewood is thrilled that the WR models have been so popular at the show. “Of course, any opportunity where an organisation is going to be able to find efficiencies within their own facilities is going to be of benefit to them,” he adds.
Littlewood believes that AUSPACK provides the ideal arena for visitors to discover more on the Combilift brand. “Our intention is always around market awareness. We are the largest in the world in what we do, and we are focused on what we call mass customisation – 90 per cent of the products that we manufacture are customised to an organisation’s own requirements, and we need more people to know about that,” he says.
