Chiltern Cold Storage relies on UniCarriers fleet

Chiltern Cold Storage Group’s day-to-day challenges include working between -22 and -24 degrees Celsius. The demands placed on the industrial trucks used are correspondingly high: despite the cold, the fleet must be reliable and always available for the daily handling of around 1,200 pallets. 

To achieve this, the logistics company relies on its long-standing partner UniCarriers, which has provided 22 vehicles. But the cooperation goes much deeper: UniCarriers provides the Chiltern with comprehensive advice for new orders and the implementation of major projects.

Some goods arrive at Chiltern Cold Storage already palletised in ship containers, others are palletised by the company itself, others are picked individually in the warehouse. A fleet of 22 UniCarriers vehicles are utilised for purpose: pallet picking and exchange as well as storage and retrieval via reach trucks. The logistics company uses PMR pallet trucks to load and unload trucks and transfer pallets to other storage areas and counterbalance trucks for container transfer and various yard work. Chiltern Cold Storage also uses the high-level order pickers from UniCarriers, primarily for inventory control. For around 20 years now, the company has relied on vehicles from UniCarriers and its predecessor Atlet.

“What convinced us above all was the high level of reliability. With the UniCarriers vehicles, we have minimal maintenance requirements and a great uptime. They are an irreplaceable piece of equipment in our warehouses," says MD John Davidson.

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Previously, UniCarriers replaced two reach trucks with two new ones, after a five-year contract expired. In addition to such five-year packages, with which Chiltern Cold Storage covers the basic needs, the company also uses the option of short term hire with UniCarriers. In this way, the logistics company is bracing itself for challenging peak times, such as those occurring during the summer air travel season and the Christmas season.

Partner approach

Storage capacity or system requirements may change, throughput or storage density may increase, and peak times may shift. In such a case, UniCarriers analyses the initial situation and ultimately proposes a well thought-out overall solution: John Davidson explains this with a joint project from 2012, when the temperature-controlled logistics company built a new warehouse and involved UniCarriers as a consultant from the outset. Using the Logistics Analyser, UniCarriers looked at the profile of the planned warehouse: the available space, the type of goods and throughput, the number of employees and their expected tasks in the warehouse. The company presented Chiltern Cold Storage with suitable racking designs including advantages and disadvantages. On this basis, the temperature-controlled logistics company opted for a warehouse with double-deep storage racks that offers greater flexibility and up to 30 percent more storage density than other systems. UniCarriers then established contact with a suitable racking system manufacturer and supplied the relevant double-deep reach trucks.

If obstacles arise during such a project, UniCarriers finds creative solutions. At the time, the temperature-controlled logistics company needed double-deep trucks with a high capacity and a lift height of 11.2 metres. However, no manufacturer was able to meet the special requirements. But UniCarriers UK contacted the special design department at their European Headquarters in Sweden, who were able to confirm that it could provide its partner with two custom built double-deep reach trucks that could meet the required conditions.

Such solutions are the result of an intensive cooperation. The ideas that emerge do not just go in one direction.

“UniCarriers gives us recommendations for optimising our workflows, but we also pass on our experience as input,” says John.

The subject of a monthly meeting was, for example, the battery performance of the trucks. At sub-zero temperatures, battery performance can deteriorate quickly, increasing the risk of major fluctuations in efficiency. Chiltern Cold Storage uses the Battsman battery replacement system developed by UniCarriers for this purpose. It docks its electromagnetic device to the empty battery of a truck, removes it and replaces it with a new one. This minimises moisture build-up. The multifunctional Battsman reduces manual handling to a minimum and enables fast, safe and ergonomic automatic replacement of even heavy batteries. A light system indicates to the operator which battery needs to be replaced next. If the wrong battery is docked, the monitoring system warns. 

“The Battsman offers a simple, low-cost approach. The result is a very high availability of our truck fleet – around 99% – which we in turn pass on to our own customers,” says John.

The vehicles are equipped with various other adaptations: special hydraulic oils ensure reliable operation, and a heating element ensures the required operating temperature. The newer models in particular offer the driver a whole range of options for adjusting the truck individually. This is not least beneficial to productivity: thanks to ergonomically designed vehicles, drivers at Chiltern Cold Storage handle 30 to 35 pallets per hour – exceeding their own targets. 

Further systems round off the safety of the vehicle fleet: For example, the S3 stability system prevents cornering too fast, warns of driving with the mast extended and increases the overall stability of the vehicle and control over it. Cameras assist the driver in controlling storage and retrieval, which significantly increases comfort and safety, especially in a double-deep warehouse – even in icy temperatures.