Onboard and in charge

The BT Levio LWE130 powered pallet truck with onboard charging from Toyota wins favour on the lorries of Noble Foods

In order to complete orders and deliveries Noble Foods lorries travel large distances and team members will both drive and handle the goods.

The application, which involves the manoeuvring of products on board lorries can be intensive and require high levels of manual handling.

The equipment needed for this must protect workers and reduce manual handling as well as being available at each stop throughout the shift. Noble Foods trialled a number of products from different providers before choosing the BT Levio LWE130 powered pallet truck with on-board charging from Toyota for their fleet.

The LWE130 is an entry level powered pallet truck ideal for use on the back of lorries. It's compact size and low weight allows it to be easily transported and stored with limited impact on the usable space on the back of the lorry. With ergonomic steering and BT Castorlink system for optimum stability the BT Levio provides easy horizontal movement in low intensity operations, decreasing manual handling and increasing safety for the driver and load.

On-board charging, an option for the LWE130, was also added to the truck for Noble Foods allowing opportunity charging on the lorry while travelling from destination to destination. The gel battery which is fitted to the LWE130 works in line with the intelligent vehicle charging system to ensure the truck is only charged while the lorry is moving, always giving highest priority to the lorry's battery during charging to guarantee no loss of power to the lorry itself.

Mick Tucker from Noble Foods says: "We are confident the product we have chosen will decrease the risks involved in manual handling for our drivers, helping to increase their productivity, and with smoother operation from the new powered pallet trucks, decrease costs incurred from damaged goods."