When Ronnie Phelps of TBA Inc, Louisville, Kentucky picked up the phone to start the process on his facility expansion, little did he know that by making that call to a fully integrated materials handling supplier, he was about to save his company hundreds of thousands of dollars in warehouse expenses alone. The dramatic increase in productivity and decreased product damage were simply the icing on the cake.
As a leading importer of fine cabinetry, sinks and faucets, TBA was in need of more warehouse space. They had outgrown their current 48,000 square foot facility and had their eye on another 60,000 square feet when Ronnie picked up the phone and called Tim Holland, Cardinal Integrated Systems Territory Manager. As soon as Tim visited Ronnie’s location and saw the 13’ aisle application, he knew he had the productivity solutions for TBA which would lead to significant monetary savings. He immediately called in a partner from his sister company, Cardinal Carryor Inc, who distributes Crown and Clark products and has the finest in narrow aisle equipment.
Brian Wesley, Cardinal Carryor’s Territory Manager, worked with Tim to put together a solution that would take TBA’s current pallet positions of about 1,200 to over 3,000 without adding a single square foot of space. They proposed using a Crown TSP Series Turret Truck that not only could move entire pallets, but allow for stock picking when needed. The Crown TSP Turret Truck would allow TBA to reduce their current 13’ aisle to a 6’ aisle, more than doubling their current capacity. This not only resulted in greatly reduced warehouse costs, but improved productivity and reduced product damage.
“Since the product will not have to be double-handled, we knew product damage would decrease” said Pat Plamp, Cardinal Carryor’s Sales Manager, and the man who worked with Brian and Tim to be sure they had put together the latest technology and best solution for TBA. “With Crown’s experience in very narrow aisle equipment and our engineering staff at Cardinal Integrated, we knew we had a solution that would provide a dramatic bottom-line improvement for TBA” added Plamp. Ronnie liked the concept, but was unsure at first since TBA had always used 4-wheel sit-down traditional LP forklifts in their operation.
“With the addition of batteries, new technologically advanced machines and reduced aisle size we were concerned about the learning curve and what it would mean to our operators,” Ronnie said. But that was no problem for Cardinal. They put together a fast-charge charging system for TBA which would allow for opportunity charging and eliminating the need for additional batteries and changing stations. In addition, Cardinal Carryor’s safety trainer worked with TBA to be sure the operators fully understood the new application, the new equipment, and how to be sure they were familiar with the equipment and the new operation. “They were a great partner to work with and helped us through every part of this transition, and it was great to just be able to call one company for every aspect of this transition,” added Ronnie.
Ronnie has not yet tabulated the entire savings for the first year of the new operation, but he’s sure that it’s well into the hundreds of thousands of dollars. “Not only did it eliminate an entire building’s lease and utilities expenses, it has made us much more productive at the same time,” Ronnie said.
Ronnie Phelps has been working at TBA for over 28 years and finds The Cardinal Carryor Companies have been one of their best partners. “I’m glad we chose them in the end,” Ronnie added in closing. He credits Cardinal for working with all team members at TBA to ensure a smooth transition to a very narrow aisle application and for continuing to be a great partner in keeping the operation rolling efficiently with top-notch service after the sale.
Choosing a truly integrated partner that can make logical suggestions to make your operation much more efficient and productive is the key to improving bottom line materials handling profits. Cardinal Carryor is one of the few truly integrated suppliers in the area that provide equipment and warehouse solutions, with professionals specialized in both areas that are trained to work well together. One call to one source is all it takes. Call us today at 502.363-6641 or visit us on the web at www.cardinalcarryor.com to find out more.
01-08-2010
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