CK upgrades fleet with ‘second life’ Toyota trucks

CK Food Stores – the largest independent food retailer in South West Wales – has upgraded the material handling equipment at its Llanelli warehouse and distribution centre with the acquisition of a fleet of refurbished powered pallet trucks from the extensive range of Approved Used forklifts available from Toyota Material Handling UK.

CK Food Stores opted to invest in refurbished equipment after carrying out an extensive review of its intralogistics processes and materials handling needs ahead of the approaching summer peak.

With used trucks generally selling for around two-thirds of the price of new equipment, the financial flexibility that used trucks offer was a significant influence on the company’s decision to choose pre-owned machines. But the fact that the trucks were available for immediate delivery was also an important factor.

CK Food Stores’ operations manager, Alun Littlejohns, commented: “With one of our busiest periods of the year approaching we needed to have a reliable truck fleet in place that would minimise unplanned downtime and allow us to meet our logistics challenges at this particularly hectic time.”

Toyota’s Stuart Reilly,  Rental & Used Equipment Director, added: “For many companies used forklifts represent an attractive and economical alternative to new equipment. And, because Toyota refurbishes trucks to such a high standard, our used trucks give many years of efficient and productive service.

“Buying or renting used trucks should never be overlooked. As the example of CK Food Stores demonstrates, acquiring pre-owned trucks can be highly beneficial to many businesses”.

Toyota supplied a total of 10 used LWE 180 powered pallet trucks to CK Food Stores to replace the company’s existing mixed fleet of pallet trucks and order pickers.

The Toyota LWE 180 is highly suited to medium- or heavy-duty transport or order picking tasks. Popular with operators due to its exceptional stability and clear and safe view of the forks, the LWE180 is easy to manoeuvre thanks to its ergonomic steering arm, which allows the truck to be driven while the tiller is in an upright position.

Toyota will provide full service and maintenance support to minimise the fleet’s running costs and ensure optimum truck uptime at the Llanelli site where some 6,000 picks are undertaken each day to keep the shelves of the CK Food Service’s 28 retail outlets stocked.

All Toyota Used Approved lift trucks are refurbished to the highest standards at Toyota’s dedicated 200,000 sq ft fleet management centre in Leicestershire. Toyota knows the full-service history of each truck and every machine is completely dismantled. Worn or defective parts – including tyres and lift chains – are replaced and the trucks are cleaned inside and out and repainted before being reassembled and safety tested.