Under roof and compartment with Combilift

Opitz Holzbau is an industrial manufacturer of prefabricated timber components and offers a comprehensive product range of roof trusses, nail plate constructions, wall, roof and ceiling elements as well as special components. From its headquarters in Neuruppin, the market leader delivers throughout Germany and Europe, and also carries out long-distance orders. As far as transportation is concerned, instead of the two-way forklift trucks previously used, multidirectional forklifts from the specialist manufacturer Combilift were considered, which can move even the longest and bulkiest loads across the 85,000 m² site.

Fast instead of laborious: four-way technology

"The four-way technology has a decisive advantage for us," says Managing Director Bodo Mierisch. "With the old forklifts, we had to constantly maneuver to get loads, which can be up to 18 m long, to the desired locations in the hall or yard. Loading and unloading the trucks is also much quicker and easier with the Combilift four-way devices compared to the laborious procedures with relatively poorly maneuverable sideloaders."

Photo: Combilift

Five Combilifts have been gradually acquired over the last ten years. They have load capacities ranging from 4.8 to eight tons. The two largest devices are primarily intended for storing and stacking the long timber packages weighing up to six tons in the twelve-metre-high racking systems. Thanks to the rail-guided narrow aisles, they can quickly reach the work aisles between the racks and can be moved more precisely by the operators. As the aisle widths can be adapted to the depth of the forklift, optimum storage density is ensured in this area. Two 4.8-ton Combilifts are used to load the finished roof trusses onto trucks, and the 5-ton unit is responsible for transport tasks in and around the production area. All forklifts are equipped with hydraulically adjustable forks that can be operated from the cab. "This allows the fork width to be adjusted to the different sizes of loads and is much more convenient than the previous manual system," says Mierisch.

The manufacturer also supplied the warehouse layouts

Other features contribute to smooth operation. LPG drive is more environmentally friendly than diesel, the Combilifts can be refueled on the company premises and are therefore continuously available, even for two to three eight-hour shifts. The flexibility of the triplex masts enables passage through the hall doors as well as access to the highest racks.

Combilift not only specializes in the design and manufacture of forklift trucks, but also offers complete storage and logistics solutions. Opitz Holzbau used this service during the planning phase for Future Factory 1, built in 2007, and received warehouse layouts and drawings from the design engineers to make the best possible use of the storage space in the building. Following the completion of the new, huge Future Factory 2 (the largest of its kind in Germany with 4,500 m² of production space) in spring 2017, further collaboration between Combilift, Jörg Koban from Meynstapler GmbH and Opitz management resulted in a solution for handling the new type of timber panel construction elements.

Intra says: maneuvering is in

Yet another topic that I associate with driving: maneuvering. How nice it would be if my vehicle (I'll tell you the brand another time) had four-way steering like the Combilifts. It would be much easier to pull out, park or maneuver. Or should I drive one of the smart green forklifts to the furniture store instead? Either way, the case study here shows how a plus in technology, combined with experience, can make all the difference.

"If you want the combination of a large tonnage, four-way capability and LPG, I think there's only one supplier to consider, and that's Combilift," says Managing Director Martin Opitz. "And thanks to the manufacturer's growing range, we are not limiting ourselves to Combilift forklifts, but will soon be taking delivery of a Combi-SC straddle carrier with a lifting capacity of 35 tons." The delivery of the Combi-SC specially made for Opitz and a four-way Combi-CB in front stacker design for transporting pallets of small parts will take place later in the year.

www.opitz-holzbau.dewww.combilift.com