DESIRED VEHICLE FOR WHITE GOODS

ON THE BASIS OF VALUATION AND EXPERIENCE, HUBTEX IS A PREFERRED SUPPLIER OF MULTI-TRANSPORT VEHICLES AT V-ZUG AG

Co-determination is something completely natural in Switzerland. This does not only apply to referendums on community, canton or federal level, but sometimes also for interviews in the workplace. The best example is V-ZUG AG, which specializes in high-quality kitchen and washroom appliances. When the purchase of a new multi-directional sideloader was planned, the affected employees in the raw materials warehouse were included in the decision.
Together with the economic and technical aspects, the statements of the drivers were included in a detailed utility analysis. The criteria included driving comfort, ergonomics, clarity, warranty and service. The forkliftsof three different manufacturers were examined and their vehicles were tested under everyday conditions.

Clear vote
"In the end, there was a clear vote for HUBTEX," says Milos Krstic, who is responsible for the raw materials and semi-finished goods warehouse at V-ZUG. The employees especially liked the user friendliness of the cab, the compact dimensions and the associated maneuverability of the device. "With the joystick, the truck can be maneuvered precisely and the air-sprung comfort seat ensures fatigue-free working," adds team leader Ivo Horat.
Shortly after the vote, a new HUBTEX MQ40 with transverse passenger cabin and a carrying capacity of 4 t was purchased. The equipment features include an adjustable long-goods fork carriage, which can accommodate up to six meters long steel profiles and sheets with a width between 450 and 2,500 millimeters. A front-mounted video camera and a flat screen mounted in the cabin provide a safe overview.

Modified as desired
The contract and service partner is Rohrer-Marti AG, which acts as general importer for HUBTEX in Switzerland. Based in Zollikofen and Echallens, the company not only supplied the MQ40, but also modified it to meet customer requirements. "The angle of the brake and accelerator pedal was initially too steep for us, which was easily changed by Rohrer-Marti to our expectations," recalls Bruno Zürcher, who is employed in the raw materials warehouse as a logistics specialist and frequently serves the MQ40.
The main application site of the multi-directional forklift is the sheet metal warehouse equipped with mobile shelves. In this environment, the MQ40 also requires no guide rollers and is freely movable. Its main task is to transport steel profiles and blank sheets from the warehouse to the punching machine or press shop. This ensures that there is always enough material near the machine. "We ensure that the three-shift production does not run out of work," says Bruno Zürcher in a nutshell. Sometimes the vehicle also supports the counterbalanced trucks when unloading trucks, which drive through the raw material warehouse of V-ZUG about 200 times a month. In any case, the MQ40 does not operate for more than four hours a day, so the battery with a nominal charge of 930 amp hours only needs to be "refueled" every two to three days.

Preferred supplier
"All in all, with the MQ40 and the service from Rohrer-Marti, we had only the best experience, so that HUBTEX was also our preferred supplier for the next investment," explains warehouse manager Milos Krstic. About two years after buying the MQ40, the coil warehouse also needed a new multi-way sideloader, which until now had come from another manufacturer. The MQ50, with a load capacity of 5 t, proved to be the best choice for heavy strip steel rolls.
Given the specified aisle width of 1,850 millimeters, the forklift delivered in April 2017 has guide rollers. Ultrasonic sensors detect as soon as the device is in one of the four equipped with cantilever racks. Then the MQ50 automatically sets all wheels to longitudinal travel and a manual change of direction is no longer possible. Like its "little brother" from the sheet metal warehouse, the second HUBTEX also has a transverse passenger cabin with a comfort seat and joystick control. In single-shift operation, the MQ50 supplies the 24/7 press shop with strip steel. However, the vehicle is not moved for more than three hours a day, so that the battery could be dimensioned to be 775 ampere hours smaller than the MQ40. "If the worst comes to the worst, the MQ50 is sometimes used in sheet metal storage," reports team leader Ivo Horat. However, the reverse use of the MQ40 in the coil bearing is not possible due to the lower load capacity and the missing guide rollers.

In two hours on site
For this reason alone, V-ZUG expects top reliability from both forklifts. "If the MQ50 were to fail due to a technical defect, our production would come to a halt within a few hours," says Milos Krstic. Therefore one is glad, with Rohrer Marti a very flexible and fast.