To ensure the safe and efficient handling of materials, the UK’s leading manufacturer of offsite, panelised ‘room in roof’ systems Smartroof has invested in four Combilift at its Derbyshire production facility

With the previous 12 months being the busiest in the company’s history, there has been a marked increase in the volume of materials that need to be offloaded and moved around both inside and outside the factory. To increase production efficiencies and to meet the growth in demand for ‘room in roof’ systems, Smartroof has acquired four new multidirectional forklifts from Combilift for its Swadlincote facility.

Handling specialist Forkway provided Smartroof with two Combilift C8000E and two Combilift CBE 3000 models which were supplied with Smartroof’s corporate livery.

Commenting on the additions, Lukasz Semen, Production Director at Smartroof said: “Space utilisation and speed were crucial factors and the Combilifts have been integral to keeping up with fast paced operations and gaining more workspace inside.”

The largest electric model available, the C8000E has enabled the safe handling of 10-12m long x 2.7m deep bundles of roof panels. Fitted with a 5.5m mast, a 6m wide hydraulic spreader beam with 2.5m long forks, the Combilift can reach across the truck bed to lift a complete load in one single procedure. With the previous trucks this necessitated multiple lifts and what used to take 40 minutes is now complete in 15 minutes.

The CBE 3000s have a 3t capacity and will enable the Smartroof operatives to offload lighter products and components, as well as transport materials to the assembly lines. Compact and manoeuvrable, they can move between machinery without hindering the production facility.

“We are in the process of changing the layout of the production area to accommodate the larger models, and without their multidirectional ability we’d have at least 20% less capacity overall. We weren’t expecting them to be quite as big as they are, but when we see them at work we realise why. They do exactly what we need and we’re very happy with the outcome,” added Lukasz.

The investment in these handling solutions will ensure a high level of operational flexibility at the Smartroof facility and will ensure the company will be able to meet the housing sector’s growing demand for offsite ‘room in roof’ solutions.