Forklifts are categorized as "industrial trucks." But let's face it. The forklifts that work in a nice clean warehouse do not need to be nearly as tough as vehicles that toil in an industrial foundry. Picking up thousands of pounds of aluminum while working in tight spaces around furnaces that reach a blistering 1,300 degrees Fahrenheit requires very rugged forklifts. That's why managers at Madison-Kipp Corporation chose the forklifts with the industry's best warranty, UniCarriers, for their heavy lifting.
Founded in 1898, Madison-Kipp operates three foundries in and around Madison, Wisconsin—including one in the suburb of Sun Prairie. The company produces lightweight aluminum die castings, precision machined components, and system subassemblies for manufacturers of automobiles, motorcycles, lawn and garden equipment, recreational vehicles, and other industrial goods. Its products include transmission housings, oil pan covers, and a variety of engine components.
Eleven UniCarriers trucks work at the Sun Prairie facility. It's a harsh environment for any forklift. It can be hot and dusty, and the factory floor is uneven. The three-shift operation requires forklifts to work continuously. They must be dependable and rugged enough to perform the operation's many lifts of heavy aluminum materials and work-in-process while still providing drivers with comfort that lasts their entire shift.
Madison-Kipp tried several brands of forklifts before choosing UniCarriers as its sole supplier.
"We don't always have a perfect environment for the trucks to be in, but they handle it extremely well," says Scott McNeil, manufacturing support manager at Madison-Kipp. "The normal day-to-day, wear and tear use—these machines just eat it up."
VERSATILE WORKHORSES A range of UniCarriers forklifts perform transporting and lifting tasks at the Sun Prairie facility. Smaller, 3,000-pound-capacity units unload solid aluminum pieces weighing up to 1,800 pounds from inbound supply trucks. Several 7,000-pound UniCarriers Platinum II vehicles load the raw aluminum as well as large bins filled with scrap aluminum left over from processing into the open doors of hot furnaces.
"Because we are trying to keep the furnaces' doors closed as much as possible, [the vehicle] has to be a heavy enough piece of equipment to load that all in one shot," explains McNeil.
The furnaces melt the aluminum into liquid form that is next transferred into large ladles. Nomad forklifts equipped with rotator attachments then pick up the ladles to take them to holding furnaces and casting machines. Upon arrival, the lift trucks hoist the heavy ladles up to the top of large holding furnaces. The loads are rotated so that the ladles can pour the liquid aluminum into top receiving ports for holding until it's fed to the casting process.
The facility also has a machining area. Several 5,000-pound-capacity forklifts take products to and from the various work cells. And finally, 3,000-pound-capacity vehicles load finished goods onto outbound trucks at the facility's shipping docks.
A TRUSTED PARTNER Madison-Kipp works with its local UniCarriers dealer, Capital Equipment & Handling, to lease its fleet of forklifts, which now number 31 units across the three plants.
"We have a 24-hour-a-day operation here. So, the trucks build up their use time very quickly," notes McNeil. "Working with our representative, Paul Croissant, we've established that three to four years is a fair use of these trucks to be able to say we want to turn around and freshen up our fleet. And it has worked out well for us."
McNeil adds that Capital Equipment & Handling also performs maintenance and repairs on the fleet vehicles. "They do a great job of servicing, and it keeps us in operation," he says. "We've looked at a number of brand names. For different reasons, whether it is cost or efficiency of operation of the equipment, UniCarriers has become our choice. They are just very solid pieces of equipment for us."
Situated at the crossroads of the Choctaw Nation in Durant, Oklahoma, Big Lots' 1.2 million square foot distribution center serves 235 stores within a network of more than 1,300 stores across 48 states. Big Lots is a large national discount retailer, providing everything from furniture to food, as well as household goods and seasonal décor.
The Durant facility serves stores in parts of 16 states, stretching from the Canadian to Mexican borders. Such a vast area makes it difficult to find reliable transportation. For years, Big Lots utilized multiple carriers, but the complexity as the chain grew resulted in products not being delivered to stores on time. This complicated retail operations, as products often were not available to sell in a timely manner.
"We have a long average distance to our stores, which made it very difficult to hit the appointment times consistently that our stores expect," explains Kory Shinlever, director of domestic transportation at Big Lots. "We also had issues with DC productivity we needed to solve because we had a lot of transportation partners supporting that store delivery. It made our trailer pool very complex."
Big Lots needed a partner who could replace that complex mix of transportation providers with one dedicated fleet. They found that partner in Ruan.
"The services we provide Big Lots out of the Durant facility are dedicated contract transportation, yard services, as well as brokerage services during times of surge or other nuances that they have within their network to support," says Jeremy Carmichael, vice president of operations at Ruan. "Our partnership with Big Lots is one of a similar culture. Being people-first and people-oriented, we believe in enduring partnerships. We believe that shared culture fosters a long-term relationship."
Big Lots has improved service dramatically since moving its store deliveries to Ruan. Trailers are always available at the Durant DC, something that was a problem before and slowed down distribution operations.
"It's a great partnership from senior management down to the local management here," says Edwin Boothe, Big Lots' director of distribution at the Durant DC. "Drivers are courteous, professional, and they do a good job with the store personnel. On-time percentage has been great. Service levels have improved since we've been with Ruan."
"The working relationship is amazing," adds Holly Valcik, Ruan's dedicated transportation manager who works onsite in Durant. "The team here at Big Lots has been amazing and very supportive. Anytime I have any questions or needs, they are there to support me."
"Our stores from the Durant distribution center now are serviced at the highest level they ever have been at this point," notes Shinlever. "That makes a huge difference to the stores because they're able to improve their productivity. The stores don't have associates waiting for the truck. And because of that, they're more efficient at the unload. They've improved not only their productivity, but they decreased their total detention costs."
He adds that productivity at the Durant DC has also improved since Ruan right sized the trailer pool with units now always available at the 40 outbound doors. Warehouse associates can finish their picking and not have products stacking up at the docks, as trailers can be loaded on time.
Shinlever says that with Ruan, they found a long-term partner. "We wanted a partner who would be able to solve solutions at scale, who could grow with us and also matched our own company culture - one of being able to succeed together and playing to win," he shares.
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