Our friends at Moffett, the truck mounted forklift people have launched their facebook page. So for all you forklift afficionados on “the facebook”, why not log on and give them a ‘like’. Whether you “poke” them or not is up to you and really none of our business! You can find them at www.facebook.com/MoffettTMF. We’ll be on there ourselves soon!

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What lessons from the horse meat scandal can be applied to the supply of forklifts in Scotland?

There has been so much media coverage of the failings of the food supply chain in the UK that we are reluctant to even mention the subject. However, there is a lesson to be learned. It is surprising that the horse meat was allowed to get into the food chain without some form of checks taking place. We find it extraordinary that major retailers and food suppliers have allowed themselves to be caught out in this manner. Was it a case of negligence or turning a blind eye in the constant strive for ‘cheap’ produce, with no consideration for consequences?

You are probably wondering what this has to do with the sale or hire of forklifts in Scotland?

EVERY forklift supplier in Scotland, be it in Glasgow, Edinburgh or John O’Groats, has a responsibility to ensure the fork truck and the parts they supply are of approved quality. Just imagine the consequences of someone fitting a brass bolt instead of high tensile strength steel and the catastrophic consequences this could cause.

This is why we at Access Mechanical Handling are approved by an independent standards authority ( i.e. ISO approved ). This ensures that all suppliers to Access Mechanical Handling meet strict industry guidelines. These suppliers MUST be approved before ANY of their products are used on any forklift, or any other form of material handling equipment. If there is any question about quality this can be IMMEDIATELY traced and investigated. If the forklift truck industry can do this, with all the various small parts and their suppliers, why couldn’t the food suppliers?

The other point about the meat scandal is that price became the king and all interest in quality was thrown to the wayside. The clear lesson here is that if you buy cheap then there are bound to be future costs and you’d better be prepared to pay for any shortcomings. What cost now to the major retailers? If they had ensured the quality of the product they were selling, they would not now be facing the financial price of recalling all the food from the shelves or the potentially more expensive damage of loss of customer trust and loyalty.

In conclusion we feel the lesson from this saga which can be applied equally to food manufacturers, retailers and buyers of forklift trucks is clear :

Look beyond price : really study what the complete offer is… methods of support, expertise and product knowledge.

Consider the VALUE of the offer.

Ensure your supplier has some form of independent audit of the products they supply, ideally with an ISO certificate. Are they members of the fork truck industry’s professional body? Check with the FLTA that what they say is genuine. This way you can know that you are buying with confidence and minimise future expenses.

At Access Mechanical Handling Ltd, we are full members of the Fork Lift Truck Association and are fully certified to BS-EN-ISO 9001:2008 Standard.

If you’d like to find out more about how Access Mechanical Handling can help you in your forklift needs throughout Greater Glasgow, Edinburgh, Ayrshire and all over Scotland, drop us an email or give us a call o 01698 745859. We’re happy to help.

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Severe Weather Warning!!!!!!!!!!!!!     DON’T GET FROZEN OUT OF BUSINESS!   Be prepared with our Forklift-mounted Snow Ploughs  and Towable Gritters.   Our low cost snow ploughs are easy to use,  fitted in seconds, giving you a clear snow-free yard/car park – keeping you and your business  up and running. Not only do our snow ploughs do the job required but they will last for years to come. With over 25 years experience, you can trust Access Mechanical Handling to come up with the goods when it matters (in all weathers) . Snow Plough from Access Mechanical Handling, 1800mm wide with a rubber wear strip @ £675 + VAT delivered.   We also offer great Forklift Towable Gritters which can be used in combination with salt and grit. Towable Gritters are equipped with pneumatic tyres. Gritting range: 1-6m. Funnel Volume: 150L Forklift Towable Gritter costs £645 + VAT delivered   Give us a call on 01698 745859 and beat the freeze!

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Supermarkets and multinational stores have become one of the largest areas of employment for the Scottish economy. A lot of the private companies in Scotland who supply the supermarkets and large national companies are mainly food and drink orientated and rely heavily on these outlets. For a select few farmers, dairy producers and fruit growers this situation has worked well. Supermarkets such as Sainsbury’s, Aldi, Tesco and Waitrose  are able to distribute their products throughout the UK.

However, we know that when supermarkets require forklift suppliers, they invariably choose the big multinationals. Inevitably this excludes the smaller Scottish companies.  This is something close to Harry Borthwick’s heart. The Managing Director of Access Mechanical Handling has noticed that larger organisations have recently been switched on to the benefits of sourcing local produce… the environmental benefits and social improvements of employing locally are combined with the cost savings and it becomes a great marketing tool. “Local sourcing of produce as a marketing and promotional tool is great, of course it is,” says Harry, “However what about localised logistics and technical engineering expertise too? Why do so many large organisations centralise their forklift servicing for example? Of course Scottish forklift suppliers are welcome to travel south to pitch for contracts and discuss requirements. This is something Harry has done a lot of over the years building up Access Mechanical Handling, with varying levels of success. However, the fact remains that with so many decisions on industrial elements negotiated and carried out on a national level from Kingston or London, Scottish forklifts suppliers are being denied the opportunity to break in to their own marketplace. The result is that smaller forklift companies in Scotland are losing vast opportunities to advance their businesses.”

It is therefore vitally important for Scottish forklifts companies to be given priority over larger national companies to supply the SCOTTISH market place. This is certainly recognised by many smaller companies but there are still too many dealing with large national forklift conglomerates. There are plenty well established forklift companies who can provide a first class service and supply but are never given the opportunity. All too often it’s impossible to even get in the door or to speak to anyone.

So, to answer the original question, why should Scottish companies deal with each other?

This is not simply a patriotic plea of solidarity to compatriots. There are clear advantages to commissioning local Scottish suppliers and they all follow the same ideas that are being used by the large organisations’ marketing campaigns….as local suppliers, (in this case Scottish forklifts suppliers), we know the local trading characteristics, we know the distances and travelling times required for attending to a a breakdown or maintenance job, we know more about the local weather conditions and how they might affect the performance of the forklifts in local situations. In short, Scottish forklifts suppliers are better able to offer a fast, experienced, effective and knowledgable service to Scottish companies or Scottish branches of multinationals. We believe that a company requiring forklifts in Glasgow or Edinburgh will be better supported by a Scottish forklifts supplier who will have full local knowledge and regional expertise and at the same time employing local people.

Another important element that should not be underestimated is the economic benefits to Scotland and other Scottish companies. The money made from dealing with local companies is more likely to be spent in Scotland on other Scottish businesses. Money spent on national and multinational companies is more likely to end up as profits in English companies or the coffers of other nations. This is to the obvious detriment of the Scottish economy as a whole. The more money spent in Scotland on Scottish companies means more money circulates in Scotland, resulting in higher prosperity for all of Scotland.

If you would like to discuss more about how we, as a Scottish company are perfectly suited to work with you on your forklifts solutions or help with your forklift truck servicing please feel free to call us on 01698 745859 or drop us a line on our contact page. 

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What are the qualities of a great forklifts dealer?

 At Access Mechanical Handling, forklifts are our business. Forklifts are what we do best.  If you are considering changing your fleet of forklift trucks or even thinking of hiring a forklift truck for the first time, we have compiled this checklist of important points to help you make the best choice for safety and reliability.

• CAN THE FORKLIFT TRUCK DEALER YOU ARE CONSIDERING OFFER YOU A FAST, RELIABLE AND LOCAL SERVICE?
  Does the forklift/forktruck company operate within a reasonable distance from your operations? In order to maximise the usage of your forklifts it’s important that the company you are dealing with understands your local requirements and can get to you fast.  The faster they can get an expert engineer out to you, the faster any forklifts servicing or repairs can be done and the faster you get your work-load completed.  Access Mechanical Handling for instance covers Edinburgh and Glasgow from our office and service depot in Bellshill. This allows easy striking distance to Edinburgh within 25 minutes and Glasgow 18 minutes. With the introduction of the new M74 link this also allows easy access to South Glasgow and through to western areas, such as Greenock and Ayrshire. As well as Glasgow and Edinburgh, Access Mechanical Handling can quickly get engineers out to Stirling, Falkirk and all of Central Scotland.

• DOES THE COMPANY YOU ARE CONSIDERING ENTRUSTING WITH YOUR FORKLIFT FLEET HAVE A STRONG AND RELIABLE REPUTATION?
  How long have they been in business? How do they back up their reputation? What systems do they have in place for problem solving and maintenance checking? Are they approved by an independent, renowned standards organisation? Access Mechanical Handling has been a market leader in Scotland’s forklifts industry since 1986. When you entrust Access Mechanical Handling with your forklift requirements you will have peace of mind. You will rest assured that you are collaborating with a company boasting a proud record of 26 years selling and servicing forklifts to all kinds of industries throughout Scotland. We can back this up through our accreditations and certifications, such as our continued membership of The Fork Lift Truck Association and our long-standing ISO Standards Certification, as well as our ability to carry out Thorough Examinations.

• WHAT AFTER SALES SERVICE DOES THE COMPANY OFFER TO KEEP YOUR FLEET OF FORKLIFTS WORKING AT OPTIMUM CAPACITY?
  At Access Mechanical Handling we believe in developing a long term, reliable, fast and friendly forklifts service for all our customers, large or small. We don’t use 0800 or any premium call services. We will happily work with you to ‘bed in’ your new forklifts and provide you with tips to get maximum efficiency from your new or used forklift truck.  All your calls go direct to our personally staffed Bellshill depot. If you have a forklifts service contract with Access Mechanical Handling you will never deal with an automated phone service. Outside of office hours all service calls are directed straight to our service engineers, so that you can have a speedy response to any engineering issues 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, always with the human touch.

• IS THE COMPANY YOU ARE CONSIDERING QUALIFIED TO CARRY OUT A ‘THOROUGH EXAMINATION‘ OF YOUR FORKLIFT TRUCKS?
  A ‘Thorough Examination’ is a legal requirement for all forklifts.  It is an extensive examination of the forklift truck which ensures, as far as humanly possible, that your forklift is in safe working condition. By law the Thorough Examination must be carried out at least once a year on every forklift truck. Not all forklift dealers are qualified to carry out these Thorough Examinations. In fact some forklift dealers cannot supply any qualified staff for Thorough Examinations but at Access Mechanical Handling we are proud to say that we have 2 Thorough Examination managers and ALL Access engineers are qualified to carry out these very important examinations. This means when choosing Access Mechanical Handling you are in safe hands.

• IS YOUR FORKLIFT SUPPLIER A MEMBER OF THE FORK LIFT TRUCK ASSOCIATION?
  The Fork Lift Truck Association has been in operation for forty years. It ensures that all it’s members adhere to a strict code of practice and fair and equitable treatment of all it’s customers. As members of the FLTA we at Access Mechanical Handling have great access to the most up to date Health and Safety information. We believe that these elements prove our professionalism, competence and integrity which combine to enable us to provide better service, trust and peace of mind for our customers.

If you’d like to talk with a forklifts expert from Access Mechanical Handling simply drop us a line on our contact page or give us a call on 01698 745859. We’d love to hear from you.

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Access Handling are pleased to be introducing the new, all electric, “E-Moffett” to users of forklifts in Scotland. As featured recently in Commercial Motors magazine, this brand new electric truck mounted forklift has an ULTRA LOW NOISE ENGINE. The E Moffett forklift also has  ZERO EMISSIONS, making it a very attractive fork truck for companies facing ever increasing restrictions on urban deliveries.

Want to know how the new all electric E-Moffett can help your business?” – There are many benefits available to you when you choose the E Moffett, here are some of the main ones….

•  The E-Moffett meets TIER-4 emission regulations for construction and non-highway diesel powered vehicles.
•  The E-Moffett offers ultra low noise and emission free opportunities to organisations faced with environmental noise and pollution restrictions in urban areas.
•  Batteries for the E-Moffett are capable of well over 2000 cycles and should last the lifetime of the forklift.
•  A full charge should give the E-Moffett forklift enough power to last 2.5 hours – even driving up steep slopes and ramps.
• Fast Charge Cycle: A full deep charge cycle on the E-Moffett forklift takes only 6 hours and is recouped to a degree by regenerative braking. ( As truck mounted forklifts spend 90% of the time attached to the vehicle, it is envisioned that Moffett will offer trickle charging via normal electrics on the vehicle. )
• Ground Mounting: All the E Moffett truck mounted forklifts can be equipped with ground mounting so they can be loaded and unloaded onto a vehicle without the operator having to remain in the driving seat.
• No other charging equipment required. All charging equipment will be mounted on the forklift itself. The only other charger you’ll need is a 240v plug in the workshop!

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UTILIZING YOUR FORKLIFT TRUCK TO ITS MAXIMUM CAPABILITY.

A forklift truck is a name we all associate with a truck for moving and stacking pallets. In actual fact, “industrial truck” could be a better description as  forklifts can be used for other duties that sometimes we forget to consider.

Forklifts are used in many handling situations but usually modified specifically to that application. e.g.paper reel handling, appliance handling, carton clamps,etc. However there are many relatively inexpensive attachments which can be fitted to the forks of most forklifts that enables better and more efficient use of your forklift truck.  Attachments are easily fitted to the forks that transform the forklift into a small crane, work platform, snowplough, scoop or acquiring self dumping hoppers to assist in general maintenance of the factory environment.

Most forklifts now come fitted with side shift as standard but the inclusion of a fork positioner enables more efficient operations with less damage to goods, also leaving the forklift operator more time to safely handle product. One badly positioned fork could cause enough damage to your products that would easily repay the cost of the attachment.

It is certainly worthwhile considering an analysis of your forklift usage. The cost today of a decent forklift can range between £7K(used) to £15K(new) so why not get a bit more from this investment?

You can view the full range of our most popular forklift attachments on our forklift attachments page or if you would like more information on this subject and your forklift usage why not give experienced staff at Access Mechanical Handling a call?  You can reach us now 0n 01698 745859 or simply drop us an email via our contact page and we’ll do the rest.

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