Stürmer Maschinen - Tailor-made Crown forklift fleet ensures maximum flexibility for high-speed delivery

Increased productivity with the right forklift trucks for the right application

Application

Based in Bavaria, Germany, Stürmer Maschinen supplies approximately 2,000 specialist dealers in Germany and a growing number of foreign partners in nearly all European countries with metalworking and woodworking machines, compressors, welding and workshop technology. With the inauguration of a new logistics centre with 16,000 m2 of storage space, the company also decided to replace its entire forklift fleet.
 

Challenge

The new logistics centre is used to keep more than 345,000 items ready for immediate delivery to industrial customers and trade specialists. The range of products includes some 20,000 machines in the above-mentioned product segments, as well as 225,000 accessories and 100,000 spare parts. In order to meet the company’s target of delivering just-in-time to customers across Europe and to enhance customer satisfaction, the new centre needed fast and flexible material handling equipment. It was important to build a new forklift fleet selected to accommodate their specific workflow to achieve the highest standards of efficiency and productivity while keeping the total cost of ownership as low as possible.
 

Solution

To better understand the customer’s processes and needs, Crown started the tendering process by carrying out a comprehensive on-site analysis of the Stürmer requirements resulting in a solution in which every single forklift was optimised to satisfy the specific requirements in its particular area and activity. The final proposal included Crown’s double stacker series DT 3000, ideal for intensive transport operations between loading docks and warehouse. These were joined by platform stackers with initial lift from the ETi 4000 Series – highly manoeuvrable even in very tight spaces – and the reach truck series ESR 5200 for handling pallets efficiently at high elevations.

When Stürmer evaluated the various solutions’ cost-benefit ratios in real-world conditions, Crown’s products performed particularly well. In addition, the operators were impressed by the trucks’ outstanding ergonomics, quiet operation and robust construction, as well as the attractive appearance. The decision to select Crown was unanimous. Stürmer opted for a bespoke mix of Crown forklifts, investing in a total of 27 new vehicles.