Sportswear brand Animal has gained 1,500 pallet positions and tripled productivity at its global distribution warehouse in Poole by using three-wheeled articulated forklifts from Translift Bendi.

Three years ago Animal consolidated all stock from six locations into the 100,000 sq ft site, but owing to the roof supports racking aisle widths were limited to 1.8m.

Animal now operates with 4,636 total bulk pallet positions up to seven metres high, with 12,755 pick faces and 1,203 full pallet pick faces.

A fleet of Bendi B313 articulated trucks are used to remove pallets from the goods-in marshalling areas and place stock in pre-determined pallet positions.

The three-wheel trucks maintain stability in the narrow aisles with up to 1.35 tonne lift capacity at heights of 7.2m with no special floor requirements. The trucks, supplied by AFL Trucks in Poole, are also used for bulk and sequential picking, and for transport of pallets to the despatch marshalling area.

The company has also seen less damage to racking compared to its old warehouses where aisles were wider.

James Runciman, operations manager at Animal’s global DC, said: “We are now more efficient and picking an average of 249 pieces per person per hour. Five years ago we were lucky to achieve 69. This has had an impressive impact on cost reduction and overall company productivity.”

As Animal also gets ten to 11 hours operating time before battery charging, it means it doesn’t see any downtime between shifts.