Load a trailer in less than two minutes
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THE LATEST development in the Package Control range is the new Rolamat Rolaload, which is claimed to offer dramatic reductions in vehicle turn-around time. Rolaload enables a complete load to be placed in a maximum length semi-trailer in less than two minutes.
The system uses track assemblies recessed into the warehouse loading bank which match those in the vehicle. "Trains" of 1.2m long "roller skates" are used to provide a • total length appropriate to the length of the load.
They are linked together in a way which allows a degree of vertical and lateral articulation and are positioned in the warehouse channels (with air bags deflated) before the complete vehicle is built up above them.
The vehicle is reversed up to the loading bank with its tracks in line with those in the warehouse floor. The rear end needs to be supported to maintain the correct height as the load is placed in the body. Both sets of air bags are then inflated to raise the whole load on the rollers. The load is then pushed into the vehicle body by a fork truck.
To achieve the full benefits of Rolaload, the delivery point for the goods should have the same facilities as the loading point,
though this is not essential — pallets can be moved individually to the rear of the body with minimal effort for unloading by fork truck.
Cost of the system largely depends on the exact type of installation required by customers, but Crowthorne-based Package Control reckons that the cost of kitting out one vehicle and one dock would be approximately £9,000.