Haulier and C-licensee Open Warehouses
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LICENSING AUTHORITY OPENS MARSHALL'S
COVERING an area of 20,000 sq. ft., a new warehouse for A. R. Marshall and Sons (Bulwell), Ltd., Hucknell Lane, Bulwell, Nottingham, was officially opened on Saturday by Mr. C. R. Hodgson, the East Midland Licensing Authority. The warehouse increases the covered-in accommodation of the depot to over two acres, and the new building also provides additional offices for the administrative staff and a canteen for the staff and personnel. The site area of the depot is now greater than seven acres, and allows ample scope for expansion. Laid out to facilitate the use of forklift trucks, the warehouse building has a saw-toothed roof which is supported by only eight intermediate stanchions. The walls and unglazed sections of the roof are lined with fibre-board for heat insulation.
Special Feature A special feature of the warehouse is a crane bay, equipped with an overhead 3-ton travelling crane and a loading deck. Sliding doors at each end facilitate the throughput of vehicles during peak periods, goods for trans-shipment being unloaded from collection vehicles in a bay in line with the deck. Operations are controlled by a foreman in a raised 'office, with the aid of a loud-hailer system. The main warehousing section has two sliding doors in the side wall, opposite the crane bay.
Following the take-over, in 1958, of B. Keetch (Hauliers), Ltd., and of the Aand B-licensed vehicles of J. Gamble (Transport), Ltd., early in 1960, the company's fleet now numbers over 100 vehicles. The covered-in area of 80,000 sq. ft. compares with a total area in 1954 of 10,000 sq. ft. Six Coventry Climax fork-lift trucks are employed on the site for handling palletized goods. A substantial percentage of the goods is transported on pallets.
14 Thinkers Specialists in shipping, warehousing and re-distribution, the company operates a fleet of 14 vehicles on regular trunk runs to a depot in Liverpool, on a threeshift system, mainly carrying goods for export. Nine vehicles run to a. depot in London. Of the loads originating in the Nottingham area, a large proportion are collected at the company's warehouses.
A fleet of smaller B-licensed vehicles is continuously engaged in collection and delivery of goods within a radius of about 30 miles of Nottingham. Shunt drivers with an intimate knowledge of docks procedure handle the • loads in Liverpool, London and Hull. The majority of trunk vehicles are of Atkinson manufacture; the fleet also includes Leylands, Albion and Ford Thames vehieles.
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ULTRA CONSULTED THE EXPERT
VVHERE previously six to eight men were employed for two hours unloading a delivery of cabinets, one man now handles the same quantity in 20 minutes.
This is a typical example of the standard of efficiency achieved by the employment of modern methods of handling, recently installed at the new 30,000-sq.-ft. warehouse alongside the Gosport factory of Ultra Radio and Television, Ltd. The premises were shown to the Press on Tuesday.
The factory was opened in 1955 with a nucleus of staff from the company's factory at Western Avenue, Acton, which is now devoted entirely to electronics. The Gosport factory now employs 1,300 persons, and cathode ray tubes and other components are unloaded mechanically and supplied to the assembly lines by overhead belts.
The substantial output from the factory has necessitated a new approach to warehousing. The market, particularly for television, is seasonal and to achieve a constant flow of production the demand for some models has to be anticipated and summer manufacture continued.
It is in line with this policy that the new warehouse has been built alongside the factory to store sets in controlled conditions with proper stock rotation maintained. Sets are transferred on stillages from the factory on an electric truck to the centre gangway of the warehouse. They are then unloaded by hydraulic lift and stored in bays leading off the gangway. Twenty or more different models may be in production at any one time and are stored in individual bays. • When delivery to dealers is being undertaken, sets are dispatched to a preassembly area serving four covered loading bays. They are fed to this point by an electrically operated conveyor belt which encircles the warehouse. An elaborate system of junctions and crossovers permits sets to be placed on the endless belt at any point, After checking at the pre-assembly area loads are made up and stacked into the company's vehicles, again by conveyor belt.
With the opening of this new warehouse, the company also decided to build up its own fleet of vehicles. Previously contract hire transport had been used exclusively. Twenty-four 5-ton Thames Trader chassis have already been obtained, and are fitted with specially designed 1,100-cu.-ft. aluminium bodies built by Arterial Bodies, Ltd., of Norwich. A blue and black colour scheme has been adopted, with the company's name on the roof and side panels. Each vehicle is capable of carrying up to 240 television sets for distribution throughout England and Wales. whilst distribution depots are maintained in Glasgow to serve Scotland and at Park Royal for the London area. Ultra's transport manager, Mr. S. T. Alton, Was consulted when the final layout of the warehouse, and the decision to set up a transport section, was being determined. His administrative staff of 20 have offices in the warehouse facing the loading bays, whilst it is anticipated that facilities for washing, servicing and maintenance will be added. The driving staff at present number 45; and they can qualify for merit bonuses for accidentfree driving and cleanliness of vehicle. It is considered that in such a highly competitive industry as radio and television, transport efficiency can play an important part in a company's success.