Carters Palmerston North – Hydraulic Wire Mesh Lifter

Arranged by their Health & Safety Manager Carter Palmerston North were part of a trial to try reduce the risks while unloading and loading bundles of wire mesh reinforcing sheets from trucks.

Staff used to get up onto the truck and try to feed chains and hooks down through the bundles or use extension forks to try to push in between bundles to pick them up, which was difficult as the bundles sagged on either side so much. The mesh sheets were getting damaged and there was a risk of staff falling off the truck decks.

They were looking for a forklift attachment that could be operated entirely from the forklift operator seat.

Stratalign came up with a hydraulic clamping wire mesh lifting attachment to do the job and they ordered a prototype for trial at Palmerston North before rolling out the solution nationally.

When we visited the Palmerston North branch after the trial, the branch manager said they had a positive unintended consequence from the forklift attachment. Not only can the whole operation of loading and unloading wire mesh sheet bundles be done from the safety of the forklift seat and the mesh is no longer getting damaged, but it used to be a big job for two staff to unload a truck load delivery of mesh and put the mesh away in the yard but the whole job only takes 10 minutes for one person now!