The cream of the crop

Two Mitsubishi Forklift Trucks dealers impress Dairy Crest   
 
A demonstration of excellence in the marketplace has earned two Mitsubishi Forklift Trucks Authorised Dealers, Jofson Limited and Kin Limited, one of the largest single orders placed in the UK in the last 12 months.
 
The order for more than 130 new trucks was placed by leading UK chilled foods firm Dairy Crest to handle market-leading brands such as Cathedral City, Country Life, Frijj and Clover at six of its production sites, and to work in nearly half of its household delivery sites, carrying milk and much more.
 
Jofson Ltd which covers the West Midlands and Manchester-based Kin Ltd joined forces to deliver an unbeatable package of truck reliability backed by award-winning service. Both dealers have in-depth knowledge of chilled food applications.  In fact, Kin has first-hand experience of operations at Dairy Crest, having supplied and maintained forklifts at many of the companys depots for over 15 years.
 
Kins managing director Dave Scott explains: Although Dairy Crest conducted extensive trials on the Mitsubishi equipment, there is no doubt that our close working relationship over the years was proof of our ability to maintain the highest levels of customer service that are available from the Mitsubishi Dealer Network. Which, combined with Dairy Crests first-hand experience of the reliability of the Mitsubishi product range, gave us a tremendous advantage.
 
The trucks, which were supplied on a maintenance-inclusive contract hire basis, were delivered in December to 57 household depots and six production sites strategically located throughout the UK.   From Hull to Welwyn Garden City and from Merthyr Tydfil to Great Yarmouth, Mitsubishi trucks will be keeping Dairy Crest on the move, explains sales manager Darron Hillier of Jofson. The majority of household sites took delivery of the Mitsubishi FB16NT AC powered three-wheel electric trucks. To meet the demands of the application, each of these workhorses was fitted with four-prong Invicta milk tines and Hoppecke batteries and chargers.
 
The six production sites supplied by the two Mitsubishi dealers have mixed fleets including electric and gas counterbalance, reach and platform pallet trucks.  While some of the trucks supplied have Davis Derby Truck Management systems and others have Hoppecke TracAir batteries, every truck has been fitted with a high-frequency charger to help Dairy Crest meet its target in reducing its carbon footprint.
 
When asked why she thought Dairy Crest chose Mitsubishi, Rachel Moore, managing director of Jofson Ltd, said: We were able to demonstrate that we fully understood Dairy Crests business needs and could deliver the round-the-clock service levels that were required. Through the Mitsubishi dealerships, Dairy Crest benefits from unrivalled engineer coverage in this area with more engineers per customer than any of our competitors. And Dairy Crest will also benefit from the unique eMpower system. Its the first internet-based job logging and fleet management system in the materials handling industry.  
 
Mitsubishi Forklift Trucks UK general manager Mike Jones is delighted with Dairy Crests decision to go green. Winning such a large contract in the face of the sternest possible competition confirms the high quality of service offered by Jofson and Kin.  The almost legendary reputation for reliability achieved by our trucks is rivalled only by that of our dealers.
 
Dairy Crest Group Plc is the UKs leading chilled foods company.