Flexi Slim Aisle Ltd – designer and producer of the long-lasting Flexi model of articulated forklift vans – will have a good time its 50th anniversary in 2026.
Saying the milestone, Donald Houston, Managing Director of Flexi Slim Aisle, mentioned: “Reaching this important landmark is a supply of nice pleasure for everybody linked with the corporate. For half a century, Flexi Slim Aisle has been pushed by a dedication to design and manufacture ground-breaking warehouse vans. Throughout this time our construct high quality and distinctive ranges of customer support have enabled us to satisfy the myriad challenges that include a continuously evolving enterprise panorama.”
Flexi Slim Aisle started manufacturing its personal vary of warehouse stackers, order choosing vans and different distinctive specialist supplies dealing with tools from a former railway engine manufacturing facility positioned on the coronary heart of the Black Nation in March 1976.
Following over a decade of pioneering analysis into the articulated truck idea by Flexi Slim Aisle’s design staff led by the corporate’s founder, Peter Wooldridge, the primary model of the Flexi articulated forklift truck was launched in 1990.
That includes a central pivot level that allowed the truck’s mast to be rotated independently of the machine’s predominant physique, the Flexi represented a radical departure from conventional forklift engineering.
The pivoting mast meant {that a} Flexi may entry pallet areas on each side of a warehouse aisle with out the necessity to flip your entire truck to face a special course. This not solely made the method of gathering and placing away palletised hundreds right into a racked storage system simpler, sooner and safer however introduced the additional benefit of solely requiring 1.6 metre extensive aisleways wherein to function.
With each counterbalance and attain vans needing at the very least 3.6 metres of aisle house between rack faces, the potential house financial savings that articulated truck expertise provided meant customers may enhance their storage capability by 50% by swapping their counterbalance or attain vans for Flexis.
Moreover, along with creating extra cupboard space, the brand new Flexi truck’s potential to function outdoors in addition to contained in the warehouse meant that it may unload an incoming supply car and switch palletised hundreds on to the racking scheme. So, with a Flexi, there was no want for firms to function a counterbalanced forklift outdoors feeding a attain truck inside the shop. Chopping out this double dealing with was not solely extra environment friendly however, by changing two vans with one Flexi, customers achieved an on the spot saving of their supplies dealing with fleet prices.
Since Flexi Slim Aisle’s pioneering growth of the articulated truck greater than 15,000 Flexis have been bought to firms working in some 75 international locations world wide. The Flexi vary continues to evolve with new fashions launched to satisfy the necessities of shoppers working in massively numerous industries.
Donald Houston went on to say: “Our confirmed observe document, longevity and stability have established Flexi Slim Aisle as an organization that its clients belief.
“We’re rightly happy with our previous and the dedication to integrity that has all the time been Flexi Slim Aisle’s hallmark, continues to drive every part that we do. And I’m delighted to say that our ardour for innovation and manufacturing excellence stays as robust as ever too, so we want to the long run and our subsequent 50 years with pleasure and optimism.”
