Press Release

Ref: PRCSH90 Date: 4^thJuly 2016

Cooper completes £1.5million deal with Bristol Port Company

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As testament to a true consultative approach to materials handling, which dates back to 2008, the UK's largest independent provider of heavy lifting solutions has fulfilled a new contract valued at almost £1.5million with Bristol Port Company.

Cooper Specialised Handling - the heavy lifting division of Cooper Handling Group - has supplied ten high specification Konecranes forklift trucks. General-purpose, yet multi-functional, the machines will satisfy the varied and demanding needs of one of the UK's busiest ports and complete its new equipment fleet.

Chris Barnes, General Manager at Cooper Specialised Handling, said: "After winning an initial deal to supply four Konecranes reach stackers in 2008, we have worked closely with Bristol Port Company to fully understand and satisfy its handling requirements. Bristol Port Company is a most discerning customer and really appreciates its forklifts and the true value of their specification."

Bristol Port Company is Britain's most centrally located deep sea port. It offers the full range of shipping, distribution and logistics services and can accommodate a wide range of trades, including bulk energy products, animal feeds and gain, motor vehicles and fresh produce. With more than 120,000 sq m of modern warehousing adjacent to berths, the port is ideal for storing high value paper and metal products.

In order to complete this important contract and ensure a cost-effective handling solution, Cooper Specialised Handling held numerous meetings with the port before developing a specification that would satisfy its operational, safety and maintenance requirements.

One example of the many ideas put forward by Cooper centred on the Terminal West system designed to facilitate a quick interchange of forks and attachments. Cooper proposed modifying this system to accommodate the forks of a variety of equipment manufacturers and counter the lack of uniformity of fork dimensions on big machines. The capability to fit the larger trucks with smaller forks effectively increases the port's small truck fleet size at a stroke. Rating plates are, of course, amended to reflect this change.

On Cooper's advice, the forklifts were specified with heavy duty mast sections and finished with extra-thick paint to extend their working life. Other recommendations included 180 degree rotating seats with steering logic and extra protection in the cab to guard against injury in the, albeit unlikely, event that paper reels were to fall from a height of 7m.

Chris Barnes added: "The safety of the truck operator was our top priority when finalising this very high machine specification.

"We maintain high contract management standards at all times and, as our relationship with Bristol Port Company continues to develop, we are delighted to support its busy operation with these additional forklift trucks. At Cooper we work closely with customers to fully understand their materials handling challenges and find innovative ways to overcome difficult application issues."

Having purchased the Konecranes forklift trucks outright, Bristol Port Company benefits from an extended equipment warranty. This will see Cooper's dedicated field-based engineering team provide support for all ten machines as well as ongoing servicing and maintenance for the reach stackers which are a vital part of the port's 64-strong materials handling fleet.

CAPTION: Cooper Specialised Handling has supplied ten high specification Konecranes forklift trucks to the Bristol Port Company

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Editor's Notes

Cooper Handling Group operates in all sectors of lifting and materials handling across the UK and Ireland. Cooper Specialised Handling is its heavy handling division and is the exclusive UK distributor for Meclift and Sany equipment, sole importer and distributor for Mantsinen cranes and a specialist in Konecranes lift trucks. The company has a specialist aftersales division, Cooper Handling Solutions, while Cooper Materials Handling specialises in industrial forklift trucks and is the UK distributor for the Maximal brand.  Independently owned, Cooper offers total solutions for forklifts from 6 to 60 metric tonnes and a complete range of hydraulic cranes for solid and bulk handling. It provides high quality, high value products and reliable service to customers who operate in the toughest sectors across freight, ports, inter-modal terminals and other heavy lifting industries, together with a broad range of industrial materials handling applications from manufacturing to distribution.

Media contact:

Martine Layland

CHANGEWORKS Communications Limited
t: + 44 (0) 1785 247588
e: mlayland@changeworkscom.co.uk

Company contact:

Natasha Barnes

Business Development Manager

Cooper SH Limited
Holly Farm Business Park
Honiley
Kenilworth
Warwickshire
CV8 1NP
United Kingdom

Tel: 01926 658900
email:natasha@cooperhandling.com

W:www.cooperhandling.com