A Sydney depot is optimising its uptime and efficiency by using Hydraulink mobile service technicians to service and maintain its fleet of forklifts.
Containerised bulk cargo is constantly being shipped in and out of Australia, with great effort made to ensure everything goes according to schedule.
Delays can seriously affect customers, potentially leading to flow-on effects throughout the rest of the supply chain.
To stay competitive in this demanding and fast-paced environment, Price & Speed, one of Sydney’s largest privately owned, manned depots, relies on its fleet of 80 large forklifts, capable of moving bulk material containers weighing from seven to 50 tonnes.
“If a single container handler, reach stacker or other forklift needs hydraulic repairs, it can have a huge knock-on effect for a fast-paced business like ours,” says Melody Jacobs, Executive Assistant at Price & Speed.
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“If cargoes from earlier shipments cannot be processed because the previous ship’s cargo remains at the port, it can cause considerable delays as the queue backs up at the wharf. Furthermore, with demurrage fees of up to $1000 per day, per customer, this is not a desirable situation,” Ms Jacobs says.
To provide customers with low transport costs and high quarantine controls, the company recently opened a second site in Banksmeadow, doubling Price & Speed’s volume capacity.
Servicing these locations is Hydraulink Botany, a branch of the Hydraulink network. Hydraulink offers Price & Speed 24/7 service availability and can typically be on site within 30 minutes at either of Price & Speed’s two Banksmeadow depots or its Botany depot.
Hydraulink maintains more than 400 service points throughout Australia, New Zealand and Oceania and is supported by mobile service units, on call 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
“Hydraulink’s mobile service technicians are mostly here in a couple of minutes and never more than about 30 minutes,” Ms Jacobs says.
“We knew, when setting up the new site, that Hydraulink Botany would be on hand for any hydraulic service needs, which really put our minds at ease. Their close proximity to our operations is a major advantage,” Ms Jacobs says.
In addition to the fleet of forklifts that Price & Speed uses, the company maintains another 60 large forklifts for its customers through hire or sales agreements.
Hydraulink also services these forklifts out on hire. Ms Jacobs says Price & Speed can’t afford to have any forklift stop working, as its customers are relying on them for efficiency and uptime.
“We can always rely on Hydraulink to be on site swiftly and solve any problems, no matter the size or complexity,” she says.
Extensive range
In addition to quick turnaround times and hydraulic expertise, Hydraulink’s product range benefits Price & Speed, which offers a variety of logistics services, from container handling, bonded storage, cold storage, fumigation, to quarantine inspections.
“With such a diversity of equipment and materials handling tasks, every job Hydraulink does for us is different from the last one,” Ms Jacobs says.
“Their extensive range of top-quality hoses, fittings, coils and accessories – most of which every Hydraulink mobile technician has on board their large service trucks – ensures jobs can be done quickly and efficiently with the right parts.”
Hydraulink Botany Branch Sales Manager Chris MacGregor says he understands the demanding needs of local ports customers.
“I was a service technician for about eight years prior to taking on my current role, so I can appreciate the demanding schedules all our ports customers are working to, and the need to maximise uptime and avoid demurrage fees,” he says.
“We’re delighted to be able to make such a positive impact on Price & Speed’s operations, and we look forward to approaching any new problems with Hydraulink’s ‘can do’ ethos.”