CLARK Case Story - Rederij Kees

Green Logistics for City and Warehouse

Rederij Kees supplies catering establishments in the heart of Amsterdam's city centre with goods. In addition to an electric barge that crosses the canals, the logistics company uses electric transporters and biogas-powered lorries as means of transport. With the green logistics concept, Kees aims to counteract climate change and the CO₂ pollution of the city centre. The focus of internal logistics is also on the colour green. At headquarters, a Clark SRX14 reach truck and a WPio12 electric hand pallet truck with lithium-ion battery ensure not only a smooth but also a clean flow of materials. 

Rederij Kees was founded in 2013 in the Netherlands as a social enterprise. The small logistics company sees its mission not only in offering its customers environmentally friendly logistics solutions, but also in taking its social responsibility seriously. "Our economic goal goes hand in hand with our responsibility towards the environment and our fellow human beings," explains Jan Morren, Director of Rederij Kees. The company works closely with De Regenboog Groep (Rainbow Group). "Together with De Regenboog Groep, we create jobs for people outside the labour market and give them a chance to regain a foothold in the free labour market," says Morren.

Each employee works a maximum of one or two days a week. The remaining time is earmarked for further training measures, such as training to obtain a forklift driver's license or training as a facility or logistics employee. Of the total of 30 employees at Kees, only 4 to 5 are permanently employed, the rest come from the De Regenboog Groep.

Tailor-made green Urban Logistics

Rederij Kees operates two logistics locations in Amsterdam. A warehouse, where mainly beer barrels are stored, is located near the wholesale market. From here, the logistics company supplies a brewery in the red-light district of the city as well as hotels, restaurants and bars by electric barge. At the company's headquarters north of the city, Kees stores beer from two local breweries as well as snacks and accessories. The logistics portfolio not only includes the storage and delivery of goods, but also warehouse management and order picking. "The warehouse on Nieuwe Hemweg is used by more than twenty suppliers as the city's hub," explains Jan Morren. "They deliver their goods to us and we take care of bundling and supplying the customers. Three electric and two biogas-powered lorries take care of the transports. "These replaced about four diesel lorries," says Morren. "The electric barge can even handle the transport volume of three to four lorries. This saves many diesel miles and protects our inner city from harmful CO₂ emissions."

Clean and reliable Warehouse Logistics

For internal logistics at the Nieuwe Hemweg site, Kees has relied on materials handling vehicles from Clark since last year. Kees was not satisfied with the predecessors from the competition, as they were often defective. "We often had to put up with downtimes and were therefore unable to supply our customers on time," explains Edwin van Oostende, warehouse manager at Rederij Kees. This is a knock-out criterion in the logistics business. That's why we looked for a new supplier and came across Clark in the process." The local Clark dealer, Bakker Heftrucks BV from Purmerend, recommended to Kees a Clark SRX14 reach truck with a load capacity of 1.4 t and a WPio12 hand pallet truck with a load capacity of 1.2 t with a lithium-ion battery for the storage and retrieval of goods as well as for order picking.

The warehouse consists of a four-aisle high-bay warehouse with a total of 500 pallet storage locations as well as provision locations for goods issue in front of the head of each rack aisle. The high-bay warehouse has three levels with a storage height of 4.50 m. Goods stored on the lower level are moved by hand pallet trucks. "With the Clark WPio12, it's child's play," says van Oostende. "In contrast to conventional hand pallet trucks, the lifting and moving is done electrically. We don't have to use muscle power." With the WPio12, the load does not have to be accelerated or decelerated by hand. When the drawbar is released, the vehicle brakes automatically. Thanks to its compact design, a very small turning radius of only 1,390 mm and a small L2 dimension of 390 mm (length including the back of the fork), the device is also very manoeuvrable and is even suitable for carrying on the truck. And with lithium-ion technology, the hand pallet truck fits seamlessly into the logistician's green logistics concept.

The environmentally friendly hand pallet truck can be used for up to three hours at Kees with a fully charged battery (24 volts, 20 Ah). With 100 % discharge, the charging time of the Li-Ion battery is only 2.5 hours. Intermediate charging, for example during breaks, is possible without any problems. Up to 60% of the battery capacity can be recharged in just 40 minutes at any 230-volt socket. "With up to 1,000 charging cycles, the maintenance-free battery has almost twice the life of block batteries," explains Ronald Levering, Managing Director of Bakker Heftrucks BV. "With the help of the handy rechargeable batteries, the operating time can be extended without any problems".

High Productivity with good Energy Balance

At Kees, the SRX14 reach truck is responsible for storage and retrieval at higher racking levels. With a maximum lifting height of up to 10.5 m, this is child's play for it. As the vehicles are of particularly compact design, they can also be used to store Euro pallets from a working aisle width of 2,731 mm. Ideal for use by Kees. Here the aisle width is only 2.75 m. In addition, different pallet types have to be moved. Thanks to the 360° steering (the driver can choose between 180° and 360° steering) and the use of shorter forks, the vehicle can also be manoeuvred perfectly in the racking aisle with Euro pallets. Kees is very satisfied with the robust reach truck. "Not only can we rely on the Clark truck, but we also achieve high productivity with the manoeuvrable truck," says Edwin van Oostende. "This is due not only to the good performance data, but also to the ergonomic driver's workplace and the intuitive operating elements, which counteract premature operator fatigue".

The SRX14 has a lifting speed without load of up to 0.7 m/s (with load 0.4 m/s) and a lowering speed with and without load of up to 0.55 m/s. The SRX14 has a lifting speed without load of up to 0.7 m/s (with load 0.4 m/s). Thanks to the Clark mast design, off-centre loads can be handled easily. A standard lowering protection per sensor increases safety during load handling. An integrated hydraulic damping system ensures smooth transitions between the mast profiles during storage and retrieval. In addition, the vehicle has high residual capacities at all lifting heights.

The Clark reach truck is equipped with AC motors, which guarantee powerful and low-noise operation. The powerful batteries ensure a long service life of the truck. Kees can rely on maximum truck availability thanks to a standard side battery change. The practical battery feed makes it easy to recharge the battery. Regenerative braking when the accelerator pedal is released, when the direction of travel is changed or when the service brake is applied returns energy to the battery. The SRX14 is equipped with two electric and low-wear wheel arm brakes. Compared to drum brakes, these are maintenance-free and allow up to 20% shorter braking distances thanks to 3-point braking. Kees can choose between three different travel profiles to adapt the energy consumption as precisely as possible to the power requirement. Via the display and/or a laptop, the logistician can also adapt braking behaviour and hydraulic functions to operational requirements.

Intuitive and sensitive Operation

The reach truck also has a lot to offer in terms of ergonomics: This starts with the access via the generously designed step. The driver's workplace gives the operator very good leg space and headroom. The height-adjustable steering column and spring-loaded seat can be optimally adjusted to the driver's height. The seat together with a damped base plate ensure that vibrations affecting the driver are reduced. The driving and lifting functions are easy and ergonomic to operate thanks to the mini levers integrated in the armrest. All hydraulic functions can be operated at the touch of a finger and allow intuitive and sensitive control of the truck within the narrow aisle. The electric steering system also scores here. "This makes the vehicle extremely manoeuvrable and easy to operate," explains Edwin van Oostende. The company Bakker Heftrucks BV from Purmerend advised us competently. We are very satisfied with the Clark trucks in terms of reliability, performance and user-friendliness. They perfectly meet the required performance spectrum and fit seamlessly into our green logistics concept. And with Bakker Heftrucks BV we have found a partner we can rely on one hundred percent".

Rederij Kees wants to make the supply of the Amsterdam city centre as environmentally friendly as possible

The Clark WPio12 with lithium-ion battery, the lifting and traversing is carried out purely electrically, allowing back-friendly working without the operator having to accelerate or decelerate the loads manually

The WPio12 electric hand pallet truck is extremely compact and therefore ideally suited for use in confined spaces

With the WPio12, goods on the lower shelf level are brought to the staging areas for shipping

The chassis of the Clark reach trucks is made of solid steel so that the most important components are protected. The mast profiles consist of double T-profiles and are therefore 55% more torsion-resistant than conventional flat profiles

For safe load handling, the SRX is equipped with a lowering guard as standard. This enables loads to be transported safely, even if they project beyond the wheel arms due to their width

The ergonomic mini levers integrated in the armrest ensure easy operation of all relevant driving and lifting functions, and the adjustable electric steering wheel makes it easy to control the truck

The environmentally friendly electric lorries supply the city of Amsterdam in an environmentally friendly way

The WPio12 is suitable for both left- and right-handed users. Thanks to the convenient positioning of all control elements, making device is very easy to control

Convenient battery handling thanks to the lightweight maintenance-free battery with a weight of only 3.7 kg. The battery has twice the life expectancy of a conventional lead-acid battery

A functional ergonomics concept ensures that the driver does not have to do any unnecessary work and that driving commands can be executed quickly and safely

For high usage availability, the SRX reach trucks are equipped with a side battery change as standard