African cable manufacturer, Aberdare Cables, introduced a new benchmark in warehousing when it moved into a new purpose-built centralised distribution centre in Elandsfontein, Johannesburg late last year, says the company.

Leveraging cutting-edge technology across the board to enhance supply chain efficiencies, the company opted for Hyster equipment from Barloworld Equipment Handling on the materials- handling side.

Aberdare Cables’ new 12 500-m² distribution centre (DC), with its 13-m-high roof, is the culmination of a strategy started seven years ago to consolidate the company’s seven distribution outlets and make the best use of supply chain efficiencies, says value chain optimisation director Jonathan Victor. The sprawling 100 000-m² Elandsfontein site also has space for manufacturing facilities, providing a platform for achieving further economies of scale in future.

The DC features the latest systems, applications and products enterprise resource planning (ERP) warehouse and inventory management system.

“Our target is to reduce overall supply chain costs by 15% and improve our overall inventory holding by 10% without reducing stock avail- ability,” says Victor.

“To keep the distribution centre running at full supply all the time for five days a week, moving close to 7 000 t of cables a month, we required a reliable, efficient materials-handling solution, which would include the ability to handle pallets 11,5 m high. We also needed to go fully electric,” says value chain optimisation man- ager Neels Bester.

Racked palletised product takes up 25% of the warehouse, with the remainder comprising stacked cable drums, Aberdare Cables says. It is intended to add another 25% of racking in future, which will also include the racking of drums.

To meet its materials-handling challenges, Aberdare Cables chose Hyster, taking delivery of 18 electric units from Barloworld Equipment Handling. The fleet, which incorporates the performance benefits of full ac power as standard on all models, consists of one three-wheel counterbalance 1,5-t forklift, five four-wheel counterbalance 2,5-t forklifts, four of which are fitted with ‘rhino horns’, a custom-built solid metal shaft designed for the lifting of cable drums, two 2,5-t reach trucks, specially manufactured by Hyster and capable of working to a height of 11,5 m, five 1-t order pickers, and four 2-t pallet trucks, which have significantly increased the pick face of equipment, says the company. Previously, items were picked using manual trolleys.

Aberdare Cables has been running 22 Hyster diesel lift trucks at its Long street manufacturing facility since 2002, with a dedicated Barloworld Equipment Handling technician on site.

The latest units were acquired again on a 60-month full maintenance lease. This leaves day-to-day maintenance to Barloworld Equipment Handling, enabling Aberdare Cables to focus on its core business – that of growing its position as an international power cable manufacturer and distributor, says the company.