VELOCITY VIDEO CASE HISTORY
Powering pickle perfection
WHEN YOU ARE AMERICA’S BEST-SELLING
brand of pickles, you have to ensure that the material
handling equipment you choose for your manufacturing
and distribution operations can keep up with the 170
million jars you produce each year. Make the wrong choice and
you can find yourself in a bit of a pickle.
Pickles, relishes, and peppers from Mt. Olive Pickle Company
are sold in all 50 states. Every jar comes from the company’s manufacturing and distribution facilities in Mount Olive, N.C., with a total
of 1. 2 million square feet. Every day, about 70 truckloads of products
leave its docks.
“When we are running full-bore in produc-
tion, we can’t be sitting around,” says Chris
Whitley, Director of DC Operations, Production,
and Logistics. “At times, we have 50 trucks
of cucumbers waiting to be brought into the
building. They are perishable, so we can’t wait
around.”
Some 80 Toyota forklifts keep products
moving through the various steps of produc-
tion in this fast-paced operation. Many of the
forklifts working in production need to be used
indoors and in outside yards where large tanks
filled with brine and other ingredients trans-
form raw cucumbers into pickles.
A number of these forklifts feature pneumatic tires and are equipped
with special attachments, such as clamps to grab boxes of raw cucumbers, rotators to dump cucumbers into washers or the large vats of brine,
and extended forks to move containers of in-process work. These same
forklifts also move pickles, and the glass jars that will contain them, to
the production lines for packing. Completed products are then moved
to docks, where they will make the short truck ride to the nearby distribution building.
Once the products arrive at the distribution center, 5,000-pound
capacity forklifts with internal combustion (IC) engines take pallets
loaded with cases of full jars to temporary storage, where they are floor-stacked up to four pallets high.
“The IC forklifts are clean-burning and can work in confined spaces,
including our coolers,” notes Whitley.
The pickle, relish, and pepper business is rather seasonal. The peak
production period runs from May through October, while summer picnics and the holiday season create spikes in distribution activity. As a
result, the size of Mt. Olive’s forklift fleet changes throughout the year to
meet demand. The company’s Toyota forklift dealer, Southeast Industrial
Equipment (Southeast), makes certain that Mt. Olive has the right number of dependable trucks on hand to fill current needs.
“Mt. Olive Pickle leases their equipment primarily because they want to
have fresh equipment,” says Michael Graham,
Territory Support Manager at Southeast. “They
run their equipment very hard. Having reliable,
durable equipment is a key aspect to their
expectations.”
Mt. Olive chooses Toyota forklifts because
of their long-term value and dependabili-
ty. Technicians out of Southeast Industrial
Equipment’s Wilson, N.C., branch provide reg-
ular service on the vehicles, including planned
maintenance and any needed repairs.
“Southeast has been a very good partner,”
says Whitley. “They’re able to help us at a
moment’s notice. If we have an issue with
equipment or have needs for additional pieces
of equipment, they are very receptive and a great partner. It’s been a
very good relationship.”
Whitley adds that his forklift drivers enjoy operating the Toyota fork-
lifts. “They like the ergonomics and the way the controls are set up,” he
says. He adds that blue safety lights on the forklifts help to assure a safer
environment for others working in areas where the forklifts are operating.
Good service, reliability, maneuverability, durability, and safety make
Toyota forklifts a good “dill” all around.
For more information on Toyota’s full-service product line of
forklifts and warehouse equipment, visit www.ToyotaForklift.com/
forklifts.
SPONSORED CONTENT
To see a video of Toyota forklifts in action at Mt. Olive Pickle Company,
go to dcvtv.com and click on the Velocity Video on Channel 2.
A DC VELOCITY SPEED CHALLENGE
America’s top pickle brand keeps things “green” with the value provided by
Toyota forklifts.
