WORKING WITH AGRICULTURE PRODUCTS
can be dirty and demanding work. Lift trucks used in
farm-related applications are often exposed to thick
dust, grit, and heat, which can compromise their performance. That was the problem facing Peri & Sons
Farms, one of the largest onion-to-seed companies in
the world.
During peak growing season in California, the lift
trucks run for 10- to 12-hour shifts in temperatures that
may exceed 100 degrees Fahrenheit. Unfortunately, the
forklifts in the company’s former rental fleet weren’t
tough enough for the job. For one thing, the vehicles were prone to overheating, which led to a lot of
downtime. During daily operations, their air filters
would become clogged with thick dust and onion
peels, forcing drivers to shut down the forklifts, clear
the radiators, and wait 10 minutes for the engines to
cool. For another, the harsh working conditions caused
excessive wear on the trucks’ brakes, wheel hubs, masts,
and chains.
Eventually, Peri & Sons turned to Crown Equipment
Corp. for help. Crown recommended replacing the
existing fleet with 17 Crown C- 5 Series gas forklifts.
These rugged vehicles are designed to stand up to harsh
environments. They feature an industrial powertrain
with an advanced cooling package as well as a dual
open-core radiator that provides separate cooling for
the engine and the transmission. On top of that, the
trucks include Crown’s On-Demand Cooling system,
which controls the fan speed independently of the
engine to maximize cooling performance and clears the
radiator each time an operator starts the truck. It does
this by reversing the fan when the engine is started to
blow out debris that would otherwise get sucked into
the radiator and cause overheating.
Today, the rugged lift trucks operate reliably throughout the farm’s extended shifts, moving onions from
the loading trucks and transporting bins of products
weighing up to 1,000 pounds from the storage room to
weighing and bagging lines. As a result of the improved
performance, Peri & Sons is averaging 127 hours of
additional fleet uptime every week compared with the
former lift trucks.
IN A BID TO OPTIMIZE ITS TRANSPORTATION
management, Utz Quality Foods has turned to a
software-as-a-service (SaaS) transportation management system (TMS) from LeanLogistics. Utz, based in
Hanover, Pa., is the largest independent and privately
held snack food company in the nation, with brands
that include Utz, Bachman, Zapp’s, and “Dirty” Potato
Chips.
The use of the LeanLogistics transportation manage-
ment system, known as Lean TMS, has allowed Utz to
automate all of its inbound and outbound transpor-
tation processes. The result has been a reduction in
freight costs and increased visibility into supply and
finished-goods movement. Brian Greth, vice president
of corporate services at Utz, says the company chose
the Lean TMS based on “the scalability of (the vendor’s)
platform of technology and services.” He adds that
LeanLogistics’ experience working with food manufac-
turers was also a plus.
According to LeanLogistics, Lean TMS manages “daily
planning, execution, and settlement functions as well as
periodic strategic procurement events” for its users.
Onion producer Peri & Sons Farms finally finds a forklift that’s tough enough for farm work.
Snack-food maker Utz adopts a software-as-a-service solution to oversee inbound and
outbound transportation.
Tackling the dirty jobs
Keeping the snacks flowing
