Cheese company chooses forklift that can access all areas

Founded in 1989 by owners Jim and Julya Konas, Hellenic Cheese introduced the concept of milking sheep and goats on a commercial scale in Australia and combined it with traditional Greek handmade cheese-making techniques to offer a range of dairy products.

The company recently chose a Toyota BT walkie stacker forklift for its material handling needs due largely to its ability to access confined spaces.

Hellenic Cheese Company Pty Ltd commissioned the Toyota BT Staxio SWE120S walkie stacker for use in its factory in the Melbourne suburb of Epping. Jim Konas bought the Toyota BT forklift through Toyota Material Handling Australia (TMHA). It replaced an electric stacker from another manufacturer.

“We were specific in our model selection as we needed a high degree of manoeuvrability to get into confined areas, and the BT forklift is handling that and other tasks very well.”

TMHA Melbourne Branch Area Sales Manager Adem Shemshedin said the Toyota BT SWE120S walkie stacker forklift met Hellenic Cheese’s requirements for its combined factory, cold store and warehouse.

“Its 208° steering range gives it the manoeuvrability they were after, and it’s a very versatile forklift to use,” he said.

The Toyota BT Staxio SWE120S has a maximum lift capacity of 1.2 tonnes and a maximum lift height of 4755 mm. Support arms straddle loads to make it possible to handle closed pallets.

Toyota BT Staxio stackers are compact, easy to use and include low-maintenance/high-efficiency AC drive motors. They are designed according to BT’s ‘Totalview’ concept, to optimise operator visibility at both ground level and when positioning the forks at height.

Acceleration, speed and braking characteristics are programmable to suit individual operators’ needs.

Image caption: Hellenic Cheese Company owner Jim Konas and TMHA Branch Area Sales Manager Adem Shemshedin with the new Toyota BT walkie stacker forklift.