Value We Delivered
Cut Haulage Costs By 30%
Avoid Delays And Downtime
Return Investment < 2.5 years
Work At Sites Without Docks
32 tonne lift capacity
Introducing T&G Global
T&G Pipfruit is a division of T&G Global. The company exports apples and pears from New Zealand to Asia, Europe, and the United States. Depending on growing conditions each season, the company exports between 750 - 1,000 x 40-foot reefers from its Otago coolstore each year.
Each reefer weighs 26,000 - 32,000 kg (57,000 - 70,000 lb). During peak season, the coolstore packs and dispatches 10 - 20 containers per day. Good time and operations management is critical for meeting sailing schedules and export commitments.
Dealing With Delays & Downtime
The Otago coolstore has no loading dock, so traditionally T&G relied on a combination of regular chassis and swinglifts to service the site. Regular chassis would shuttle containers between the port and the coolstore, and swinglifts would meet the "skelies" at the coolstore to transfer the containers between the chassis and the ground.
With swinglifts in high demand around the city, this inevitably led to downtime for T&G, as they waited for swinglifts to show up. It was also expensive, due to the premium rates charged for these on-demand lift services. The other issue for T&G was the fact that only a few transport companies in the city had enough swinglifts in their fleet to deliver the service T&G needed, limiting T&G's choice of service provider.
No Longer Dependent On Swing Lift Services
To overcome these challenges, T&G decided to take the swinglifts out of the equation by installing two C-Lift F Series in two dedicated loading bays adjacent to the coolstore. The F Series is a bolt-to-ground container hoist with a lift capacity of 32,000 kg or 77,000 lb, designed to make it fast, safe and efficient to lift containers on and off chassis.
This move has given T&G complete independence over its container handling. The regular skelie trailers continue to shuttle containers between the port and coolstore, delivering an empty reefer to one loading bay, then collecting a full container from the other for the return trip to port. Each container transfer takes only 5 minutes. The reefers can be loaded with cargo up in about 15 minutes, and then lifted back up for collection, ensuring fast and efficient turn around times during the high season.
Return On Investment In Just 2.5 Years
T&G now have a cost-effective alternative to swinglift services and achieved the following results:
- Cut container haulage costs by 30%
- Eliminated costly downtime waiting for swing lifts to arrive
- Gained move freedom and options around container haulage service providers
- Secured more independence and control over their container logistics
The payback period for T&G's investment is 2.5 years, based on their 2019 export volume. With this volume set to increase in coming years, that payback period will shorten further. T&G's staff have also embraced the change, finding the equipment easy to use, and appreciating the reduction in waiting time.
"Bison C-Lifts have kept my costs down, and made my staff happy, so everyone's on a winner!"
Barrie Aberhart, Site Manager
Explore The Bison Range
