Combilift takes a couple of minutes to speak with Brett McKay Director of McKay Timber to learn about expanding into their new facility in Melbourne, the importance I’ve long term relationships in business and of course how the best quality materials handling equipment can improve safety, efficiency and productivity in the frame and timber manufacturing industry.
Combilift: It’s a big day for you, the first load of timber from McKay Timber in Melbourne. Thanks for letting us come and talk to you about it. How long has this project been in the planning and how does it feel for it finally to be becoming operational?
Brett: We’ve always been working in the Melbourne market good and we have a lot of good customers here. This is just a natural extension for us. This project has been planned for some years now I’m just looking forward to getting started in the new year.
Combilift: In your business, the loads you handle must be quite large, heavy, and diverse. Can you give us an idea of what you need to move around on a daily basis?
Brett: On this site it is all about pack timber up to about 6 metres in length. The packs are only about a tonne in weight.
Combilift: How were you previously handling these products before you started using Combilift’s on your sites. What drove the change to multi directional forklifts and in particular Combilift?
Brett: Standard forklift mostly. For us it’s really became all about space. The Combilift on this site allows us to move around those long packs far more easily then with the normal forklift. We are also pretty much all inside there so space was important. The more we can get inside the better and the little CB does that for us.
Combilift: Which Combilift models did you choose and why?
Brett: We use the Combilift CB here. It’s quick and it’s manoeuvrable.
Combilift: Was safety the main consideration when choosing Combilift? Do productivity and safety go hand in hand on your sites? How so?
Brett: Yes, safety is really important to us but it wasn’t the only factor. We had to think about space and of course cost. It was the whole package really.
Combilift: Combilift places a huge amount of importance on developing long term relationships with its customers. I know you’ve even spoken to our MD quite a few times. I know you’ve a good relationship with the local Combilift representative here in Victoria and Tasmania. How important is that relationship in doing business with Combilift.
Brett: Yep. Mike (Mike Mostert, Combilift Victoria representative) is a good operator. It’s like anything. You are going to get problems from time to time. The Combilift it’s really important to a business so it needs to be working. all the time. If it does go down it needs to be fixed quickly and Mike is really good at solving any problem.
