El Ciruelo S.L. – Flexible Rental Programme Provides up to 5 Times Larger Fleet in Peak Season

Application

El Ciruelo S.L. is one of the world’s leading producers and exporters of premium quality table grapes and stone fruit, based in the Murcia region, one of the most important agricultural regions in Spain. The company’s cultivation area in Spain alone covers about 2,400 hectares; around 70,000 tonnes of grapes are harvested here every year. Another 800 hectares in Brazil produce a further 30,000 tonnes. El Ciruelo exports its products to over 60 countries worldwide. Its two production centres, located in Cieza and Alhama in south- eastern Spain, each cover an area of 20,000 square metres.

Challenge

In the production centres the harvested fruit is delivered, processed, packed, and prepared for dispatch. To ensure that the entire process from unloading the harvest to loading the finished goods runs smoothly, a reliable, flexibly available fleet of forklifts plays a crucial role. Because the fruit industry is extremely seasonal, Ciruelo works with varying levels of capacity throughout the year. In the high season, when an average of 70 trucks shuttle between the two logistics centres and 80,000 kg of fruit are shipped every day, some 100 forklifts are in use, at peak times around the clock in three-shift operation. In the two-month off-season, the company operates about 20 forklifts.

Solution

After a detailed analysis of the specific requirements in El Ciruelo’s production centres, Crown submitted a customised proposal as an appropriate response to the large fluctuations: a flexible long-term rental contract with the entire fleet being renewed every five years, complemented by extensive after-sales services.

The fleet includes 60 WT Series platform pallet trucks every season, primarily used for loading and unloading trucks and weighing goods. Up to 30 SC Series three-wheel electric forklifts are used to store and retrieve cartons and pallets and to supply goods for order picking. Each season is planned in advance and the forklifts that are likely to be needed are reserved accordingly.

Result

The flexible long-term rental and service contract enabled El Ciruelo to:

• Operate a highly operational, reliable, and robust fleet of forklifts
• Benefit from operator ergonomics for faster and more efficient operations
• Significantly accelerate the picking process
• Substantially increase lift truck uptime even in full-shift operation
• Always operate the right number of forklift trucks during extreme seasonal fluctuations

“With the Crown forklifts and the Tecasur service, we always have the optimal fleet in operation – in the right size at the right time and precisely tailored to our requirements. These are simply very good, professional products that enable us to work smoothly and increase our productivity. In the context of long-term rental, the price-performance ratio is simply unbeatable. We would make the same decision again at any time.”

Aquilino Sola, Operations Manager El Ciruelo, Murcia, Spain

For more information visit: crown.com