Acroba carrying a long pipe.
TCM puts Acroba to the test
01 June 2003
Japan's TCM, the maker of a wide range of forklifts, recently demonstrated the prowess of its Acroba model at a new showcase assembly process at one of its plants.
The TCM dealer in Saudi Arabia, Aljomaih Holding Company, says visitors applauded a demonstration where Acroba carried a 12-m-long mast as part of the assembly process.
The Acroba has drawn praise even from customers with no experience with TCM forklifts. The assembly process at Shiga also helped the maker of materials-handling equipment to reduce the number of steps to assemble forklift trucks.
A TCM executive says: "In conventional assembly lines, there are six main steps in the process of assembling forklift trucks. In this new model assembly line, though, by adopting the Acroba - specifically three Acroba units with two new TCM AGV (automatic guided vehicle) units - the assembly process is reduced to only four main steps, and there is a 40 per cent saving in storage space for parts and components."
These major achievements are due to Acroba's capability for lateral movements, which enables prefabrication of cut steel materials to be skipped prior to putting these materials on the assembly line.
TCM says the Acroba eliminates the need for such prefabrications. As a result, it achieves a 41 per cent saving in space, in addition to a 28 per cent cut in transportation time, as well as reduction of supervisors from four to seven people down to only three. In all, this translates into a total annual cost saving of 16.4 million yen ($139,200).
Aljomaih has in stock standard models of diesel, gasoline, LPG and electric-powered forklifts from TCM.
"These models could be part of the vital logistics solutions in manufacturing, warehousing, construction or transport systems," says Abdullah Al Ali, general manager of Aljomaih's heavy and agricultural equipment division.
TCM's standard models of forklifts offer a wide range of options, some made for specific applications such as cargo container stacking, transporting large concrete pipes, heavy coils of steel or concrete blocks for building construction, transporting yachts in a marina or unloading a stack of cartons with a load grab. Customers are offered a model which is best suited for their unique applications, according to Al Ali.
Aljomaih recently bolstered its TCM range with the launch of new electric forklifts. The FB 10-7 and 15-7 handy electric forklifts have been redesigned, are easier to operate, and offer increased operator comfort as well as environmental friendliness, according to Aljomaih.
Aljomaih also represents Fiat-Allis, Iveco Aifo and Case New Holland of Italy, Claas and MTU of Germany, Tacom of Japan, Nokka-Tume of Finland, Perkins of the UK, Merla and Nardi of Italy and Arcusin of Spain.
The company also sells a wide range of generator sets and engines, wheel loaders, dozers and graders, concrete mixers, vibratory compactors and asphalt rollers, forklifts and telescopic handlers, marine container straddle carrier and telescopic spreaders, agri-tractors and harvesters, mowers and balers, combined seed drills and fertiliser spreaders, cultivators and disc ploughs and trailers and autobale loaders.
