Translift Bendi has reached another milestone in articulated truck history with the delivery of their 7,000th truck into the UK. Over recent years the articulated market place has out grown its "niche" label and Bendi truck sales have dramatically accelerated year on year, this year Bendi sales will approach the volumes of the established leading reach truck manufacturers.
The first Bendi's rolled off the production line in the mid 1980's – the first articulated trucks of their kind available anywhere in the world, since this time the design has undergone considerable and continual development. There had been earlier articulated truck concepts in the forties and fifties, but none had employed the combination of geometry, dynamics and weight distribution that provide the Bendi's unique characteristics, developed by inventor Freddy Brown.
Freddy had been inspired by the humble hand pallet truck back in 1982 and approached the problems experienced on previous concepts from a different angle. Having previously pioneered Very Narrow Aisle (VNA) trucks in the 1960's and 1970's, Freddy applied his knowledge to the articulated concept. The introduction of the Bendi made the articulated truck a truly versatile replacement for conventional counterbalance and reach trucks. Then, with later developments, it would equal and eventually supersede the capabilities of traditional VNA machines.
Throughout the nineties, the Bendi design was subject to further upgrades and enhancements, to improve performance and meet changing customer demands and legislation. Over the next decade virtually all the major components of the truck were to be updated and additional variants added to the range including the introduction of gas powered Bendi's in 1995.
During the development of the Bendi range in the 1990's many key safety features were incorporated in the trucks design – these included seat presence switch which ensures the truck is only operational if the driver is seated, an automotive style foot pedal layout for an uncomplicated driving technique and traction cut out which eliminates the truck from rolling backwards if started on a gradient – all of which have been present on Bendi's since that time.
A proud occasion in Bendi history was when the earliest known example of a Bendi was presented to the National Fork Truck Heritage Centre in December 2006. Bendi represents an important milestone in fork lift truck design and provides a demonstration of the ingenuity and resourcefulness of British innovation and engineering.
It's over a quarter of a century since Freddy Brown first realised the combination of geometry, dynamics and weight distribution that provide the Bendi's unique stability and traction characteristics. Since 1989, Freddy and the Bendi have won no less than nine awards which range from the Queens Award for Innovation, Fork Lift Truck Association (FLTA) Lifetime Achievement and Innovation award, United Kingdom Warehousing Association (UKWA) Technology Innovation and a Chairman's award as well as others from Department of Trade & Industry (DTI) and British Material Handling Federation (BMHF).
Today, the efficiency and versatility of the Bendi is even more appropriate to storage requirements for all kinds of companies, as warehouse space is increasingly at a premium. Many of the UK's top blue chip companies appreciate Bendi's remarkable space saving attributes and fantastic operational flexibility – Bendi's operate comfortably in aisles as narrow as 1.6m and lift to heights above 12m whilst being equally at home working outside on the roughest of yards.
Overall savings in space and time, together with reduced capital costs can create huge savings for operators – for more information, call Translift Bendi on 01527 527411 or visit www.bendi.co.uk.