CPT International 4/2019
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LOGISTICS<br />
Forklift fleet keeps<br />
the castings moving<br />
The compact RX 70 diesel forklift combines<br />
dynamic maneuverability with state-of-theart<br />
hybrid drive control for particularly low<br />
consumption<br />
The industrial trucks at Fondium’s production works in Singen have been brought up-todate<br />
by forklift expert Still to enable the company to continue asserting itself in the<br />
intense competition for automotive castings. Still’s FleetManager is an important component<br />
of this fleet modernization. All in all, a considerably higher level of fleet operational<br />
readiness has been achieved despite a reduction from 136 to 119 vehicles.<br />
Gerd Knehr, Reutlingen<br />
Photos: Still<br />
This downsizing of the fleet effectively<br />
cuts maintenance and repair<br />
costs. 23 maintenance-free lithium-ion<br />
warehouse vehicles are now<br />
also stationed directly in the departments<br />
with their own charging points<br />
– eliminating both the long paths to the<br />
former central charging station and<br />
supplementary substitute wet-cell batteries.<br />
Prepared for the future<br />
Since the site at Hohentwiel in Singen<br />
was founded in 1895, Georg-Fischer<br />
(GF) Automobilguss has become a leading<br />
company for heavy-duty cast-iron<br />
vehicle components. Examples include<br />
brake calipers for the well-known company<br />
Knorr-Bremse, as well as wheel<br />
hubs and steering knuckles for truck<br />
producers such as Daimler, MAN, Renault,<br />
DAF or Volvo.<br />
The GF sites in Singen and in Mettmann<br />
near Düsseldorf achieved sales of<br />
550 million euros with about 2,000<br />
employees in 2018. The Singen works<br />
mainly manufactures vehicle parts for<br />
trucks, while car components are principally<br />
produced in Mettmann. Both<br />
foundries were taken over by the Fondium<br />
Group at the end of last year, following<br />
restructuring of the product<br />
portfolio of the GF Group, based in<br />
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