Equipment failure is not an option
November 1st 2007

As designers, manufacturers and installers of loading bay equipment and industrial doors, Stertil Stokvis says it is well placed to help with specifying loading bays. Newly appointed general manager of Stertil UK's loading bay division, Andrew Georgiou, talks to IPE about the importance of reliability, safety and green credentials in the materials handling market

The loading bay division's newest member is looking forward to meeting the challenges of heading up this ever-changing sector. Previous work with Sara means Andrew Georgiou already has a strong understanding of the materials handling industry. "I worked with Sara for 18 years, I was one of the first salesman it employed. Initially my work involved highspeed doors, however a thriving trade in loading bays led to a specialised division that went from strength to strength, culminating in my position as national sales manager.

"I am looking forward to bringing my knowledge of the products on the market, and my understanding of customer needs, especially the desire for a quick and accurate service."

Georgiou takes the managerial baton from Mike Bunn, who is still with the company helping to establish a new division dealing exclusively with change of level and process application scissor lifts.

However Andrew predicts initially there will be an element of overlap: "Mike and I will be working closely during this transfer period and I hope to build on the foundations that he has put in place." With successful products to Stertil's name, Georgiou is excited to be working with the latest ranges.

"Particularly with the dock levellers, a key attribute of Stertil's products is that of reliability," says Georgiou.

"I believe we are the only company to offer a lifetime guarantee on the hinge models for example, and there is a five year warranty on all other products." Stertil places great store in using high quality materials and puts products through their paces with rigorous testing procedures. "Our dock levellers are manufactured with high tensile steel, the platform tops are manufactured in one piece to eliminate weak spots, the hinge and lip have more strength through increased weld contact, and all models are supplied with cross traffic legs so that they can carry a greater load without deformation when the leveller is parked," explains Andrew Georgiou.

"We start our manufacturing process by making prototypes which are then subjected to extreme testing in our design and development department. This testing includes a machine which simulates the stress loads which take place over a typical 10 –15 year product lifetime. Only once our design engineers are entirely happy with the finished model is it submitted for approval to EN1398." The latest HW Ergonomic Dock Leveller has a patented lip design and an energyabsorbing rear hinge, providing faster, smoother transition between leveller and vehicle and a reduced crown angle between the lip and the platform. This gives a lower impact on materials handling equipment making the product more durable, and according to Andrew, safer.

"The loading bay is a busy and sometimes frantic environment. It is vital that where you have a mixture of heavy loads, moving traffic and personnel that all risks are managed. Equipment failure is not an option. The implications of an accident are morally and socially unacceptable. Additionally, what employer wants to deal with the issues raised in the new Corporate Manslaughter Act?" Another important issue that the Loading Bay division are considering is the company's environmental impact. Being green has always been a priority for Stertil, and Andrew insists that this will continue: "We achieved the ISO14001 environmental management systems accreditation from British Standards Institute in February 2007. In order to achieve this we significantly reduced the energy consumption of the business by implementing new controls. We decreased our landfill waste by 50%, and introduced recycling processes for paper, cardboard, metal and wood."

Speaking about his future plans for the division, Andrew Georgiou emphasises that his priorities lie not only in increasing Stertil's market share, but "to continue to prove to customers that we do what we say we're going to do, at the time we say we're going to do it."

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