Deliveries streamlined

The company produces about 3000 vehicles each year, across both its Coventry and Shanghai facilities, and as many as 18 containers of automotive parts arrive in Coventry from China on a weekly basis.

Containers shipped from China were not compatible with the loading bay configuration in Coventry and had to be unloaded on arrival at Felixstowe, and reloaded into a suitable curtain-sided trailer for delivery to the plant.

"We knew that doubling-up on the loading stage at Felixstowe was creating unnecessary expense and inconvenience,” explains Richard Wood, supply chain manager at The London Taxi Company.

After seeing examples of Thorworld’s bespoke platforms, The London Taxi Company was confident that a similar solution would enable the same container to be loaded in China and unloaded in Coventry without double handling.

Designs were created and keenly priced to include a dock plate with removable fork lift handles, a platform with an 8000kg capacity and a 10,000kg access ramp, in addition to access steps, handrails, bumpers and bollards. 

"The designs created matched our expectations completely, and the integrated platform and ramp system has already shown its worth beyond a doubt,” confirms Richard.  "The team on-site really enjoys using the kit and find that efficiency levels have increased significantly.  Furthermore, as we no longer have to pay fees at the port to transfer container contents, the ramp will pay for itself within several months.”