Above: Combilift’s C-Series multidirectional forklifts have a low center of gravity and integrated platform that provide a stable base on which long loads can lie during transport
August, 2024- Most fabricating businesses tend to start small and grow over time if they continue to survive. Fineline Steel Fabrication in Centerville, Utah followed that trajectory, says Tyler Oliver, director. The roots of Fineline began about a decade ago when a sister company needed help after a fabricator attached to a project went out of business mid-project. Oliver and two assistants agreed to help.
“We knocked out a few columns and [a] beam and then said, ‘Well, we did alright with that one; why don’t we give it one more try.’ We gave it another try, and the rest is history,” he says. “We took off and hit the ground running.”
Since then, Fineline has evolved from 44,000 square feet to become a fabricator that employs 40 people who work in its “barely finished” 110,000-square-foot fully automated facility during 10-hour shifts, four days a week, Oliver says.
For about the first five years, Fineline moved all its material with warehouse-style forklifts, Oliver notes. That type of equipment (which the fabricator still uses for parts of the operation that do not require handling heavy structural members) performs the needed tasks, but being just good enough can restrict a company from advancing to the next level.
Oliver says he was exposed to the Combi C-Series multidirectional forklift from Combilift USA in Greensboro, North Carolina, at a trade show. In 2018, he toured a shop in Southern California and watched a CSeries forklift in action.
“I placed an order for it within maybe eight hours of seeing this first one actually operate,” he adds about acquiring the first one, a C10000 XL model with 5 tons of capacity. “It was [purchased] just to try to innovate our business and make it more competitive.”
The ability of the C-Series forklift to quickly change the direction of its wheels with the flip of a switch and move in any direction was a major factor in his purchasing decision, Oliver says. In addition, the ability to work inside and outside of the facility and quickly move material to minimize material handling helped establish the desired production flow. “Flow is everything. If you can create a flow, you can create revenue.”
The Combilift C10000 XL model provides a 5-ton capacity
JIT OBJECTIVE
One of the advantages Combilift claims its four-way forklift offers is the ability to double a site’s storage capacity. Because the truck can operate as a sideloader to carry long loads in narrow aisles and move around an entire facility with confidence, fabricators and service centers can install more storage racks closer together and still gain throughput.
However, Oliver emphasizes that Fineline does not want to store anything. Its objective instead is to target just-in-time production for every job to quickly invoice it and get paid. “It’s usually getting on a truck within 12 to 24 hours. We’re not sitting on completed jobs at all.”
The increase in material handling efficiency is a benefit, and Oliver estimates that a C-Series forklift improves efficiency by 50 to 60 percent by getting underneath a load significantly faster and moving it more quickly than a conventional forklift.
In addition to functioning as a sideloader and counterbalance, the multidirectional forklift has a narrow profile that enables it to navigate tight aisles and doorways “the biggest selling point for me,” Oliver says. “It gives you more floor space that you can eat up operator has a clear view of the forks and the load. This design contrasts with that of a conventional forklift, which creates a large blind, or dead, spot in front of the operator. “A lot of times you’re required to have a spotter be your eyes where you can’t see. With the Combilift, we found we don’t need that as much.”
The Combilift C-Series multidirectional forklift functions as a narrowaisle forklift, sideloader and counterbalance.
STEADY LOADS
The C-Series forklifts have a low center of gravity and integrated platform to provide a stable base for resting long loads on while transporting them, according to Combilift. Carrying the load at elevated levels is no longer needed, reducing the risk of injury or product damage. Safety is further enhanced by the moving mast system and hydraulic forklift positioner that allow the operator to adjust the forks, reach out, lift the load and place it on the platform without the need to leave the cab, reducing the risk of operator injury and strain.
Oliver notes that Fineline Steel does not need to reach any higher than about 5 feet.
About six months after taking delivery of the first Combi C-Series forklift, Oliver says Fineline purchased its second one. Then after about 18 months, the fabricator bought its third, with two being C10000 XL models and one being a C12000 XL with 6 tons of capacity. Most recently, the fabricator ordered two more to bring the total to five.
“Within a year and a half, I acquired three, and I just placed a new order. It should be here in about a week.”
After paving 10 acres at the new facility just to run the multidirectional forklifts on, Oliver adds that was part of the reason to purchase more of them from Combilift. “I actually never even dove down that rabbit hole of exploring other [vendors].”
The forklifts transport a variety of steel shapes, including tubes, I-beams, channels and rectangular tubes, from 6 to 60 feet long, Oliver says. The trucks are used to remove material off the automation line, transporting it to the welders’ workstations and then transferring the completed material to the paint area before moving it outside to have a load built for a shipping ticket.
Fineline Steel Fabrication uses its C-Series forklifts to transport a variety of steel shapes, including long I-beams.
Since taking delivery of the first Combi C-Series forklift, Oliver says he has not had a single issue with any of them, including the hydraulic lines.
Initially, he says he had reservations that the tires might be damaged because of the forklift’s four-way directional movement, but that has not happened.
As Fineline Steel continues to have enough work to keep the operation humming, Oliver expects to add more multidirectional forklifts. “If I was to guess, I would say in the next five years we’ll have at least 10.”
Because of the company’s experience with the C-Series, he says other Combilift material handling equipment is under consideration, such as a straddle carrier to handle containers and oversized loads, and warehouse-style forklifts. “I plan to visit their facility during early fall to look at a couple other pieces of equipment in Ireland with them.”
For now, Combilift continues to contact Fineline Steel Fabrication about once a quarter to see how the forklifts are operating and whether the equipment suits its needs. Oliver notes that the vendor is “just checking in, not trying to make a sale. They have been exceptional.”
Combilift USA, 877/226-2456, http://combilift.com/
Fineline Steel Fabrication, 385/228-2484, http://finelinesteel.com/
