We’re pleased to announce that Queensland Exporter of the Year and leading manufacturer of iconic kangaroo leather products Packer Leather has increased its trust and commitment to United equipment by investing in a growing fleet of our Caterpillar DPN25N forklifts to safely handle processes vital to its efficiency, up-time and competitiveness on local and world markets.
The fifth generation family business, established in 1891, sells its light, tough and supple product to manufacturers of global brands of premium products including football boots, MotoGP suits, firefighter gloves, cycling gloves, saddlery and hiking shoes, delivering a product that has many times the tensile strength of cowhide and is considerably stronger than goatskin.
Safety, reliability and delivery performance are vital to Packer Leather, which operates on a national and world stage where these factors have a strong impact on competitiveness.
“As well as handling raw material and supplies, the forklifts are a key part of our production process,” said Mark Hourigan, Packer Leather’s International Marketing and Sales Manager. “During production, the leather can be moved between four sheds, five separate work areas and three storage locations. Depending on the product this can mean as many as nine separate pallet movements via a forklift, with each pallet of leather weighing between 500kg and 1500kg. The caterpillar forklifts handle this workload with ease.”
Our excellent relationship with Packer Leather extends over 20 years through our Queensland Manager Garth Grams and Packer Leather’s Principal, Lindsay Packer. The expanded fleet of four DP25Ns further cements this valued ongoing relationship.
In addition to the service support we offer on all equipment, the CAT DP25N’s dependable and easy-to-service engines offer an excellent blend of power and performance with the advantage of low fuel consumption and emissions, making them easy and economical to use. Ideal for industrial applications, the trucks achieve outstanding traction on sloping or slippery surfaces with solid pneumatic tyres providing excellent operator comfort.
“Key standout advantages for us are the built-in safety features and the high-visibility paintwork,” says Mr Hourigan. “With so many varied forklift movements taking place in a factory with 120 staff, safety qualities and strong visibility are highly valued. These are features that are most appreciated by staff.”
DP25N features include:
- LED lights on the front work lights, with front/rear combination lights that enhance visibility while reducing energy consumption and maintenance costs.
- LCD display provides extensive information on truck operation and maintenance state. It also indicates service requirements to prevent unexpected down time and cost due to unscheduled maintenance and service.
- Modern design techniques in combination with long life of components result in a long service interval reducing the total cost of ownership.
- Vehicle Control Module manages various truck and operator functions allowing easy trouble shooting and pin pointing of problems.
Mr Grams believes our customer-focused service ethos is a good fit with that of Packer Leather, which is an international leader in high performance leather with a reputation for quality and innovation.
“Packer Leather have a variety of specialised production processes to serve their diverse retail and export markets, in which our technology is extensively involved.
“Through the company’s R and D capability, their leather can be customised with a variety of colours, finishes and technical attributes to suit specialised applications. Packer leather is one of a handful of tanneries worldwide who can provide this service as a part of a supply chain extending from the factory floor to the customer’s door.
“Service is important throughout their finely tuned supply chain, including our service backing for first-rate dependable product such as the DP25Ns.”