In early November 2020, Owlett-Jaton took delivery of an eight-strong fleet of the latest generation ‘EKS 412’ Jungheinrich order pickers, from Germany. The new intake has increased the count to twenty order pickers within the 12,000 m² warehouse facility, containing 25,000 pallets at the Head office in Stone, Staffordshire.

This significant investment in new machinery ties into Owlett-Jaton’s drive to continually improve operational efficiency while reducing environmental impact.

Initially, the new order pickers were to replace some of the existing machines, with the balance increasing the overall number within the facility. However, the decision has since being taken to keep all of the existing machinery for the foreseeable future - a reflection of how the business is doing.

The Jungheinrich EKS 412’s are technologically advanced, out-performing previous iterations. They are equipped with the up to date lithium-ion powered batteries, offering optimum picking performance, whilst demonstrating impressive energy efficiency. The batteries take less time to charge, making them noticeably more efficient, while holding double the power and performance than before. The machines offer optimal ergonomics for use in wide aisles, perfect all-round visibility (thanks to the new mast and side viewing windows in the cab), along with high stability; all helping toward Health and Safety in the workplace, too.

“When a company has the logistic statistics such as Owlett-Jaton, receiving, as well as picking and processing over a hundred tons of goods every day, and operating 24 hours a day Monday to Friday, the new order pickers are an absolute necessity. But just how good are these new Jungheinrich EKS 412’s? Well, if you stood in the warehouse and heard the bell ring at the beginning of every shift, you would hear warehouse staff deciding who will be ‘the lucky ones’, this time!”

Late 2019 saw Owlett-Jaton being the first and only wholesaler in their industry in the UK to achieve the internationally recognised ISO 14001:2015 certification for its Environmental Management System. The advantages of certification were recognised at an early stage. Living in a global society that is increasingly concerned with the environmental impact caused by industry, the ISO 14001:2015 certification demonstrates that Owlett-Jaton takes the matter seriously and actively wants to improve. This in turn gives its customers peace of mind that they go above and beyond with regards to sourcing and supplying responsibly. Indeed, today many companies and manufacturers now require their supply chain to have specific environmental management plans. Accreditation shows that its customer’s supplier is a responsible company, which increases credibility, and helps towards winning new customers.

Since attaining the certification, Owlett-Jaton has taken several steps to further improve its impact on the environment, and the new order pickers are no exception to this. Taking less power to charge measurably improves the carbon footprint. The new lithium-ion batteries emit no gases during charging and are more environmentally friendly in comparison with conventional lead-acid batteries.