Taplanes - Skate & Track Solutions

Taplanes, a company based near Harrogate, use the Joloda Skate and Track system to make deliveries all around the UK for their shower and bathroom units.

The company builds and installs shower and bathroom pods into hotels, schools and universities such as Oxford and Cambridge.  In the last year the demand for their products has increased significantly, leading them to invest in a new Euro 6, 7m long truck from Micra Truck Bodies, to increase their delivery capacity and reduce their carbon footprint.  They currently had only a 4m vehicle in their fleet. For the schools and universities they only have a 6 week window for installation so the volume of deliveries surges through the summer period, creating the need for a larger truck to keep up with the deliveries.

They purchased the skate and track system to enable them to load and unload this longer truck body quickly and easily. On the smaller vehicle they simply slid each unit manually in and out of the vehicle but on a 7m vehicle this would have proved strenuous and taken too much time as well as high risk of damage.

They have also started supplying more of the bathroom pods with ceramic sink and toilets which would, according to HSE regulations, be too heavy to push that distance so the skate and track is then ideal for the heavier awkward loads. The Skate system also means they eliminate any risk of product damage to the base and sides of the pods, by safely moving the units on the skates instead of hand pushing.

Joloda skates are placed in recessed tracks and rolled under the load, the skates and load are then raised by pulling down the handles.  This then means that the load, which can be any weight up to 3.5 tonnes, is ‘live’, and can be freely pushed the length of the trailer.  The skates include manual and automatic braking, self-centering and minimal maintenance as the system cleans itself when it is in use.

Taplanes place each unit on the tail lift via a sack truck, then slide it on to the skates then use the skates to move each one down the trailer until fully loaded. The previous trailer could handle 24 pods, the new vehicle with the Joloda Skate System can move 41.

The customer is so happy with the system they want it fitted in their older smaller vehicle also, as they can see the difference in efficiency and safety of loading and unloading! And the payback is in just 3 school terms!