frequency motors

Greatwest Kenworth LTD. has been growing for 40 years because of it’s commitment to its employees and dedication to the customers they serve. They take great pride in understanding the Alberta trucking industry.

Resulting from this growth, the Parts Department out grew it’s original space. Parts even had to be stored in other buildings. When remodeling of the front lobby and display area was approved, Clayton Zuchotzki, Parts Manager, saw that as the perfect opportunity to study options to improve storage space utilization. With the professional assistance and experience of CAM Industrial Supply, a Calgary based Material Handling company, it became apparent that not only would two Hänel vertical lifts (Lean Lifts) solve and maximize the space issue, but productivity and accuracy would be improved at the same time.

Clayton Zuchotzki, Parts Manager, thought it was a great time for Greatwest Kenworth to “grow up” during remodeling. Thus, a hole was made in the roof for the two Hänel Lean Lifts allowing for the units to be 33 1/2 feet high. This increasedtorage capacity by over 55% from the original ceiling height.

Greatwest Kenworth realized an immediate productivity improvement from the parts personnel picking and storing parts. The Hänel Lean Lifts automatically bring the location to the operator where a part is to be stored or picked. Bending, reaching and climbing the mezzanine were all eliminated.

Hänel’s MP Link™ two‐way interface was established between Greatwest Kenworth’s “Dealer Solutions” DMS system and the Hänel Lean Lifts. The MP‐Link interface is seamless and allowed their operators to use the existing DMS work stations and screens to enter parts just as they would for any parts order. Therefore, all transactions were identical to their current methods. Any storage or retrieval of parts that are stored in the Lean Lifts are handled automatically by the system.

When an order is entered into the “Dealer Solutions” DMS system for any of these items, the transaction is automatically sent to the controller on the Lean Lifts. The operator simply presses a key on the Hanel unit’s controller and the operator is directed through the picking or put‐away process. All transactions are automatically updated to the “Dealer Solutions” DMS system to maintain accurate inventory data.

The direct interface (MP‐Link) between the Hänel controller and the “Dealer Solutions” DMS system is integrated in the Greatwest Kenworth intranet. This results in the exclusive ability to view parts storage data from any PC that has security access within their intranet .

At Hänel, energy efficiency has always played a key role. There is a great emphasis on optimizing the energy efficiency of Hänel systems. For example, motors controlled by a frequency convertor use up to 50% less energy than drives powered directly from the mains and running at full load.

All Hänel systems that are proposed to automotive and truck dealerships are designed optimally for each dealerships exact needs. Hänel designs each proposed system for the best travel speeds of the unit, payload capacity, and the overall size to meet all requirements.

The new optional Hänel Lean-Lift EcoDrive version converts the kinetic energy of the descending extractor into electrical energy and feeds it back into the electrical supply system. This enables up to 40% of the energy that is fed into the Lean Lift to be recovered.