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Forklift solutions for the food & beverage industry

A food or beverage plant is a chain of linked stages: receiving ingredients and packaging, feeding the line, collecting pallets at end of line, storing finished goods by batch, picking orders for dealers and loading delivery trucks. Each stage has its own distances, loads and environment. Forklift solutions for the food & beverage industry are therefore a coordinated fleet, with each truck type in the right place.

Operating challenges in food and beverage

Hygiene and emissions: processing, filling and packing areas must avoid smoke and fuel odours, so indoor trucks must be electric.
Shelf life and batch traceability: goods must ship in the right order, requiring selective racking and clear location management.
Low temperatures: dairy, ice cream, meat and seafood need chillers and cold stores, which affect both drivers and batteries.
Wet floors and drainage: bottle washing and processing areas have damp floors that affect wheels and safety.
Peak seasons: soft drink, beer and confectionery volumes rise sharply in hot months and at Tet, so the fleet runs multiple shifts.
Small dealer orders: traditional distribution channels order many SKUs in small quantities, making picking labour-intensive.

Overview: truck type – STILL model – application

Truck type	STILL model	Application in the industry
Electric counterbalance trucks	RX 20, RXE 10–16C, RX 60	Container loading, pallet moves in enclosed plants, finished goods stores
Diesel & LPG forklifts	RX 70	Empties yards, raw material sacks, outdoor container stuffing
Reach trucks	FM-X, FM-X SE, FXR	High-bay finished goods and cold stores
Stackers	ECV, EXV, EXD, EXV-SF	Small and medium plants, packaging stores, beverage dealers
Electric pallet trucks & hand pallet trucks	ECH, EXH, EXH-S, EXH-SF, HPS/HPT	Truck unloading, line feeding, dispatch docks
Order pickers	OPX, OPX-L, OPX iGo neo	Case picking for dealers and stores
Tow tractors & platform trucks	LTX 20, LTX 50, LTX 70, LXW	Tugger trains feeding packaging to several lines
iGo automated trucks	AXV, EXV iGo, FM-X iGo, AXL	End-of-line automation, night put-away, truck loading

Very narrow aisle (VNA) trucks (MX-X, NXV) are less common in food plants but worth considering for large distribution centres needing very dense storage. See the very narrow aisle trucks category.

Following the flow of goods

Receiving: sacks of ingredients and packaging arrive by truck. Outdoors, diesel or LPG trucks unload heavy goods; under the canopy, electric pallet trucks and electric counterbalance trucks move them into storage.

Production: supplies reach the line by electric pallet truck or tugger train. Finished pallets leaving the stretch wrapper are a good place to start automating.

Finished goods storage: reach trucks place goods in high racking by batch; for cold stores, cabin and battery need specific choices. Cold storage forklifts covers low-temperature environments in detail.

Dispatch: order pickers build mixed orders, and electric pallet trucks move them to the dock and onto delivery trucks. An overview of beverage distribution to retail is in forklifts for food, beverage and retail.

Solution articles

Related services

Preventive maintenance: inspection schedules suited to damp, dusty or cold environments. See maintenance and repair.
Forklift rental: extra trucks for peak season without fixed investment. See forklift rental.
Fleet management: track operating hours, driver access and impacts. See forklift fleet management.

Need a forklift plan for your food or beverage plant or warehouse? Send your layout and volumes via the quote page or call 0902 63 79 70 to arrange a survey.