Market leading masonry company C&M is in the midst of a upgrading program to convert its forklift fleet to Linde models.
The company, which began operations as Concrete and Masonry with a small plant in Bendigo in 1972, now has five manufacturing plants spread over three states and markets into South Australia, Victoria, Qld and New South Wales.

Its 28 acre Bendigo facility is the centrepiece of  C&M operations, housing two plants, vast holding yards and dispatching facilities servicing South Australia, Victoria and New South Wales.

C&M sells direct to the building and commercial market and also has a strong network of distributors for its domestic products. Its range includes domestic and commercial paving products, concrete blockwork, stone products, domestic and commercial retaining walls and fence systems.

The task of investigating options for the upgrading of its forklift fleet was given to Shane Dale, whose twin roles of production manager and occupational health and safety co-ordinator at Bendigo gave him a great understanding of what was required.
“On any day here at Bendigo each of our forklifts can cover up to 20 kilometres moving moulds and loading trucks,” Shane said. “We load nearly 40 trucks a day, including B-Doubles, on unsealed surfaces which can vary from dust to mud. I was looking for good ergonomics, fuel savings and good service and support.”
Mr Dale began looking at 3.5 tonne models, but realised from the specification alone that Linde’s  diesel H30 three tonne model was more than a match for the company’s existing 3.5 tonne forklifts from a competitor.

When I decided to trial two Linde machines there was some operator resistance,” he recalled. “One driver threatened to quit when I gave him the first evaluation machine to drive. At the end of the two week trial he didn’t want to give the Linde back and now two years later it’s still his personal machine.”

C&M’s Bendigo site has nine Linde H30 forklifts, with plans to add further units as the need arises. The company’s other sites in Victoria, New South Wales and South Australia may also switch over to Linde, bringing the company’s fleet to nearly 40.

“There are a lot of benefits for us in changing over,” Shane Dale said. “For starters there is much reduced tyre wear and I calculate that we are saving $40 per forklift per week in fuel costs. The Lindes are significantly quieter than the machines they replace.

“The feedback from the drivers has been excellent and from a safety perspective the H30 has better visibility through the forks than the brand we are replacing.”

The ergonomic design of the Linde 39X range, which includes the H30, extends to its compact engine, which allows clear space for easy cabin entry and exit.

At the nucleus of the truck’s ergonomic focus is the Linde Load Control (LLC) system of electronic mast function actuation. The two control levers for mast, fork and load movement are integrated in a wide armrest that is adjustable vertically and horizontally, resulting in the levers sitting literally at the operator’s fingertips. The electronic actuation of the hydraulics means that the effort required with either control lever is 85% less than operator effort needed with mechanical levers, while exceeding the load handling precision possible with mechanical levers. 

To further improve operator comfort, great attention has been paid to the elimination of vibration. The engines are resiliently mounted to the counterweight, dampening vibration at the source. The mast is mounted directly to the drive axle, ensuring that vibrations from handling of the load are transmitted straight to ground without ever going through the chassis. The drive axle is resiliently mounted to the chassis, giving an exceptional level of ride comfort.

Linde Truck Control (LTC) provides the operator with superb responsiveness and precision in driving and lifting. It also keeps the engine speed at the lowest rpm necessary for each task, assisting fuel efficiency, quiet running and, most importantly, eliminates operator involvement in managing engine speed. LTC actually monitors the driver’s inputs and adjusts engine speed so that sufficient power will be available – the previous model Linde trucks had load-sensing hydraulics on all truck functions, while 39X models have load-predicting hydraulics.