Toyota Forklift Video Case Study: Anlin Windows

The manufacturing of windows and doors takes precision and skill. This is Anlin Industries in Clovis, California, the manufacturer of Anlin windows and doors, one of the largest and most successful replacement window providers in the Western United States. Anlin’s windows are sold throughout California and Sunbelt states. Handling these heavy windows also takes precision and skill, to assure that they are not easily broken or scratched. That is why Anlin chose dependable Toyota forklifts to do the heavy lifting in its production and distribution facility.

Anlin has a variety of forklifts. They have six order pickers, they have three 5,000-pound capacity propane forklifts, they also have a 9,000-pound capacity propane forklift with a rotator, and then a 10,000-pound capacity forklift.

These rugged forklifts perform a number of jobs at Anlin. First, as trucks arrive with raw materials such a glass and vinyl, the forklifts move the materials to temporary storage. Here, these long strips of vinyl are stacked within the facility’s large yard until needed in manufacturing. These 5,000-pound capacity vehicles extend their reach to easily maneuver the long loads around existing stacks, while the turning capabilities make them easy to move in and out of tight work spaces.

Like most window replacement manufacturers, Anlin produces each product on demand to precisely match the measurements of the window or door being replaced. The Toyota forklifts gather needed materials for transport to manufacturing cells. These vinyl strips stored in the yard are brought into the building. The forks are raised to easily clear obstacles below in the tight work areas. Pallet jacks also move large sheets of glass in and out of the work cells. These sheets of glass are used to manufacture each window or door. Silicone spacers are used to hold the two panes of glass together. Argon gas fills the air spaces in between the panes before it is sealed to provide insulation. The insulated glass unit is then inserted into vinyl frames, which are cut and welded together to provide a strong, energy-efficient product. Excess vinyl from the framing process is deposited into bins for recycling. Anlin recycles some 600,000 pounds of vinyl each year. The 9,000-pound capacity Toyota forklift with a rotating attachment gathers the bins from the production cells. The vehicle then travels outside to a large collection area. The load is raised and rotated, allowing the vinyl discards to drop into waiting containers.

Meanwhile, inside, completed windows and doors move from manufacturing to storage where they are held in these racks. Toyota order picker trucks service the racks, with associates working from platforms specially designed to hold windows. Upon reaching the proper storage location, the worker slides a window into the rack position. These order picker trucks provide very good maneuverability while operating in the narrow aisles of the rack areas.

And they’re designed to get in a very narrow space, but still lift the capacity needed for the customer. It also allows them to carry a large amount of windows, different sizes and weights.

When the windows are needed to fill orders, the same order picker trucks are used to retrieve them. Once gathered, the associate drives the vehicle to shipping docks, where the windows are removed from the work platform and loaded onto Anlin’s own fleet of trucks. The windows are strapped to the trailer’s walls to secure their ride in transit. Anlin relies on Toyota Material Handling of Northern California to provide its forklift fleet, and to keep all of the vehicles in top working condition.

Well, Anlin is on what’s called our Silver Full Maintenance Plan, and that helps them to ensure that their forks are operating at their full capacity, and to help them with any safety issues that might arise. Our technicians are servicing them on a regular basis, and it gives them the security knowing that they’re not gonna have any safety issues. It also helps them with standardized billing. They pay a flat rate every single month, so there’s not gonna be any maintenance hikes or unexpected expenses because they pay the same flat rate every single month.

Anlin has worked with Toyota Material Handling of Northern California since 2003. It has been a successful partnership because of the quality of Toyota forklifts, and the superior service and value that Anlin receives from its dealer, proving that Toyota is the clear choice for this window manufacturer.

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