Toyota Forklift Video Case Study: Mt. Olive Pickle Company

00:08 Speaker 1: As the number one selling brand of pickles, relishes, and peppers, having reliable distribution processes is a really big deal to Mt. Olive Pickle Company. Helping to keep 170 million jars of product on the move each year at the Mt. Olive, North Carolina facilities is the work of Toyota forklifts. About 80 vehicles are typically deployed throughout the production and distribution areas of these operations.

00:35 Speaker 2: We chose to go with Toyota lifts because of our relationship with our partners, Southeast Industrial. We felt that those lifts fit our application very well. The safety features on the lifts as well as the mobility and the flexibility that Toyota provides, felt like it was a good fit for our business.

00:54 Speaker 1: The Toyota forklifts are involved in nearly every aspect of product movement at Mt. Olive Pickle Company. Here, Toyota’s 5,000 pound capacity, counterbalanced forklifts with internal combustion engines, unload raw cucumbers from delivery trucks. The powerful forklifts easily climb the ramps to reach trailers in the outdoor yard. These forklifts are equipped with special rotator attachments to quickly dump the cucumbers from their containers into large washing bins. Similar trucks with pneumatic tires work in large outdoor yards containing brine vats. The vats are used to ferment the cucumbers into pickles. Toyota forklifts also move pickle products to various processing stations, such as washing and cutting. Elsewhere in the building, jars to hold the finished pickles are unloaded and brought to packing stations. The packed items are then gathered from the end of lines and taken to storage. Once at the distribution center, cases of pickles are floor-stacked up to four pallets high. To fill customer orders, Toyota forklifts provide work platforms for associates to pick individual cases onto mixed pallets. Full pallets are also selected from storage and taken to stretch wrappers. The wrapped pallets are then loaded onto outbound trailers. In total, some 20 million cases each year ship from this facility to customers in all 50 states.

02:21 Speaker 2: It’s worked out great. The lifts are reliable, durable. We have a very high speed, high-paced type business, so we have to have reliable equipment, and the equipment has held up very well for us.

02:32 Speaker 1: Forklift drivers also appreciate the maneuverability and ease of operation that they experience when driving the Toyota forklifts, including the easy to reach controls.

02:42 Speaker 3: Oh, yeah, they’re right here at your fingertips. You got your forward and reverse. You got your up and down, your tilt and your side. It’s fine. I like it right here. It’s a lot better than the ones with the handles up here. I like the controls right here at my fingertips. I’ve been driving a lift for 30 years, and it’s good lift.

03:09 Speaker 1: Pickle production is a fairly seasonable business, with peak production between May and October when the company can take advantage of local cucumber crops. As a result, the forklift needs of the company vary with production volumes. For that reason, Mt. Olive Pickle looks to its Toyota dealer, Southeast Industrial Equipment, to supply the right quantity of vehicles needed throughout the year.

03:32 Speaker 4: Mt. Olive Pickle leases their equipment primarily because they want to have fresh equipment. It’s a very high use application. They run the equipment very hard. Having reliable, durable equipment is a key aspect to their expectations. We’re always looking for ways to save them money and partner with them.

03:54 Speaker 1: Southeast Industrial Equipment also provides regular maintenance on the vehicles, including preventative maintenance, as seen here, and any other repairs needed to assure that vehicles are in top working condition. Being able to depend on their forklift fleet is why Mt. Olive Pickle chose Toyota and Southeast Industrial Equipment in the first place.

04:16 Speaker 2: Really, really good. Very reliable. They’re really able to help us in a moment’s notice if we have an issue with equipment or have additional needs for additional pieces of equipment. They’re very receptive and a great partner. Two thumbs up.

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