King’s Material Chooses Altorfer Lift Trucks to Stay Productive

For nearly 30 years, King’s Material, a subsidiary of Dakota Red Corporation, has depended on Altorfer Lift Trucks to provide them with sales and support for their Cat® lift trucks. In most recent years, this relationship has given King’s Material the peace of mind to update their fleet with eight new Cat® GP40 pneumatic forklifts to operate throughout their manufacturing plants.

Comfort, Safety & Low Service Costs

Ward Fulmer, Altorfer Lift Trucks Sales Representative, worked closely with Dakota Red Corp Fleet Manager Jim Overman to ensure the eight new forklifts were ordered with comfort, safety, and low maintenance costs in mind.

Fulmer says the new forklifts were ordered with several safety features; including cabs, heaters, cloth full suspension seats with orange seat belts, steering wheel knobs, strobe lights, four mirrors, fire extinguishers, hydraulic lift line accumulators and air pneumatic tires to help dampen the shock when going over rough terrain.

He adds that the new fleet is also equipped with key features to maintain service costs.

“Service cost was one of Jim Overman’s major concerns as he was looking to update the Dakota Red fleet,” says Fulmer. “The eight new forklifts were purchased with a 64-month extended full coverage warranty, and several options to help maintain the life of the forklifts; including brick foundry package, elevated air intake and underbelly screen to name a few.”

Cat® Lift Trucks for Maximum Productivity

As the area’s leading manufacturer and distributor of concrete, masonry and landscape products, King’s Material depends on their fleet of 15 Cat® lift trucks to help operations run efficiently.

The company’s main manufacturing facility, located in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, operates five Cat® forklifts, including a GP40K-LP2, GP40K-LP,P6000-LP, P8000-LE, and a GP30KG-LP with nearly 19,000 hours that still operates in normal production. This facility is one of three manufacturing plants, in addition to several other locations throughout Iowa.

Tim Kempton, the Cedar Rapids plant production manager, says the forklifts are an important part of daily operations.

“The forklifts perform various jobs throughout the plant, including transporting final products from the conveyer belt to storage, hauling block across the plant, and loading and unloading flatbeds, customer trucks and received goods,” says Kempton.

According to Kempton, the Cedar Rapids plant produces approximately 10,000 concrete blocks a day, featuring an automatic system that mixes, molds, cures and cubes the blocks. Every block produced in the plant is hand checked for flaws before being transported to storage.

Kempton says the reliable performance of the forklifts helps operations run smoothly.

“Some machines are old and some are new. Although we have a back-up just in case, it’s never been an issue as we rarely have major breakdowns,” says Kempton. “Things are always running smoothly.”

Total Support from Altorfer

King’s Material’s entire fleet is backed by Altorfer’s preventative maintenance program to monitor the health and operating condition of the forklifts. Altorfer’s service department also provides regular maintenance updates and any on-site service when needed.

Kempton praises Altorfer’s quick response time and superior customer service, saying, “Altorfer is very prompt when replying to emails and calls. If necessary, a technician can be out here within an hour. Service is reliable and always an A+.”