Bison container lifting jacks have enabled Morris Equipment to handle shipping containers independently at two production facilities in central Canada.
Now they can lift fully loaded export containers on to trucks themselves, saving around $50,000 per year in crane hire charges. Plus they avoid costly downtime waiting for contract cranes to arrive.
Morris has also eliminated safety risks from using container ramps in winter, and multiple light forklifts to handle empty containers.
Two years after investing in two Bison C-Lift A Series, the container jacks continue to perform well, even in freezing winter temperatures.
Save $50,000/Year In Crane Hire
Avoid Delays And Downtime
Process Cargo At Ground Level
Improve Worker Safety
Work At Sites Without Docks
Morris Equipment is a Canadian manufacturer of agricultural tools and equipment, with production facilities located in Saskatchewan and Manitoba. The Morris range of Air Carts, Air Seeders and other machinery is exported globally in 40 foot shipping containers. The company averages 13 export container loads per month, shipped from two different facilities.
Due to the size and weight of their machines, export containers need to be loaded at ground level. Historically, Morris would ground the empty containers using three light forklifts - a practice that wasn't ideal from a health & safety point of view. And given the weight of the full containers - averaging around 35,000 lb or 16,000 kg - a contract crane had to be hired to lift the containers back onto the truck trailer.
Coordinating contract cranes and haulage services was a constant headache for the Morris operations team. This was exacerbated by the big distances the service providers had to travel each trip. Relying on third parties resulted in costly downtime and unwanted delays, not to mention crane hire charges costing a minimum of $1,000 for each call out.
The other challenge Morris Equipment faced related to health and safety. While they had a ramp for loading containers sitting up on a chassis, ramps weren't safe or practical given the size of the machines Morris was loading, especially in icy winter temperatures. And to place empty containers to the ground, sometimes two or three light weight forklifts were used, which was not ideal either.
To lower costs, improve health & safety, and eliminate downtime, Morris Equipment invested in two Bison C-Lift A Series - one for each production facility.
The C-Lift A Series comprises four portable, self-levelling container hoists, capable of lifting cargo containers weighing up to 70,000 lb or 32,000 kg. The A Series is quick and easy to set up and runs off a single-phase power supply. It is compatible with all ISO container types and sizes, including 40' and high cube sea cans.
With temperature variations, space restrictions and other factors in play, Bison has given Morris Equipment a simple, reliable and powerful solution for taking charge of their container loading operations.
By eliminating over $50,000 per year in crane hire costs, and time delays from waiting for crane providers to arrive, Morris Equipment achieved simple payback on its investment in just over a year.
After two years of use, in temperatures ranging from -40⁰F to 95⁰F (-40⁰C to 35⁰C), Bison C-Lifts have become an essential part of the Morris export operation.
— Bob Montville, Manufacturing Engineering Manager, Morris Equipment
