Maximum Reliability at Bednar Farm Machinery

Bednar Farm Machinery started life in 1997 as STROM Export, part of the STROM Centre Business Group, one of the largest suppliers of agricultural machinery in Central Europe.

Producing machines for soil tillage, mulching, transportation and seed drill, the company employs 145 people in its manufacturing and assembly facilities in the Rychnov region of the Czech Republic.

Material handling equipment is needed to support a three shift pattern across Bednar Machinery’s delivery area, warehouse, assembly room and paint shop throughout the working day, so it has to be manoeuvrable and productive during all shifts.

With 30-40 pallets moved and two to three finished pieces of agricultural machinery loaded for delivery in each eight hour shift, forklifts and warehouse equipment is expected to be completely reliable.

Bednar Farm Machinery decided to review its material handling fleet after recognising that the downtime caused by its older equipment was too high. The business discussed its needs with local CESAB dealership Auto SAS, which it has worked with for over four years. This led to the trial of several CESAB models including the new B600 range.

A 4-wheel AC electric CESAB B630 forklift is now in use in the warehouse and assembly room, handling components to and from the production line and paint shop.

Part of the B600 range, the B630 is designed to handle multi-shift operations with ease. Precision handling is improved because the side shift feature of the CESAB forklifts means that the forks can position loads quickly, accurately and safely, which increases productivity.

The B600 range features CESAB Intelligent Mast Design technology which includes automatic speed reduction with forks lifted. Should an operator try to drive a B600 truck either with or without a load and with the forks in an elevated position the forklift will automatically limit the speed possible to within safe levels, helping to prevent accidents.

In addition to the B630, Bednar Farm Machinery has also taken a CESAB Drago 450 and a Drago 500 for its delivery area, helping to load and unload finished products.

A CESAB powered stacker truck, the S212, is used in the warehouse for the handling of components for production and assembly.

Bednar Farm Machinery Plant Manager Mr Vojtech Bednar: “Our decision to switch the fleet to CESAB has been a very successful one. We are extremely satisfied with the service and support from Auto SAS. We have enjoyed a long term relationship with them because they respond very quickly to requests and are completely reliable, as well as very professional.

“The new Cesab trucks have proved to be highly manoeuvrable, reliable and easy to operate. The feedback from our drivers is excellent because they can work consistently without the problem of breakdowns or downtime”