Rochford Garden Machinery

The Challenge: More Stock, Same Space

Rochford Garden Machinery is a specialist distributor of outdoor power equipment, carrying a broad range of ride-on mowers, garden tractors, commercial turf machinery, and associated parts and accessories. Like many distributors in the agricultural and garden equipment sector, the business faced a challenge that is all too familiar: stock volumes were growing steadily, but the warehouse was not getting any larger.

The existing warehouse operation was built around a conventional counterbalance forklift, which required wide operating aisles throughout the facility. Those aisles consumed a significant portion of the total floor area – space that was being paid for but could not be used to hold stock. As seasonal demands grew and the product range expanded, Rochford Garden Machinery needed to find a way to store more within the same building without the cost and disruption of relocating or extending the facility.

The business consulted with Bendi Australia to explore whether a narrow aisle forklift solution could address the storage shortfall within the existing warehouse footprint.

The Solution: Bendi Narrow Aisle Forklift and Warehouse Redesign

After a detailed site assessment by the Bendi Australia warehouse design team, Rochford Garden Machinery made the decision to transition from their counterbalance operation to a Bendi narrow aisle articulated forklift and reconfigure the warehouse racking layout to suit the narrower aisle requirements of the new machine.

The Bendi narrow aisle forklift truck operates in aisle widths of 1.8 metres – compared to the 3.5-metre-plus aisles required by the previous counterbalance machine. By redesigning the racking layout around the narrower operating envelope of the Bendi articulated forklift, additional racking rows were introduced into the floor space previously occupied by wide operating aisles.

These additional racking rows created new pallet storage locations that simply could not have existed under the old counterbalance layout. The warehouse footprint did not change. The building did not change. The narrow aisle forklift truck and the redesigned layout changed everything.

The Outcome: More Storage, Same Building

Following the transition to the Bendi narrow aisle articulated forklift, Rochford Garden Machinery was able to accommodate their growing product range within the existing warehouse. The narrow aisle racking configuration delivered measurably more pallet storage locations, allowing the business to carry a broader stock range and handle higher seasonal volumes without increasing their property costs.

Operator workflow also improved. Narrower aisles mean shorter travel distances between pick faces, which translates to faster cycle times and reduced fatigue across the working shift. The narrow aisle forklift truck proved equally capable on the outdoor surfaces around the loading dock, removing the need for a separate outdoor machine.

The investment in the Bendi narrow aisle forklift and warehouse redesign allowed Rochford Garden Machinery to avoid the significant capital cost and operational disruption of a warehouse relocation – making the articulated forklift solution the most practical and cost-effective path forward.

Why a Narrow Aisle Forklift Works for Garden and Agricultural Distribution

Businesses distributing garden machinery, agricultural equipment, or rural supplies typically deal with wide variations in stock volumes across the seasons. A narrow aisle forklift gives these operations the storage density to handle peak season stock levels efficiently, without carrying the overhead of a larger facility year-round.

The Bendi range of narrow aisle articulated forklifts also offers outdoor operation capability – an important advantage for garden and agricultural distributors who frequently need to move stock between internal racking and outdoor holding areas or loading bays.

To find out how a Bendi narrow aisle forklift could increase storage capacity in your facility, contact the Bendi Australia team or use the warehouse storage calculator at bendi.com.au/calculator.

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