Linde helps Paramount Liquor keep warehouse costs down

Linde customer Paramount Liquor founder Mark Rowe has seen plenty of former competitors in the on-premises wholesale liquor business do the latter. With three decades experience in the industry he has managed to succeed and expand.

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When you are an Australian, privately owned, family company competing in a market contested by major local and overseas players you either succeed or succumb.

“We’ve got to constantly adapt to the market place in order to out-perform our competitors,” he said. “As a family company Paramount Liquor has the advantage of rapid decision making. The buck stops with me.”

I always strive to reduce my costs so if I am offered a good deal on refurbished equipment, as I always have been with Linde, I’ll go for it.

Refurbished linde forklifts

One of the key decisions Mark Rowe has made in the last 18 months has been to rely on refurbished Linde forklifts and reach trucks. The business now has 30 of them at its Melbourne and Sydney warehouses.

“We don’t lease anything. We own everything we’ve got, including buildings,” he’s proud to explain. “My experience has been that maintenance costs on the used Linde equipment we run still come in below what our outgoings would be to purchase or lease new equipment.

“I always strive to reduce my costs so if I am offered a good deal on refurbished equipment, as I always have been with Linde, I’ll go for it.”

Customer relationships crucial

Paramount Liquor has built its reputation on a commitment to service and reliability, so naturally looks for those characteristics in its own suppliers.

“We have a good relationship with Linde. They understand our business and provide us with refurbished forklifts capable of handling the workload we place on them. Given their reliability and quality in our circumstances we consider that we get best possible value by purchasing refurbished equipment. “

Paramount Liquor purchases used Linde forklifts less than 10 years old and generally with around 6,000 to 8,00 hours on the hour meter. Often the refurbishment process includes provision of a new battery.

Over the years we have looked at other forklift brands, but we’ve never had reason to change since switching to Linde.

High tempo demands reliability

The company’s 16,000 square metre Melbourne warehouse runs a mixture of 30 Linde electric forklifts and reach trucks operating at high tempo in a wide aisle environment with racking up to 9 metres high. A smaller Sydney warehouse also runs used Linde equipment.

“Our demands are very straightforward,” Mark Rowe said. “We look for good reliability and equipment which is easy to use. We are always busy but we work around the clock four days per week. At those times we use opportunity charging and we have never had a problem with our Linde trucks running out of charge.

“Linde suit our purposes”

“Over the years we have looked at other forklift brands, but we’ve never had reason to change since switching to Linde. They suit our purposes. We keep each of them until they reach the point that they are no longer worth repairing.

“Our relationship with Linde is a good one. Whenever we need equipment I call Linde. They’ve come to know our business, know what we want and have always been able to source it for us. When we have had need to call Linde technicians they have appeared promptly.”

For its part Linde continues to manage its relationship with Paramount Liquor not simply in an order-taking role but by anticipating and understanding its needs and by offering solutions which give the expanding wholesaler the power to choose Linde products which will suit it best.