STAFF at logistics firm Europa Warehouse in Corby have parked their daily work to take part in a ‘dancing forklift’ video in aid of safe lifting.
Six drivers were chosen to perform a routine choreographed by an originally choreographed routine by warehouse operations manager Andrew Kay.
He and his team worked hard to create the dance which featured high-tech forklifts normally used for transporting and carrying goods in the warehouse ranging from wine and spirits to apparel.
The Europa Warehouse site was specially selected by Claire Bottle, chief executive at logistics trade body United Kingdom Warehousing Association, as the location for the Global Lifting Awareness Day promotional video. GLAD is a worldwide campaign focused on celebrating the innovations and incredible work of affected industries, including anyone with an interest in lifting and working safely at height.
“It was brilliant to watch the team’s enthusiasm, offering them a chance to get creative,” says Andrew. “I have never been part of something like this on such a massive scale.”
Its unique narrow aisles and nine-tier towering racks made the Corby warehouse a perfect location, providing a variety of lifting equipment including very narrow aisle forklifts, for the video.
The Corby team were represented by Ewelina Brzezinska and Anthony Fahnbulleh in the GLAD video, plus support team including Sonal Patel, Connor Piper, Sally Watson.
“This is my first time as part of anything like this – it felt like a great achievement,” says Anthony, a reach truck driver who has worked at Europa in Corby for two years. “It was especially good that we got to work with the team from other Europa sites.
“My favourite part of the video was synchronising with the other drivers. This was a challenging element but looked really great in the finished video and showed our level of precision.”
Watch the video at www.youtube.com/watch?v=U_31OPALI3M
Europa Warehouse in Corby opened in 2020 and employs a team of 300. The £60 million facility is Europa’s largest site and provides services for blue chip and ecommerce clients.
Research shows that 1,500 injuries are caused annually by forklifts and other industrial vehicles. These statistics show the importance of the video to promote the seriousness of lifting safely.