St Andrews Timber & Building Supplies has completed the first phase of significant investment in its electric fleet with the purchase of two new fork lift trucks.

The firm, which is one of the largest independent builders’ merchants in Scotland’s central belt, took delivery of the 80V counter-balanced vehicles at its Livingston depot.

St Andrews now has four of the high-powered CAT Lift trucks at its disposal, with the other two located at its Prestonfield headquarters in Edinburgh.

Plans are in place to further expand the electric fork lift fleet, with similar vehicles earmarked for the company’s second location in the capital at Stenhouse, as well as its west coast base at Paisley, in 2024.

Designed to cope with intensive duties and tough conditions with a lifting weight limit of 3 tonnes to a maximum height of 4.8 metres, the machines are more capable than the traditional diesel forklifts and come with a high standard specification which includes Presence Detection System+ (PDS+), maintenance-free wet disc brakes and IP54 sealing of main components.

Managing director Ronnie Robinson said: “The new fork lift trucks are not only cheaper on fuel costs and more sustainable but also boast better specification in lifting weight, turning circles and smoothness of operation.”

The purchases further underline the company’s commitment to sustainability, coming on the back of the recent installation of EV charging points at all four of its depots across Scotland. 

Mr Robinson added: “The electric forklifts are a lot more expensive but they are worth the investment. We are constantly looking at how we can do things better as a company, whether that be in the office, on the shop floor or out in the field.

We are very conscious of our responsibility to the environment and adding to our fleet of electric forklifts continues our sustainability plans for the business, with more exciting developments lined up for next year.”