Top hat carts are a customizable material handling solution that can offer versatility and cost-savings to any warehouse or production facility. Simply put, a top hat is a convertible assembly that sits on top of a standard flat top cart deck. This allows your team the flexibility to easily deploy any specific type of cart your facility needs, quickly and at minimal overall expense.
For example, our most common platform is a standard 50×50 flat top cart. With a top hat solution, you can turn that standard cart into any type of material handling cart that best suits the process or task at hand. Do you need a kit cart, pallet cart, flow cart, shelf cart, or other solution? When needs change, you simply change or remove the top hat for a different application that suits the next task.
What are the Benefits of a Customizable Material Handling Cart?
Top hats have become one of our most popular material handling solutions. Their versatility and flexibility make them an economical investment that is suitable for a variety of applications. Here are a few of the key benefits of customizable material handling carts:
Save Big on Total Program Cost
Custom material handling carts are expensive. The challenge to determine exactly what quantity of each style cart is needed can be daunting, and it’s impractical to have a large stock of specific use carts, especially when you’re not using them all at once. Investing in a standard platform that can be repurposed with a variety of top hats is an economical alternative.
For any cart project, the majority of the expense is in the tow arm, receiver, base, and casters. By standardizing this component for most of your tug routes, you now have a flexible foundation for a vast array of cart solutions, that can easily be changed as your needs change, and at a fraction of the cost going forward.
Repurpose Easily When Needed
Ever had customer demand change just after you are finally up and running? Do you work on a dynamic schedule with a need to rebalance production often? Customizable carts offer you the flexibility to repurpose your fleet as needs change. Standard decks ensure that your top hat solution is easily swapped out with another cart so you can rebalance quickly. And, because top hat solutions are built to be modular, each top hat can be easily broken down and reconfigured to suit a new application.
Roller or Rotational Top Options
It’s all about efficiency! Cart cost is certainly a factor in your purchasing decision, but it should not be the only factor. How much material you present on each cart, and how quickly you can replenish that material at the point of use can have an even higher impact on your total cost.
In addition to our standard flat deck carts, Geolean offers many more specific use options as well. Roller deck tops to transfer pallets or bulk bins, lift and tilt options, and rotational top options provide additional benefit to how you deliver.
The right carts will improve operator efficiency while also ensuring the material handler observes proper ergonomics and safety. Rotational top carts rotate 360-degree with foot controlled stops at 180-degree intervals to ensure safety and ease of use for the operator. Our industry-leading bearing system ensures a safely balanced load all the way up to 2,500 lbs.
Assembled or Build Yourself
On a tight schedule? When you work with Geolean USA for your custom top hat material handling cart solution, you have the option to purchase materials and build top hats yourself or let us help you design and receive them pre-assembled and ready for use. This enables you to get the parts you need, when you need them, and configure them quickly in the way that best suits your facility.
Simple Line Rebalancing
If you have a dynamic production schedule, top hats are a valuable solution for you. Easily configure standard carts to suit the lines that need additional support during a capacity imbalance to rebalance that line quickly.
When capacity differences are solved and lines are rebalanced, you can reconfigure that cart with a new top hat to address another need within your facility. Save time and money on the initial cart development, save again with shorter cart production lead-times, and again when you need to repurpose in the future.
Modular, Convertible Solutions
Top hats are a modular, convertible material handling solution. They afford you the ability to respond quickly to changes in production needs, an influx of capacity in certain lines, and more. Because Geolean’s top hats are assembled using our own tube and joint, any of these top hats can be reconfigured or broken down according to your facility’s needs. Modular solutions ensure you always have the material handling cart you need, regardless of production requirements.
Customizable material handling carts are a flexible, affordable solution for any warehouse or manufacturing facility. If you have questions about how our top hat solutions could improve your facility’s production, save time, and reduce NVA, talk to the Geolean USA team.