Cargill Meat Solutions, in Friona, Texas, processes an average of 4,500 head of cattle (more than 3 million pounds) per day. It is a wet, corrosive application for forklifts with utilization up to 4,000 hours per year. The application is so demanding that the LP equipment they operate is replaced every two-years.
Shoppa’s Material Handling Branch Manager, Garrett Eagle was successful in earning a 25-truck order to replace Cargill’s fleet. Garrett credits one of Shoppa’s top technician as the biggest reason for Cargill’s loyalty to Shoppa’s and Toyota. He said, “Jesus Mercado is in there every day, keeping them running. He has done a phenomenal job of earning Cargill’s trust.” Garrett also leveraged the fact that Cargill is a Toyota National Purchasing Program (NPP) account. “Cargill knows they’re not only a Toyota National Account, but a Toyota global account too. Cargill takes advantage of the benefits of the NPP Program.”
Shortly after the new trucks deliver, Garrett plans to start laying groundwork to convert Cargill’s fleet to electric. “For the next round, we’re going to explain the benefits of electric equipment. Cargill is a good candidate for converting to lithium ion,” said Garrett Eagle.
Cargill has 656 locations in North America. Please check the Cargill location list with a Dealer match on the Portal to see what opportunities are within your territory!
Congratulations to Garrett, Jesus, and the rest of the Shoppa’s team!
Note: For four months, Toyota was not an approved supplier to Cargill in North America for some products because of Cargill’s requirement of an Automatic Parking Brake. After TMH had a meeting with Cargill to review safety features of Toyota equipment, Cargill agreed to reinstate Toyota as an approved supplier for all material handling equipment.