Cut Operation Costs

American Furniture in Mississippi always looks to cut costs. One way was switching from Toyota electric vehicles to custom Wesley Pack Mules.

American Furniture Company was named one of America’s 40 Fastest Growing Companies by The Mississippi Business Journal back in 2003. They did not stop there. The company continues to expand operations, manufacturing and selling quality, affordable furniture with a 48-hour delivery time. Part of American Furniture’s success comes from the company’s constant search for ways to cut operating expenses. They achieved their goal when they ordered custom Pack Mule electric utility vehicles for their warehouse.

Dwight Cook is American’s maintenance supervisor in Tupelo, MS. He knows a thing or two about maintenance, having worked in the field for 40 years. He has been with American for 15 of those years.  Last year, American Furniture ordered five custom Pack Mules. Dwight expected the Pack Mules to make moving furniture quicker and easier for his workers. What he did not expect was to save thousands of dollars by switching to these electric utility vehicles.

“We ordered a stand up tugger, with a lift on the back,” explained Dwight. “The lift slides under the furniture, then we have a hydraulic lift that leans it back.” The production area is about ¼ mile from the warehouse section of the company’s 1.5 million square foot building. Using the custom Pack Mule to move furniture saved the company time, allowing them to move more furniture for the same labor cost. The ability to custom design the vehicles meant he never even compared prices. He knew he needed custom Pack Mules to get the job done.

Prior to the Pack Mules, Dwight used four Toyota electric utility vehicles to get back and forth in the enormous building. When asked how the Pack Mule fared in comparison with the Toyotas, Dwight answered simply, “You can’t compare them.” He went on to explain that the Pack Mules are much easier to use and cheaper to fix than the Toyotas. In fact, since he bought the Pack Mules, the Toyotas have only been used for backup.

“They don’t ever run. They just sit there. The only time they use them is if one of the Pack Mule batteries run down. They go and get a charge up and then we use the Toyotas. The guys don’t like them.” Dwight said his workers prefer the Pack Mules because they are so easy to use. The simple control panel means the workers just get in and go. “The only thing it’s got is an up and down button and a pedal. Flip the switch to go forward and backwards, and step on the pedal. Let off the pedal and the brakes come on automatically.”

Besides being easy to use, the Pack Mules are cheaper to maintain. “These Pack Mule batteries I get for cheap. You don’t have to replace the whole set at one time. If we have one battery go out, we replace one battery. Whereas the other one, if one battery went out we had to replace the whole thing.”  Dwight explained that the batteries on the Toyotas cost $4,000 to $5,000 to replace. The savings has been enormous for American Furniture. The Pack Mules have helped them to stay ahead of the competition by hauling more furniture in less time for less money. It does not get much better than that.