Forklift manufacturer UniCarriers Americas Corp. (UCA) will begin selling automated guided vehicles (AGVs) in North America under the terms of a partnership launched today with its sister company, the Finnish material handling equipment provider Rocla.

Both UCA and Rocla are part of parent corporation Mitsubishi Logisnext Co. Ltd., a Japanese manufacturer of material handling and logistics equipment.

Rocla offers AGV solutions that cover low-lift and high-lift applications including narrow aisle, counterbalance, straddle, fork over, and reach mast. Rocla says its AGVs can be used in a variety of segments with an emphasis on the manufacturing, paper and printing, packaging, inbound and outbound logistics, and food and beverage industries.

Marengo, Ill.-based UCA will support that entire line of Rocla equipment through a new initiative called UniCarriers System Solutions.

Through that division, UCA willidentify and recommend an optimal AGV solution system to meet the requirements of any specific environment, including the AGV model, number of vehicles, energy solution, and software needed to support a customer's operations, the company says. In addition, Rocla AGVs are enhanced with Rocla's Route Optimizer control software that continuously calculates the most efficient driving routes for an entire AGV fleet.

"We provide a total intralogistics solution for the customer, where the AGV is only one piece of the puzzle and not the entire offering," Oskari Lindstedt, Rocla AGV Solutions sales director for UCA, said in a release. "UCA customers will see added value with a Rocla AGV solution system with benefits like easy implementation, lower total cost of ownership and improved user experience."