The clock at a flower auction sells a lot in forty seconds. The dock in front of it runs at a different rhythm: trailers arrive from Kenya, Ethiopia and the Dutch growers in the same four-hour window, and every trolley of roses is already two days cut. A horticultural trading hub near Rotterdam asked us to quote ten loading positions for its overflow yard. The brief was one sentence: move 300 trolleys an hour without pouring concrete.
We supplied ten HRAY adjustable dock ramp platforms and six HRYS 10-tonne hydraulic ramps. It went live in four days with two technicians and no civil works. This is what the site looked like, what the numbers were, and where the first design was wrong.
The Problem: Asphalt That Moves Under Load
Scale matters. Royal FloraHolland reported €5.41 billion of product turnover in 2025 across 10.23 million complete trolleys, with roughly half of volume still clearing through the auction clock. A hub that size cannot lose a bay in the Valentine’s build-up.
The overflow yard had ten marked bays on asphalt, not concrete. Crossfall measured 2–3% in places and the surface had been patched twice since 2019. Three bays had trailer beds between 1,150 mm and 1,350 mm (3’9″ to 4’5″), which rules out a fixed-height steel dock: the forklift would be climbing a step at the lip, and a loaded trolley does not enjoy steps.
The first idea was a concrete ramp at each bay. At USD 35,000–65,000 per position for civil work alone, ten bays was a seven-figure conversation and the yard would have been shut for most of a quarter. That is where a mobile platform stops being a compromise.
What We Supplied
Each bay received one HRAY platform set at trailer bed height, with 200 mm guard rails and four independently adjustable screw legs. The ramps are not fixed to the platforms: six HRYS units serve ten bays, because ramps roll and platforms do not.
| Item | Specification |
|---|---|
| Platform model | HRAY adjustable dock ramp platform |
| Rated load | 10 t (22,000 lb) per platform; HRAY series covers 6–30 t |
| Platform length | 3,000 mm / 9’10” (series up to 12,000 mm / 39’4″) |
| Overall width | 2,200 mm / 7’3″ |
| Working height range | 1,100–1,600 mm / 3’7″–5’3″ |
| Guard rails | 200 mm / 7.9 in, both sides |
| Levelling | 4 independent screw legs; hydraulic legs optional |
| Deck | 5 mm checkered plate, or grating for wet work |
| Ramp pairing | HRYS 10 t hydraulic, 10,300 mm overall length |
| Indicative price (EXW) | Platform USD 2,800–4,200; ramp USD 9,500–12,000 |
| Shipping | Two platforms and one ramp per 40 ft HC, knocked down |
Prices are guidance only, not a quotation. Ten platforms plus six ramps landed in the Netherlands at roughly USD 95,000 including freight and the CE document pack, against a concrete alternative starting at USD 350,000 before anyone moved a trolley.
Levelling: The Part Everyone Underestimates
A 2,200 mm platform on asphalt at 2.5% crossfall has one corner 55 mm lower than the other. That is enough to make a loaded forklift lean and the lip miss the trailer bed by a finger’s width. Screw legs fix it in twenty minutes per bay: level along the deck, wind each leg onto a 300 × 300 mm steel pad, check that all four bear. A hanging leg turns the deck into a spring.
Two changes came from the site. We went from 250 mm to 300 mm pads after a bay sank 12 mm into a soft patch on the second shift — asphalt at 30°C is not a foundation. We also added a 6 mm rubber strip under each pad, which stops the pad walking when a forklift brakes.
Grade matters as much. With the platform at 1,200 mm (3’11”), the 7,670 mm slope run of the HRYS gives 15.6%, or 8.9°. That is well over the 10% threshold in OSHA 29 CFR 1910.178(n)(7), so a loaded forklift travels with the load uphill both ways — forks up the slope going up, reversing down. Operators were briefed before the first trailer opened.
Throughput: What Ten Bays Actually Deliver
Theoretical capacity is useless. Here is the measured version from the first peak week, with assumptions stated.
| Measure | Value | Basis |
|---|---|---|
| Trolleys per forklift trip | 3 | 1,350 × 560 mm Danish trolleys, two side by side plus one behind |
| Round trip time | 4.5 min | Trailer to staging, 60 m each way, loaded both directions |
| Trips per bay per hour | 13 | Includes trailer changeover and chocking |
| Trolleys per bay per hour | 39 | 13 × 3 |
| Practical peak, 10 bays | 280–310/hour | Allows 75–80% utilisation, one bay down for cleaning |
Three hundred trolleys an hour was the brief. The yard hits it in peak weeks with nine bays running and one spare. The limit is not the platform; it is trailer changeover, 6–9 minutes including chocking and lip adjustment. Count changeovers before you count steel.
What We Would Do Differently
Two honest notes. The first design shared one ramp between two bays, assuming operators would roll it across. They did not: moving a 10.3 m ramp 8 m sideways on asphalt takes two people and four minutes, so it stayed where it was put. We ended with six ramps for ten bays, not four. If bays sit more than 6 m apart, buy the ramp per bay.
The second is the deck. We specified checkered plate, right for dry cargo. Flower trolleys drip, and wet wooden wheels pick up leaf debris — slick at the lip. Two bays were re-decked with grating; if your product arrives wet, order grating from the start.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can one platform handle different trailer bed heights?
Yes, within range. The HRAY adjusts between 1,100 mm and 1,600 mm (3’7″–5’3″) on screw legs, covering standard trailer beds. Beyond that you need a different model or a longer ramp slope.
Does the platform need a concrete pad?
No. Compacted asphalt with 300 mm steel pads under each leg is enough for 10 t. Check the sub-base first: if a loaded forklift leaves ruts, the platform will follow them.
How long does installation take?
Four days for ten bays with two technicians, including levelling, lip adjustment and operator briefing. No excavation, no curing, no structural permit.
What does a 10-tonne platform cost delivered?
Budget USD 2,800–4,200 EXW per platform plus USD 1,200–2,000 per unit for sea freight and EU documentation, depending on volume. Wider decks and grating add 8–15%. Indicative figures, not a quotation.
Ask Us to Price Your Bay Layout
If you are fitting out a yard where the ground is not perfect and the building will not be modified, send us a plan with bay spacing, trailer bed heights and forklift model. We will tell you which positions need a dock ramp platform, which can use a mobile yard ramp alone, and where a platform is the wrong answer. For wet or outdoor sites, we would specify galvanized ramps. Start with the HRAY 10-tonne page or contact our engineering team.
