Adopting a Green Strategy?

Kensar Offers Numerous Solutions for Material Handling

The green movement has become more than just a buzzword for environmentally-conscious consumers. The rapid rise in fossil fuel costs, overflowing landfills, and the now obvious effects of global warming have made “going green” a priority for the material handling business, as well.

The purpose of this article is to give material handling professionals an overview of the benefits and newer technologies available for electric lift trucks in the materials handling industry. As your company begins to implement a material handling green strategy, you’ll want to consider all the options in order to make this move maximally effective and good for business. We encourage you to contact Kensar who can give you more detailed information on these and other options.

Actually, electric lift trucks were around before there were any internal combustion engine models, and they have come a long way since the early days. More powerful batteries and more efficient designs–with lower resistance and fewer working parts–are some of the reasons. Today’s electrics give you plenty of pick-up and power for applications where electric forklifts are specified. You can find electrics that easily handle up to 14,000 lbs. of lift capacity.

There are 3 myths we want to dispel about electric lift trucks:

• Electric lift trucks don’t have power.
• Electric forklifts are more expensive to purchase/operate.
• Electrics can’t be used outdoors in inclement weather.

Another myth about electric forklifts is that they are expensive. Not true. On the surface, the purchase price of an electric model may be slightly more, and you must additionally buy the battery and charger. However, the operational savings and longer life make electric a very economical option.

Consider these advantages in electric models:

• Zero emissions
• Low fuel costs when compared to I.C. trucks
• Decreased service requirements resulting in reduced maintenance costs
• Longer working life

Engineering For Reduced Maintenance:

Another important cost saving is in lower maintenance costs. Why do electric lift trucks require less maintenance overall? In general they are built with fewer working parts so much less can go wrong.

There has been a move toward reliable AC power which provides up to a 40% increase in travel speeds when compared to earlier DC-powered models. In many electric lifts trucks you’ll now find:

• Better Performance – Faster acceleration, travel speed and lift speed.
• Increased Productivity – AC maintains performance as voltage drops from the battery, while DC performance is directly related to voltage.
• Longer Battery Run Time – improved efficiency with fewer stops required to recharge.

Rapid-Charge Battery Technology:

The landscape has changed dramatically in battery technology. We are no longer tied to batteries that must charge for 8 hours, then cool for 8 hours. New “rapid-charge” or “fast-charge” lift truck battery technology allows operators to return an 80% discharged battery to a full state of charge in about 2 hours. Look for more information on emerging technologies in the next quarterly issue of News on Used.