Flexible Financing for a Smoother Transition
As part of the Aprolis group, Impact is in the advantageous position of being self-funded, which gives us the ability to extend remarkable flexibility to our customer agreements. This can include offsetting the initial infrastructure costs within any long-term rental contract, or through an initial payment holiday. Mitigating the upfront cost to the customer.
Looking Beyond the Price Tag
Aside from the power infrastructure, the other common negative of electric handling is that the equipment itself usually carries a price premium. However, this only manifests as a concern if it is looked at from a short-term perspective. In the mid to longer term, the total cost of ownership and fuel saving more than offsets the initial investment. In a well-managed fleet, the premium can be recovered surprisingly quickly.
As Impact operates a rental fleet of well over 10,000 units in the UK, many carrying advanced telemetrics, we can illustrate the rate of recovery for any given site based on live real-world data from comparable operations. The ongoing pipeline of innovations of Cat Lift Trucks also continues to lower the price difference between electric and IC machines.
Battery Specification Matters
It is important to check that any competitive quotations received for electric machines are like for like. The batteries make up a significant part of the cost of the equipment. Some suppliers may fit smaller or lower rated batteries, which can have a notable impact on the usability of the machines. Make sure the battery is specified to the utilisation. Skimping on battery quality or capacity can be a false economy.
Performance That Surpasses Expectations
The final frequent negative of electric handling equipment is the perception that it will not perform to same level as equivalent IC machinery. The reality, however, is that the latest generation of electric machines now often OUTPERFORM their IC counterparts. The current offering from Cat Lift Trucks for example offers advantages in most parameters, including load capacity, lift height, and runtime on a full‘ fuel load’. There are of course applications where Diesel or LPG are still the optimum solution, and mixed fleets remain a popular solution.
Electric: A Smart Investment for the Future
Today’ s electric machines do bring many benefits despite requiring a not insignificant upfront investment. Happily, though this is almost always offset by the savings throughout the life of the equipment. And with some useful flexibility from the right handling partner, even the upfront costs don’ t need to come as a shock.
®
TAKE A LOOK AT OUR RANGE OF PRODUCTS AND SERVICES
0800 169 9789 sales @ impact-handling. com www. impact-handling. com
© 2025 MLE B. V.( registration no. 33274459). All rights reserved. CAT, CATERPILLAR, LET’ S DO THE WORK, and their respective logos“ Caterpillar Corporate Yellow”, the“ Power Edge” and Cat“ Modern Hex” trade dress as well as corporate and product identity used herein are trademarks of Caterpillar used under license and may not be used without permission from Caterpillar.