TECHNOLOGY
GROWING TREND
TOWARDS ELECTRIC
Edited by Tarren Bolton
In line with global trends, leading provider of materials handling equipment in southern Africa,
Goscor Lift Truck Company, reports a growing preference for electric forklifts in South Africa.
O
ne of the growing trends in the
global forklift industry is the
move towards battery-powered
forklifts. In its recent report, research
company Technavio forecasts that the
global battery-powered forklift market will
grow at a CAGR of 9% from 2018 to 2022.
In line with this global trend, Goscor Lift
Truck Company (GLTC) has seen a growing
move towards electrics in the local market.
To give an example, Darryl Shafto, MD
of GLTC, reveals that the company recently
delivered a big order of 55 electric Doosan
B35-Pro7 4-wheel counterbalance trucks
to AB InBev (previously SAB), as opposed
to the gas-powered trucks the beverages
company usually bought from GLTC.
Key drivers
Meeting demand
As the market for battery-powered
forklifts takes off in South Africa,
with its wide range of electric
forklifts in the stable, Shafto says
GLTC is well equipped to meet local
customers’ needs.
From a sector perspective, electric trucks
are especially popular in the food and
bottling, retail and distribution
sectors. These industries prefer
electric forklifts owing to their low
greenhouse gas emissions and
noise levels.
“Apart from the
environmental benefits, electric
forklifts also offer lower running
costs compared with their internal
combustion engine counterparts. Bear in
mind that fuel is a major cost component
of most logistics operations, and any
opportunity to cut this cost is most
welcome,” says Shafto.
From a cost perspective, Shafto
reasons that a battery-powered forklift can
be as much as 50% cost-effective to run
than a diesel comparative. For example,
the cost of propelling an electric forklift is
50% less than the cost of propelling an
internal combustion engine forklift.
“Additionally, electric forklifts generally
have a longer lifespan than internal
combustion engine forklifts. With electric
forklifts, services are also less frequent
– where you need three services with an
internal combustion engine forklift, you
need one with an electric unit – translating
into huge cost savings,” adds Shafto.
Lead-acid batteries have been trusted for years as the power source for electric
forklifts. Using these batteries in material handling equipment has proved to be more
cost-efficient than diesel and gas equivalents.
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JUNE 2019
“For example, our principal, Crown, only
manufactures electrics which target the
warehousing sector – such as the powered
pallet truck range (WP, WPS, WT and GPC),
the three-wheel counter balance (SCT) and
reach trucks (ESR),” he says.
Meanwhile, another GLTC principal,
Doosan, is targeting the four-wheel counter
balance market, which is traditionally
dominated by gas and diesel ranges. This
is regarded as the benchmark for electric
trucks in four key areas: productivity,
ergonomics, safety and serviceability.
Advancements in battery tech
“Our range of electric forklifts are powered
by lead-acid, copper stretched metal (CSM)
and lithium-ion batteries. Lead-acid batteries
have been trusted for years as the power
source for electric forklifts. Using these
batteries in material handling equipment
has proved to be more cost-efficient than
diesel and gas equivalents,” explains Shafto.
One of the downsides of lead-acid
battery technology has always been short
intervals between recharge, resulting in
unwanted downtime. However, battery
technology is evolving. For example,
with improving battery technology and
management systems, lead-acid battery
cycles have improved from 1 250 cycles to
between 1 500 and 1 800 cycles, according
to Shafto.
There have also been advances in
the battery technology with the arrival
of CSM and lithium-ion batteries, which
also does away with traditional battery
bays. “Lithium-ion batteries, in particular,
have improved cycles of up to 3 000,
compared with 1 250 on older technology.
Last year, Doosan gave a glimpse of its
new high-tech forklift, running on lithium-
ion batteries. Thanks to this new power
source, the B25S-7 Series will run two to
three times longer than with the existing
lead-acid battery, with a 33% shorter
charging time,” concludes Shafto.
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