Leading UK palletised freight distribution network Palletline is refreshing its forklift fleet with energy efficient models following an exciting deal with Linde Material Handling.
The new forklifts offer improved energy efficiency and will generate a saving of over £100k over five years, whilst reducing carbon emissions by 26.8Kg per day. A total of 78 new forklifts including 10 all electric models will operate across London, Birmingham and Coventry hubs.
Linde Material Handling has been successfully providing forklift trucks for every industry and application for over 60 years. Making them the ideal choice for Palletline’s new fleet of trucks, the company has made an investment of £3.5m over 5 years on a full maintenance lease.
The forklifts will be fitted with a hook-on weighing device courtesy of B&B Attachments. Palletline has been working with both Linde and B&B Attachments on this project for the past 18 months to ensure the best possible solution for Palletline’s individual needs.
The weighing scales offer a level of accuracy of up to 0.1% of the applied load. The scales also work with the on-board Linde safety systems to ensure heavy loads over 400KG cannot be lifted above a certain height, further enhancing health and safety and resulting in accident prevention.
Thanks to the Linde Connect Access fleet management system all the forklifts will be connected allowing for a full usage analysis to be sent to the warehouse manager to assess the condition of the fleet along with any crash or accident data which may occur.
Furthermore, Palletline’s Connect system ensures the fleet is always working at optimal efficiency.
The most exciting element of the new fleet are the ten Linde E25Ls – a fully electric model with the capacity to complete 8-hour shifts with ease thanks to its Tensor high performance batteries. The Tensor chargers installed onsite ensure an impressive 6-hour charge time adding to greater efficiency of operation. The benefit of these electric models is the significantly reduced maintenance costs, with the only expected expenditure being new tyres across the 5-year contract.
The E25L has a load capacity of 2.5 tonnes with the ability to lift 2180Kg at 500mm load centre and 1890Kg at 600mm load centre, the maximum lift height is 4230mm. Featuring B&B’s hook-on weighing scales and a fully functional camera system, the E25L can easily handle anything the conventionally forklifts can and represents a huge step forward for Palletline.
The majority of the forklifts entering the Palletline fleet are the Linde H18T with 60 trucks on their way. The H18T has a maximum load capacity of 1.8 tonnes and a maximum lift height of 4290mm with the capability to lift 1630Kg at 500mm load centre and 1480Kg at 600mm load centre. With fuel consumption of just 2.1Kg of fuel P/Hr the H18T outperforms the current fleet significantly with the ability to last a full shift without the need to refuel which is especially impressive when considering the current Palletline fleet are fitted with a 55gallon tank whereas the new Linde models are fitted with a smaller 30gallon tank.
The final model of forklift heading for Palletline are eight Linde H20Ts which has a lifting capacity of 2.0 tonnes and a maximum lift height of 4250mm, the truck is capable of lifting 1730Kg at 500mm load centre and 1570Kg at 600mm load centre. The H20T uses just 1.8Kg of fuel P/Hr and comes with the B&B hook-on weighing device and a fully functional camera system to make manoeuvring the truck far easier in the confined spaces of the warehouse.
Graham Leitch, Group Managing Director of Palletline commented: “We are extremely excited about this partnership with Linde, with plans already in place for the future of the Palletline fleet.
“We are currently working with Linde to investigate the use of hydrogen fuel cells in forklifts to further reduce the environmental impact of forklifts whilst at the same time reducing fuel costs.
“Hydrogen is expected to be a significant opportunity for this partnership and we are hoping to be one of the first to introduce a hydrogen fuelled fleet of forklifts in the industry further reinforcing our market leading position in the marketplace.”
