October 24, 2019: Desch Plantpak, a Swiss horticultural firm, has switched its forklift fleet from LPG to EnerSys’s TPPL batteries, the firm said on October 22 citing the cost savings it was making.

“The operating costs of electric vehicles are lower than those of combustion engines,” says  Bas Langenberg, a planner in Desch’s technical services department. “Moreover, the trucks are less prone to failure. They’re also lighter and more energy efficient.”

The average operating time of a forklift truck is some 2,000 hours/year. This high level of availability had led the company to rely entirely on LPG trucks and the combustion engines have been available almost continuously.

On the recommendation of UniCarriers and working with battery supplier EnerSys, Desch ultimately opted for NexSys batteries in the 12 trucks supplied by UniCarriers. Like lithium-ion batteries, the 48 V/625 Ah batteries allow for interim recharging.

“Our drivers can now connect their trucks to the charging station during their coffee break, for example, so that we can continue operating throughout the hours needed,” Langenberg says. To make interim recharging of the batteries as quick and simple as possible, UniCarriers moved the battery connector to the entry and exit side of the trucks.

Desch Plantpak was coming to an end of its lease contract for the trucks which prompted it to look for a better product.  The firm says the new 1.6 tonne electric powered three-wheelers are more compact and agile than the 1.8 tonne vehicles in use until then.