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Rapid
Recharging
of Lift Trucks
Many distribution centres confront
the eternal problem of recharging their lift trucks,
a process that can last on average up to eight hours,
and that requires two batteries
at a unit cost of $5,000.
BY MICHEL TRUDEAU
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some years now, there has existed a technology for rapid
recharging of forklifts. It is marketed in Canada by
J. H. Ryder, a company that was founded in 1930, and
that is an industry leader in lift trucks and agents
for trademarks such as Clark, Crown, Cushman, Daewoo,
Nissan and Sellick.
The system is the Edison Minit-Charger.
It entered the market about five years ago and is distributed
in Quebec and Ontario exclusively by J. H. Ryder (15
sales and service branches in these two provinces).
At the beginning of 2003, the Quebec government liquor
control board, the Société des alcools
du Québec (SAQ), undertook a study of the new
Edison Minit-Charger system from J. H. Ryder for its
food and special delivery distribution centre (275,000
square feet, serving Quebec restaurants and grocery
stores), which has about 75 lift trucks out of a total
of about 135 SAQ units. The food and special delivery
distribution centre is actually only one of the four
divisions of the enormous Montreal warehouse measuring
one million square feet. The other divisions are administrative
offices (55,000 square feet), bottling of wines destined
for the grocery store and restaurant markets (150,000
square feet, rented to Maison des Futailles), and distribution
to SAQ stores (525,000 square feet).
In these 40-foot-high warehouses (5
levels, double-deep), there are three main forklift
families: pallet, counterbalanced, and simple and double
reach trucks.
SIMILAR TO NESTLÉ
According to Donald Simard, engineer
in the SAQ’s engineering department, and project
manager for implementing the Minit-Charger system for
rapid, intelligent recharging, SAQ’s investment
in the new system followed a thorough study of all available
options. A number of American organizations similar
to the SAQ were visited, including Home Depot and Nestlé.
The latter has used the Edison Minit-Charger system
for four years in its 600,000-square-foot warehouse
(about 75 forklifts in daily operation). Conclusion
of the research: the system is economically viable,
and substantially improves the effectiveness of distribution
centre operations.
In a second step, Simard's team studied
the specific needs of the food and special delivery
division of the Montreal distribution centre, to determine
recharge cycles based on operations, times employees
are not working, and the number of chargers and stations
required to maximize investments. |
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A
few months after implementing the new system, when we
asked Simard what he now thinks of the Edison Minit-Charger
from J. H. Ryder, he stated that "charging times
went from eight hours to eight minutes, and the battery
maintains 50–60 percent of its charge to achieve
its performance potential. Batteries are supplied by
East Penn/Power Batteries, agent for the Deka battery,
in use for more than five years and the only one in
Canada certified for rapid charging. In conclusion,
this is an excellent system of rapid charging with minimum
maintenance for lift truck facilities with demanding
operations. All that is required generally is to periodically
verify the water level and add some more water every
ten days."
275,000 HOURS OF USE
Since 1998, the technology has been
used in four industries, ten establishments, and for
275,000 hours. No battery failure or abnormal capacity
decrease has been observed. The charge (24–80
volts) is applied based on battery specifications. The
charge current can reach 600 A c.c. (three-to-four times
greater than that of conventional chargers); the Edison
Minit-Charger provides up to 125 Ah in 15 minutes. The
current varies according to feedback data from the battery
itself and the battery will not end up overcharged.
RAPID RECHARGE
Rapid recharge prolongs battery life
and increases capacity compared to batteries recharged
the conventional way. And it is no longer necessary
to count cycles. Gas emissions are controlled. Finally,
sequence technology generally allows a charger to serve
between three and eight trucks. The Minit-Charger is
available in configurations of between one and ten stations.
Each station recognizes and charges batteries of any
voltage or size. |
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Toyota
Produces
200,000th Lift Truck |
Toyota
Industrial Equipment (TIE), a division of Toyota Canada
Inc. (TCI), is pleased to announce
the production of the 200,000th lift truck at the Toyota
Industrial Equipment Manufacturing
(TIEM) facility in Columbus, Indiana.
This milestone is sccompanied with the announcement of
a facility expansion to increase TIEM’s
square footage from 750,223 to 859,023, creating an impressive
new site for Toyota customers,
dealers, associates and other guests. |
TIE is the leading lift truck supplier in Canada, and
TIEM manufactures 95 percent of the Toyota lift trucks
sold in Canada. In 2003, TIE sold 2,199 lift trucks,
and sales for 2004 are estimated to top 2,410 - a target
increase of 10%.
TIEM celebrated the 200,000th truck
line-off, a four-wheeled internal combustion cushion
tire lift truck, with a ground breaking ceremony. In
attendance were Yoshimitsu Ogihara, president of TIEM,
Rob Reinders, national manager of TIE, various dealer
representatives, as well as the entire TIEM team.
“This expansion is another
step in our continuing efforts to build a strong foundation
and a solid future for our company and our associates,”
says Mr. Ogihara. “These improvements will provide
more effective training |
facilities,
enhance communication between sales and manufacturing
and accommodate the tremendous growth of Toyota lift
trucks in recent years.”
“TIEM’s operation and
facilities are widely regarded as the gold standard
in the industrial equipment industry. This expansion
will allow all of us to serve Toyota customers, dealers,
and associates in an even greater capacity,” says
Reinders.
Upon completion, the expanded TIEM
facility will feature a new showroom designed to display
15 Toyota lift trucks, a theatre accomodating more than
40 guests, a demonstration room for an audience of 100
guests, and a training facility for dealers, customers,
and associates. To address increased production levels
for Toyota lift trucks, plans also include an expanded
distribution centre for completed units. |
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Brick Chooses
Johnston Equipment |
Johnston
Equipment was chosen for about twenty units including
seven different types
of lift trucks, for picking and vertical lift. |
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Joseph Cremona, senior vice-president (logistics), The
Brick—the largest Canadian retail sales chain
for furniture, mattresses, appliances, and consumer
electronics, has chosen Raymond lift trucks, distributed
in Canada by Johnston Equipment, as materials handling
equipment for its new 325,000 square foot Montreal warehouse.
Eighty percent of the fleet, composed of some thirty
units, comes from this manufacturer.
The Brick wanted to choose a supplier capable of meeting
all its criteria. First, the company conducted a thorough
study and extensive research on all types of equipment.
All elements were scrutinized: mechanical engineering,
ease of material handling and driving for operators,
performance, maintenance, operational life, reliability,
battery type, loading time, etc., considering that the
aisles were only 6 feet wide throughout the warehouse.
Equipment suppliers then presented
their proposals. Johnston Equipment was chosen for about
twenty units including seven different types of lift
trucks, for picking and vertical lift. To complete the
fleet for horizontal travel, The Brick acquired Crown
forklifts, distributed by J. H. Ryder. |
INTEGRATION
OF ALL DEPARTMENTS
According to Cremona, ‘‘The
warehouse merchandise transportation system must be
integrated with all distribution centre operations.
We didn't build this centre department by department,
but as a whole, in which all parts are dependent on
each other to maximize operational effectiveness.”
When we asked him what The Brick
was looking for in equipment for its Montreal centre,
Cremona replied, ‘‘We were looking for trucks
that required little maintenance and upkeep, whose acquisition
and parts prices were reasonable, and whose performance
was equal to or better than the competition. If bidders
met these criteria, we concentrated our search on companies
that offered us added value. In this respect, Johnston
Equipment has lived up to its promises. Their response
time to our requests is better than the industry average."
36-VOLT BATTERIES
When we asked what the determining
factor was in the decision, Cremona replied, ‘‘The
recommendation to use 36-volt batteries lets us run
our trucks between nine and ten hours a day, instead
of the six-to-seven hours that are possible with a 24-volt
battery. In addition, 36-volt batteries last longer." |
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