September 25, 2017

Foreman’s View on Lithium-Ion Lift Trucks in Warehouse Operations

By Flux Power

We recently sat down with a warehouse operations foreman at just one of the many locations using Flux Power lithium-ion battery packs. Mike C. works at a major national foods distributor in Minnesota.

Flux Power: Mike, thanks for your time today. Can you tell us about the setup and scope of your warehouse?

Mike: We run 18 hours a day Monday through Friday, with two overlapping 10 hour shifts. We have a 62,000 square foot warehouse, with 85% taken by racking and storage. The rest of the space has pick lines for assembling orders, with two 210’ side by side conveyor belts with automatic wrappers at the end and pallet jacks for each line.

lithium-ion for warehouse forklifts

Flux Power: Tell us how many lifts you have.

Mike: In this warehouse we have 11 lifts, 4 of them are Crown pallet jacks. Two of the pallet jacks we run all the time. The other 2 we use for peak periods. We have Flux Power’s lithium-ion LiFT Packs in all four walkie pallet jacks.

Flux Power: What were you hoping to accomplish by using lithium-ion energy?

Mike: To be honest, I got lucky. I didn’t know that lithium existed for these pallet jacks when we got it. We were due to replace our equipment and management went with the Flux Power LiFT pack. I love them.

Flux Power: That’s great to hear, what do you love about lithium-ion packs?

Mike: The fact that you don’t have to water them! No watering...this is huge! When I can take 4 lifts off my list of worrying about ‘Did I water this one? Does that one need water?’ That’s huge in itself.

And the fact that you can plug them in and not worry about charge memory, that’s also good.

We’re interested in the upcoming Flux Power lithium-ion packs for sit down forklifts and full size lifts. Not having to water them - it’s just great to fire them up and forget them.

Flux Power: Was there anything surprising about using lithium-ion compared to lead-acid in your operations?

Mike: Lithium power feels more like ‘power-on / power-off’; whereas lead-acid runs at lower amperage so initial starts behave slightly differently. We got used to it quickly, but there was a slight learning curve.

Other than that, lithium-ion simply performs and it’s low-maintenance. Low maintenance is all I ask for in equipment. It works and doesn’t ask for a lot.

Flux Power: Do you have any advice for your peers still running lead-acid packs?

Mike: Switch to lithium. Working with Flux has been great, the ease of use is much better with lithium. Saves time and headaches and more cost efficient over the long run.

Flux Power: Thanks for sharing. Is there anything else you’ve observed with the lithium packs?

Mike: On the same note as the low-maintenance, it’s also nice not having to worry about the safety issues of lead-acid. It’s good to know Flux Power has performed rigorous UL testing on the lithium packs, which gives us peace of mind for safety. Overall, we love them and wouldn’t want to go back to the old lead-acid days.

Flux Power: We know you’re very busy and appreciate your time sharing your firsthand experience with lithium-ion packs in your operations. Have a great day!

Mike: Thanks.

 

Lithium-ion battery for walkie palette jack

Flux Power

Flux Power

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