Hydrogen Fuel Cells Power the Future of Lift Trucks

Today, it seems like everyone is buzzing about alternative and renewable energy sources, and the materials handling industry is no different. Research is helping the industry lead the way in developing new energy options, the most promising of which is the implementation of hydrogen fuel cells in electric lift trucks.

Hydrogen is a readily available industrial gas, but special equipment is required to compress the gas to the pressure needed to fuel lift trucks, and a hydrogen dispenser is needed to refuel the lift trucks.

[Read More...]

Tubular Industrial Batteries: The Right Choice for Fast Charging

Fast charging industrial motive power batteries has revolutionized the way electric lift truck fleets are managed. Valuable warehouse space and personnel no longer need to be dedicated to battery rooms with spare battery storage, battery handling and changing equipment.  Lift truck operators do not need to travel from their work area to the battery room to change out batteries, saving thousands of dollars in lost productivity.  No longer are batteries weighing thousands of pounds hoisted in and out of lift trucks, reducing the potential for employee injuries.  

[Read More...]

Improvements in the Performance and Life Characteristics of Deep Cycle Batteries

Deep cycle batteries used in golf cars, utility vehicles, plant maintenance equipment, and myriads of other light to medium duty, battery-powered material handling and personal mobility vehicles have recently undergone significant improvements in their performance and life. 

[Read More...]

Innovations, Refinements, and the Brand New Enliven the PGA/GIS Shows

The PGA Show and the Golf Industry Show, both held in Orlando this year, not 10 days apart, showcased a significant number of innovative products, refinements to standard models, and out-of-the-box new products.  While both shows cover the gamut of golfing industry products, IUV magazine focuses for the most part on commercial and utility vehicles and the key components of such vehicles.

The continued advance of these vehicles is due largely to economy of operation, relative low initial cost, and capacity for adding refinements which are directed toward accomplishing specific, relatively narrowly-defined tasks.  Whereas mass production is the hallmark of mainstream automobiles, low volume and diverse configuration is the key characteristic of utility and personal use vehicles.  Generically speaking, the industry can be characterized as developing and producing small, task-oriented vehicles (STOVs).

[Read More...]

Fuel Cell-Powered Forklifts: Raising the Bar

Distribution centers never sleep, running 24-hour shifts, seven days a week. Unfortunately, today’s battery-powered systems interrupt the flow, sometimes needing up to three time-consuming changes during the course of those 24 hours.  Fuel cells are emerging as a cost-effective alternative to battery technology - lasting longer, fueling faster and weighing less while eliminating harmful emissions.

[Read More...]

SI Systems: 50 Years of Solutions in Automated Materials Handling

In 1958, a young engineer named L. Jack Bradt scraped together enough capital to purchase the small materials handling business that would become known as SI Handling Systems, Inc. Now celebrating its 50th anniversary, the Easton, Pennsylvania-based company (parent corporation, Paragon Technologies, Inc.), has become one of the most recognized and respected names in the automated materials handling industry.

[Read More...]