At the risk of mis-quoting Lord Nelson, all warehousing operations depend on their fork lift trucks’ batteries to keep going, but Britain’s materials handling sector is more intensive than other countries, with many warehouses here working 24/7.
Driving this intensity are the major retailers and the fulfilment operations of the booming on-line shopping sector. Working flat out three shifts per day places heavy demands on warehouse trucks and their batteries, and the battery charging and changing systems that support them.
For the motive power suppliers, there are rich rewards from meeting the challenge of working closely with customers to supply batteries, chargers and changers at a service level that fits their business. The opportunities are there for all battery suppliers and distributors who can deliver motive power solutions and at a lower cost in 2010.
Unfortunately with battery volume sales dropping recently in many markets, a number of multi-national suppliers have retreated from servicing the UK materials handling sector, but one company, in particular, the privately owned German company HOPPECKE, has held its ground.
“Many of the other motive power battery manufacturers are publicly owned, US-based companies and are in trouble, and don’t have our resources and independence,“ says Bernard Molloy, who joined HOPPECKE in June this year as MD of UK operation Hoppecke Industrial Batteries Ltd.
Hoppecke’s batteries are firmly established as the ‘green’ motive power choice for industrial trucks, in every sense. The technology the batteries and charging systems run on is cleaner and kinder to the environment than others; the manufacturing happens in environmentally aware factories; and to emphasise their outstanding ‘greenness,’ HOPPECKE’s batteries and chargers are also painted bright green, in line with the company’s corporate colours.
In the last three years HOPPECKE has become a preferred supplier to many blue chip UK companies, and the UK service force has grown substantially. Over the same period Hoppecke has invested substantially in training and systems to underpin its UK customer support and reinforce its market position. In recent months HOPPECKE has won some major contracts with big retailers and food manufacturers, due to its outstanding combination of products, performance, service expertise and lower running costs.
Warehouse & Logistics News
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