As logistics businesses fight shy of new investment until they have a better understanding of what Brexit really means, many are looking at ways to maximise their existing resources without impacting productivity or customer service.

One key trend concerns the length of materials handling equipment contracts, which are nudging up from the once standard five-year deal to seven or eight years. Generally speaking, new lead acid forklift batteries from reputable manufacturers deliver 1,500 cycles before they reach the end of their useful life and so last five years, based on one charge per working day at a rate of 300 charges per year.

However, battery life is determined by a number of factors, including maintenance, correct charging procedures, actual truck use and frequency of use.

Capacity can be reduced significantly by opportunity charging to achieve extended work requirements and, importantly, loss of capacity can affect performance and may even cause a forklift battery to malfunction.

Batteries for hire

To provide power when it is needed, Hoppecke Industrial Batteries has come up with a simple low cost solution that not only helps warehouse operators to cope with seasonal peaks and emergency demands, but also gives them the chance to extend the life of their equipment fleet.

By hiring lead acid, Fibre Nickel Cadmium (FNC) or Lithium-Ion batteries on short, medium or long-term contracts to suit business needs and available budgets, logistics operations can see out eight-year truck contracts with confidence. It means they can effectively extend the life of a truck beyond its five-year rental period without any additional capital outlay, since the cost often comes out of the company’s revenue budget.

Spreading the cost in this way means customers don’t have to commit to longterm investment, making it easier to manage cash flow.

Buying the power you need

By choosing to rent batteries for three to six months, for example, businesses are paying for the power they need, not the product. It’s a relatively lowcost way of increasing productivity to cope with peaks in demand and affords intensive logistics operations extra peace of mind, especially with Black Friday, and Christmas, just around the corner.

Hoppecke operates a dedicated battery rental service from its UK assembly and warehouse facility and has the capability to supply batteries direct to customer premises within a couple of days. It is the only battery manufacturer anywhere in the world to offer Lithium- Ion batteries for hire.

Hoppecke chooses the type of new and reconditioned cells to hold in stock in accordance with the most popular applications and common sizes and carries in excess of £100,000 worth of products in stock at its UK HQ at any given time. Rental agreements can be tailored to suit individual business needs and all batteries available for hire are supported by a maintenance contract, whereby Hoppecke takes responsibility for topping up and servicing.

Quality reconditioned products

An alternative to renting, if businesses have no qualms about dipping into their capital budget, is to purchase second hand batteries and chargers. Hoppecke offers top quality refurbished batteries and chargers at a competitive price in accordance with individual customer requirements.

Sourcing its products from fleets across the UK and Europe, Hoppecke offers a large choice of reconditioned batteries – predominantly lead acid plus a selected number of Lithium-Ion products – for a wide range of materials handling equipment.

Also available from Hoppecke’s dedicated facility in Newcastle-under-Lyme, within three to five days, refurbished batteries undergo a complete overhaul to ensure they are of an appropriate condition. Having first been cleaned, they are then specific gravity and voltage tested using special discharge monitoring equipment to ensure acceptable capacity is delivered from the cells. To counteract sulphation of the lead plates within the battery cell, which hampers efficient charging and discharging, the hard shell that forms is dissolved via a special charge and discharge procedure. The charge/discharge cycle is repeated until the cells achieve the required capacity.

Hoppecke certifies its reconditioned batteries to two levels – grade A, which is supplied with a minimum warranty of 12 months, and Grade B, which comes with a six-month warranty.

Reconditioned chargers are also fully tested by the inhouse specialist team in Newcastle-under-Lyme and are supplied with extensive warranty options to suit individual customer needs, with single phase, three phase, 50Hz and high frequency options available.

As businesses wait to see what kind of deal will seal the UK’s departure from the European Union, materials handling performance doesn’t have to suffer. Any decision concerning investment in equipment can be delayed by hiring in batteries and chargers or purchasing quality reconditioned products to meet short- to medium-term needs.

For advice on the best way to meet your motive power needs, contact Hoppecke UK, your ‘one stop’ resource for energy management.

HOPPECKE

www.hoppecke.co.uk

Comments are closed.