In order to supply its customers reliably and on time, smooth intralogistics processes are indispensable for timber wholesaler Behrens-Wöhlk – in particular at the central warehouse in Drensteinfurt, North Rhine-Westphalia. Here, electrically-powered forklift trucks ensure efficient and emissions-free goods transport. However, in the past the battery charging technology has been a source of problems, with unwanted load peaks causing frequent malfunctions in operating procedures and resulting in high costs. Fronius Perfect Charging has not only overcome this challenge with its Selectiva battery chargers, but it has also enabled the Behrens Group to achieve considerable cost savings and extend the service life of the traction batteries.
Worktops and doors, steps, wall and ceiling elements, boards and parquet: at the central warehouse of BERO Holzhandelsgesellschaft mbH in Drensteinfurt near Münster, countless wood products are stacked as far as the eye can see. At the nearby site of Seiling GmbH & Co. KG in Ahlen, construction and insulating materials, floors, carpentry supplies as well as a comprehensive range of accessories are stored. The noticeable thing about both sites? The characteristic smell of the material in the air, and the low level of noise. Although numerous forklift trucks move back and forth between the aisles of the high-bay warehouse, it is pleasantly quiet. The typical diesel smell outdoors in many locations? Also non-existent.
Both companies are part of the Behrens Group, which – with a total of 14 sites – is one of the leading wholesalers of timber and construction elements in Germany. The supply region covers extensive areas of federal states North Rhine-Westphalia, Lower Saxony, Bremen, Hamburg, Brandenburg, Saxony-Anhalt, Thuringia and Saxony. With roughly 850 employees, the Behrens Group generates a turnover of around 250 million euros per year. Andreas Jedamzik reports that the industry is booming even during the coronavirus pandemic: “We haven’t recorded a drop in sales since the beginning of the crisis.” Building work is continuing as usual and renovations during periods of lockdown and curfew have even been going ahead more often than before.
As fleet manager at the Behrens Group, Andreas Jedamzik is responsible for the vehicle and forklift truck fleet. The Group operates 115 forklift trucks, 16 of which are electrically-powered lateral stacking trucks and special devices used for picking at Drensteinfurt. These transport goods (sometimes weighing tons) reliably and efficiently from goods in into the warehouse and then for dispatch. “The subject of sustainability is extremely important to us,” explains Jedamzik. “We use modern, economical drives in our vehicles and it is possible that we may switch to hydrogen technology in the near future.” And the truck-mounted forklift? “Here, 40 percent of our forklift trucks are electrically driven. We are now investing exclusively in electric truck-mounted forklifts, and by 2022, we will be the first timber wholesaler in Germany to have a fleet that is 90 percent electrically driven.” The Behrens Group is therefore also considered a pioneer in the industry in this regard.
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