The UK Material Handling Association (UKMHA) is delighted to announce the appointment of Steve Shakespeare, CEO of Aprolis UK, to its Board of Directors with immediate effect. Steve brings more than three decades of experience in the materials handling industry and joins the Board at a pivotal time for the sector, as businesses continue to navigate technological change, sustainability challenges, skills shortages and evolving customer expectations. As CEO of Aprolis UK, Steve leads the UK materials handling operations of the Aprolis Group, part of the global Monnoyeur organisation.
The global forklift trucks sector is growing rapidly due to an expansion in e-commerce logistics, a transition toward lithium-ion and electric models, and rising warehouse automation. The market is valued at over $80 billion, according to Interact Analysis, and continues to scale as industries modernise supply chains. A surge in fulfilment centres will require faster loading and high-density storage solutions.
Combilift has developed Combi-Connect, a cloud-based telematics system that provides greater visibility and control across material handling fleets. By monitoring machine performance and usage, it gives fleet managers actionable data to improve utilisation, plan maintenance and reduce unnecessary downtime. Combi-Connect provides access to operational real-time data including machine utilisation, energy consumption, idle times, battery levels, diagnostics and maintenance alerts.
For forklift operators, the journey between warehouse floor, yard and loading bay is rarely as smooth as it looks on paper. A truck may move from polished concrete to pavement, gravel, ramps and raised thresholds in a matter of minutes, with steel plates and loose debris adding further jolts along the way. Hyster says models with higher ground clearance can help operators negotiate these uneven surfaces more confidently, while bolt-on belly pans fitted to the undercarriage provide an extra line of defence by helping to stop debris being thrown up into the truck.
FB Leaf Chain offers pre-lubricated assemblies and batch traceability, providing service operations with greater consistency and visibility from manufacture through to installation. For service operations, field engineers and OEMs, pre-prepared components offer a straightforward way to remove non-value-added work from the maintenance process. Pre-cut assemblies arrive with the required length established before the component reaches the workshop or service vehicle.
maxwell+spark is already supporting lithium-ion batteries operating in UK material-handling applications through its dealer network. In one 24-hour retail operation, the batteries power a mixed fleet used in goods receiving. Telematics from comparable 840 Ah systems show just how different those duty cycles can be: over the same month, one unit recorded around 165 active hours while another recorded just 63.
For years, issues with using lead-acid batteries in cold storage were accepted as a cost of doing business. Now that lithium-ion batteries are being used in material handling, many cold storage environments are adopting lithium-ion as their energy solution because batteries experience fewer performance issues and limitations. Crown’s V-Force lithium-ion batteries, for example, are rated to operate at temperatures as low as -30°C.
As e-commerce continues to expand and strengthen demand across warehousing and logistics, the fork lift trucks market is poised for dynamic growth over the next five years.
George Simpson
Features Editor
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