Economy and ecology go hand in hand
Hamburg-based manufacturer Still AG believes that energy-saving drive concepts are what the industry needs now. The company's RX 70 diesel forklift is the world's first forklift truck with hybrid drive. The RX 70 needs only 2.5 litres of fuel per hour (based on a 2.5 tonne payload and 60 working cycles per hour), making it the most economical and environmentally friendly forklift truck in its class. Comparable vehicles consume between 13 and 60 per cent more fuel. In terms of carbon dioxide emissions, this means that the RX 70 releases only 6.4 kilos of CO2 per hour of operation. Meanwhile Still is working intensively on new drive concepts for the future. Trials with fuel cells fitted to test vehicles - modified forklift trucks and tractors - have been under way for some time.
Still is also looking at ways of making intralogistics more automated. Partly and fully automated industrial trucks are increasingly becoming a key component of materials handling solutions. Amongst other things Still is using RFID technology to plot the position of forklift trucks. And already in service is a new breed of order-picking stacker trucks, which use lasers to navigate by environmental recognition. These innovations are seen as useful additions to the range of existing instruments such as warehouse management and forklift control systems, and now form part of Still's own trademark materials handling management system.
For financial reasons, too, based on total cost of ownership (TCO), Still believes there is a growing market for complete, integrated systems. "This is why we not only make industrial trucks, but also offer an extensive range of services, from complete service packages to fleet management", explains Bert Frisch, company spokesman for Still. "So our customers are able to focus all their attention on their core business activities."
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