Yale recognized for battery-powered forklifts

Greenville, North Carolina-based Yale Lift Truck Technologies says for the 13th consecutive year it has been recognized as a “Green Supply Chain Partner” by the Inbound Logistics trade magazine.

This year’s award recognizes Yale “for bringing the benefits of lithium-ion powered lift trucks to a broader range of operations,” states the lift truck equipment maker, which is a wholly owned subsidiary of Cleveland-based Hyster-Yale Inc.

The firm says the two newest models in its UX lift truck line, the three-wheel ERP32-40UXTL and the four-wheel ERP30-70UXL, are lithium-ion counterbalanced lift trucks engineered for warehouses, retail stores, and home centers “where occasional to average duty cycle applications are the norm.” Yale describes the models as “simple, affordable, adaptable lift trucks for both indoor and outdoor operations.”

States Yale, “These value-driven lift trucks provide businesses that might not previously have been able to justify the investment in lithium-ion with an approachable alternative to lift trucks powered by lead-acid batteries.”

Comments Brad Long of Yale, “We’ve continually expanded our UX line to make this technology more accessible. By having a budget-friendly option to incorporate lithium-ion lift trucks into their operation, warehouses can make real progress toward their sustainability goals and maximize productivity with faster charging times and less maintenance. It’s a win-win.”

Yale characterizes lithium-ion batteries as generating “zero harmful emissions” while being able to last more than four times longer than a lead-acid battery, offering an improved life cycle assessment.

The integrated lithium-ion batteries used in the ERP32-40UXTL and the ERP30-70UXL models are available in different sizes and charge rates that can be scaled to fit the requirements of particular operations, according to Yale.