HFS Boosts Energy Efficiency with Toyota Electric Fork Trucks

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By Hemisphere

Here at Hemisphere Freight Services, we pride ourselves on being a forward-thinking and environmentally-conscious logistics company. Following the purchase of three new Euro 6 HGVs – which meet the government’s carbon emission requirements – we have now upgraded the fork trucks in our Ipswich warehouse to a fully-electric fleet.

The new Toyota Traigo 80 trucks will have a significant impact on the day-to-day running of our warehouse operations, promoting a greener way of working and helping to create a quieter, cleaner and safer work environment for our team.

Aside from their energy efficiency and sustainability, the new trucks will provide a number of other benefits to our employees and customers alike.

Health & safety

While the Toyota Traigo trucks are quieter, allowing drivers to hear what is going around them, each truck also comes with a blue LED reversing light that makes the trucks more visible to pedestrians in the warehouse.

Our drivers are further protected by Toyota’s System of Active Stability (SAS), the world’s first active system for controlling forklift stability. This advanced technology helps to protect the operator, truck and load by improving stability when turning and lifting, giving our drivers further reassurance while working in the warehouse.

Operational

The compact nature of the Toyota Traigo 80 will enhance our operators’ mobility and allow for smoother turning throughout the warehouse. With the trucks’ load weight indicators, drivers will be able to see the weight of pieces they are lifting, while the self-levelling forks will help improve accuracy and speed of loading.

Through Toyota’s I_Site fleet management system, we can engage warehouse staff with competitions, rewarding various aspects of performance from battery efficiency to operational efficiency.

Management

I_Site provides our warehouse management team with full visibility of the trucks, from their start-up times and online pre-use checks through to their efficiency and battery life.

It also monitors any shocks over a low, medium and high category, so the team can assess whether a truck has been involved in an accident and needs attendance, or if there is an area of the warehouse or yard that requires maintenance. With this information, the team can make informed decisions that best suit the needs of the company.

Craig Perrin, Warehouse and Transport Manager for HFS, said: “With our existing gas fleet up for renewal, we wanted to explore the option of a fully-electric fork truck fleet, with the aim of providing our staff with the best truck on the market whilst providing a cleaner, safer and more environmentally-friendly way of working. I strongly believe we have selected the right partner and right truck to help HFS to meet our commercial and environmental goals.”

Paul Shreeve, Sales Executive at Toyota Material Handling, said: “We are delighted that HFS selected Toyota as its fork truck partner. As a company, we are aiming to use only renewable electricity by 2021, and it’s great to see that our commitment to energy efficiency and sustainability is shared by Craig and his team. We look forward to further supporting HFS with its fork truck needs in the future.”