Capital Equipment News February 2022

MATERIALS HANDLING

TCM’s iNOMA forklift range from Criterion boasts an improved stability ratio to ensure stable and consistent cargo handling

The ME 315 forklift truck from Manitou

“However, this has the requirement of ensuring a stable electrical energy source during planned charging times, which is lacking in most African countries. This can be mitigated with solar energy and other back-up sources of supply. With improved battery technology and regenerative drivetrains, electrical forklifts seem cemented into our future,” he says. Nemukula agrees: “The future in the forklift industry is electric,” he says. “We’re already seeing a gradual move away from the internal combustion engine to electric machines. Over time, we will only have electric forklifts operating across industry.” Barber says GLTC views the future as bright because the market is showing growth in all classes of forklift. He says GLTC was one of the first to market with tailor-made electric solutions in the local market and has, over the years, exhibited great understanding of the lithium-ion electric forklift market. “GLTC’s experience in this field is unparalleled, with the key differentiator being our ability to offer customer- and application-specific lithium-ion solutions,” says Barber. “Our only concern is the volatile availability of power, but we will continue to offer more energy-efficient solutions such as batteries, chargers and other energy related equipment. We expect the internal combustion engine to be replaced on forklifts in certain applications.” Electric forklifts: advantages Naidoo says a major advantage of the electric forklift is the removal of harmful emissions. He says electrical forklifts are safer in closed environments such as warehouses, food handling environments

Shumani is the largest black-owned industrial equipment supplier in South Africa

“The forklift market seems only to have grown on paper.”

Patrick Barber, Goscor Lift Truck Company (GLTC) sales director

“The current forklift market is driven by the increasing demand for warehouse equipment due to a global spike in warehousing activities.”

Mishen Naidoo engineering/solutions manager at Manitou SA

TALKING POINTS

CAPITAL EQUIPMENT NEWS FEBRUARY 2022 14