Capital Equipment News July 2021

MATERIALS HANDLING

Brent Light, EIE Group national manager: Toyota Counterbalance, in front of an electric Toyota forklift.

Lithium-ion a boost for electric materials handling equipment B rent Hean, CEO of industrial equipment solutions provider EIE Group, loosely divides the materials handling equipment (MHE) market into the counterbalance forklift and the warehousing sectors. These two sectors, he says, are characterised by the energy storage methods employed by each. “Seen this way, the warehousing sector Most South African materials handling operations still rely on fossil-fuel burning equipment today, but the situation is changing with the introduction of lithium- ion battery technology and a shift in mindset in the market towards electrically powered equipment. We approached EIE Group for an update on the development, advantages and applications of this game-changing technology. By Mark Botha.

“The majority of South African materials handling companies currently still use fossil-fuel burning equipment, but the industry is moving – we are seeing a marked trend of more electric units coming into the country.”

is characterised by the use of electric equipment, yet internal combustion (IC) machines still make up some 60% of the materials handling market in South Africa.” He says that, in terms of the counterbalancing market (excluding the warehousing sector), this figure rises to almost 77%, which means that the “vast majority” of traditional forklifts currently sold locally are internal combustion machines burning either diesel or liquid- petroleum gas. “The majority of South African materials handling companies currently still use fossil- fuel burning equipment, but the industry is

Brent Hean, CEO of EIE Group

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