Why You Should Replace Combustion Power with Electric Equipment

As organizations look to lower costs, improve safety and increase sustainability, switching from combustion-powered vehicles and off-road equipment to clean electric technologies provides a significant opportunity.

With electric forklifts, terminal tractors, and eTRUs, your organization can realize significant benefits: reduced maintenance and fuel costs, advanced handling, and drastically reduced noise and air pollution. Such a decision would also support your organization's ongoing push for increased sustainability and create a better overall environment for everyone working at and visiting your organization. Available incentives make the business case even stronger.

Electric Forklifts

Replacing your diesel-, gasoline-, and propane-powered forklifts with electric forklifts is a great idea. In addition to reduced costs of maintenance, thanks to 90% fewer parts, their quiet performance will create a safer, more enjoyable place to work for your employees.

Performance-wise, you’ll sacrifice nothing, and you'll enjoy improved versatility, reliability and handling. Electric forklifts can operate in narrower aisles, allowing for more storage and movement of product. And with common lifting capacities of up to 15,000 pounds, you’ll still be able to lift just as much as internal combustion forklifts. For more heavy-duty applications, some electric forklifts can handle as much as 40,000 pounds.

Electric forklifts are also fine for challenging conditions like uneven surfaces or bad weather. Most forklift manufacturers offer electric, pneumatic-tire forklifts with sealed or contained battery compartments, which can operate in rain, snow, or mud. In addition, your operators will enjoy improved handling and response.

Learn more about making the switch to electric forklifts. 

Electric Terminal Tractors

Another category of electric off road equipment, electric terminal tractors reduce noise, vibration, and exhaust (zero emissions at site), making them safer and healthier to operate…while matching the torque and horsepower of internal combustion tractors, but with smoother acceleration and less vibration and heat.

With fewer moving parts, fewer fluid disposals, and an intuitive diagnostic system, service and maintenance will require fewer technician hours, which will help generate savings and improve machine uptime.

Learn more about making the switch to electric terminal tractors.

Electric-standby Truck Refrigeration Units (eTRUs)

Electric-standby truck refrigeration units (eTRUs) provide operators the ability to cool perishable shipments by plugging in, instead of running a diesel engine. This makes for a cleaner, healthier work environment by eliminating diesel emissions from such operations.

eTRUs cost less to fuel and maintain because electricity is cheaper and more efficient than diesel. Meanwhile, fuel costs while idling can be reduced by up to 80%...you can also reduce greenhouse gas emissions from idling by 14 tons each year. With fuel costs on the rise, electric has proven to be a stable, cost-effective fuel source. eTRUs are also much quieter, which is better for the surrounding community, while offering greater operational awareness to drivers, resulting in fewer accidents.

Learn more about eTRUs and available incentives.

High-Capacity Electric Lift Trucks

The technology for high-capacity electric lift trucks has greatly advanced in recent years. For one, nearly every application now has a single battery solution. Also, the performance of electric lift trucks has exceeded that of a diesel truck, and they even have advanced features that a combustible solution cannot match.

These trucks improve safety, too. They create less heat and vibration, reducing operator fatigue. Quieter operation allows for greater operator awareness, which makes for a safer environment. They also have zero site emissions, eliminating harmful fumes and the need for additional air circulation.

They make financial sense, too: high-capacity electric lift trucks are three to five times less costly to maintain and repair, with 85% fewer moving parts and no fluid disposals. Electricity costs are also three to four times less expensive than conventional fuels, with historically flat and predictable KWh rates.

There is even more to learn about high-capacity electric lift trucks and incentives.

See if the switch to electric equipment is right for you. Learn more about the value and incentives.