Quehenberger's forklift fleet - available around the clock with Fronius

Quehenberger Logistics is a medium-sized logistics company specializing in transport management, network and contract logistics. Among other things, the Enns site is responsible for the transport logistics of several well-known food, drugstore and textile retailers and supplies their branches throughout Austria and abroad.

Industrial trucks in constant use

"We used to specialize in logistics for car tires, but our portfolio has continued to expand over the years," reports Thomas Putschögl, Head of Technical Operations at Quehenberger in Enns. "Today, we are represented across all sectors and have a very broad base." Around 1,200 consignments leave the transshipment warehouse every day. This means hard work for the intralogistics: 20 electrically powered industrial trucks from the manufacturer Linde are constantly on the move between the warehouse and the individual trucks. They have to be available at all times, which is why Quehenberger also uses exchangeable batteries, which are available at a central charging station.

"Our forklifts get around 150 operating hours per week," explains Putschögl. "That wouldn't be possible without changing the batteries." In the past, however, there have always been difficulties: It was not easy for employees to see how long the batteries had been connected to the chargers. As a result, the utilization of the battery pool suffered, as Putschögl recalls: "Drivers would often simply take the next best battery out of convenience - regardless of whether it was already fully charged and cooled down." This not only reduced the availability of the industrial trucks, but also the service life of the costly traction batteries.

In 2015, Quehenberger decided to replace the entire fleet of forklift trucks at the Enns site and bring them up to the latest technical standards. Battery charging technology also became the focus of those responsible: "Our aim was to find a system that would ensure the constant availability of our industrial trucks and at the same time charge the batteries as gently, energy-efficiently and cost-effectively as possible," says Operations Manager Putschögl, outlining the requirements. The company, based in Pettenbach, Upper Austria, is a specialist in innovative battery charging systems. "Quehenberger commissioned a calculation from us in advance to determine the savings potential of the battery charging technology," explains Leopold Grammerstätter, specialist consultant for battery charging systems at Fronius. The results were convincing: after all, the Selectiva chargers from Fronius, with their specially developed Ri charging process, consume up to 30 percent less energy than conventional solutions. In addition, the charging process is particularly gentle, which extends the service life of the batteries - another cost factor. Quehenberger therefore decided to equip the logistics site with a total of 42 Fronius devices.

Less power consumption and CO2 emissions

With the specially developed Ri charging process, Fronius Selectiva chargers consume up to 30 percent less energy than conventional solutions. As the charging process is particularly gentle, the batteries last longer.

The major advantage of the Ri charging process is that it is not based on a predefined characteristic curve, but instead takes into account the age, temperature and state of charge of the respective battery, explains Grammerstätter: "Its internal resistance - also known as Ri - depends on these factors, and this in turn influences the charging current." This means that each charging cycle has a unique characteristic curve, adapted to the individual requirements of the battery. This minimizes overcharging at the beginning of the charging process and during the recharging phase, which is responsible for high energy losses and for heating up the battery. The result: "Power consumption and CO2 emissions are significantly lower, and charging is gentler than with other systems," emphasizes Grammerstätter. "Both have a positive effect on the total cost of ownership."

But that's not all: Fronius also installed the Cool Battery Guide Easy information and management system to ensure the highest possible availability of the industrial truck fleet. Its task is to intuitively guide the forklift driver to the battery that has been fully charged for the longest time and is therefore the coolest. "An LED strip is attached to each charger. The device that has been charging for the longest time lights up blue - so the driver can see at a glance which battery to take," says Alexander Grünhagen, warehouse manager at Quehenberger, explaining the advantage of the new system. "This means that all batteries are used the same number of times and are always fully charged.

High requirements fulfilled

The Fronius technology has other advantages, Grünhagen explains: "The gas development is significantly lower - and with it the odor nuisance." The batteries also lose considerably less water thanks to the gentle charging process, meaning that time-consuming topping up is no longer necessary. The Selectiva devices can also charge different battery types flexibly. This simplifies the changing process, as employees no longer have to worry about the correct assignment of battery and charger. In fact, the colleagues are downright proud of the new charging station, smiles Grünhagen: "The visual impression alone and the clean installation ensure that everyone is very careful with the devices."

Operations Manager Thomas Putschögl is also highly satisfied with the Fronius solution: "The innovative charging technology has helped us to make considerable savings - both in terms of operating costs and CO2 emissions. This is a decisive advantage in view of the new energy efficiency laws in Austria and Europe."

Boris Ringwald

Contact:

Quehenberger Logistics GmbH 4470 Enns, Austria Tel.: 00 43 / 5 01 45-0 E-Mail:

Fronius International GmbH 4600 Wels, Austria Tel.: 00 43 / 72 42 / 2 41-25 50 E-Mail:[email protected] www.fronius.com/intralogistik