According to the company, SPAR is the world's largest voluntary association of retailers in a franchise system. Although the stores, wholesalers and supermarkets operate under the same name and with a uniform logo, they are independent companies. Under the emblem of the fir tree, SPAR stores are now known in 49 countries on four continents - including Switzerland. The Swiss SPAR Group was founded in 1989 and is now a holding company with three operating companies: SPAR Handels AG, TopCC AG and SPAR Management AG. The store network now comprises 185 neighborhood and convenience stores as well as eleven TopCC pick-up stores for restaurateurs, business customers, associations and public institutions.

Around 8,800 articles
These are supplied from the SPAR Group's central warehouse, which is still located in St. Gallen today. On an area of 33,000 square meters, around 8,800 different items with a total value of around 26 million Swiss francs are stored in the modern logistics center. More than 600,000 roll containers leave the halls every year and are transported by truck to stores and partners throughout the country. Internally, a fleet of 100 electric industrial trucks ensures a fast and efficient flow of goods. As SPAR works in shifts, forklifts and batteries must be designed for long periods of use. The company does not use exchangeable batteries.

Until recently, SPAR mainly used devices with 50-Hertz technology to charge the traction batteries. The massive devices took up a lot of space, which is why they were housed in a separate room in the basement. "However, this solution was quite cumbersome," recalls Daniel Stohr, Head of Warehouse. "Each forklift had to be brought into the loading area individually by freight elevator and connected there - with such a large fleet, it takes quite a lot of time. The operating and maintenance costs for the elevator were also considerable due to the constant workload." Those responsible at SPAR therefore decided to modernize the charging infrastructure. The company became aware of Fronius at a trade fair: Fronius develops customized complete systems for charging traction batteries. "Together, we first took a close look at the current situation at SPAR and then developed proposed solutions to improve the processes in day-to-day work," explains Reto Baumgartner, Sales Battery Charging Systems at Fronius Switzerland. "We agreed these with the customer and then implemented them together."

Space-saving and standard-compliant installation
The most important change was to move the battery charging technology from the basement to the first floor, in the working area of the forklift fleet. The Selectiva chargers from Fronius are ideal for this: They are much smaller and lighter than the 50 hertz devices previously used and can therefore be installed flexibly and in a space-saving manner. Fronius set up several decentralized charging areas at SPAR, which are easy for the forklift drivers to reach. The chargers are mounted on the wall, for example - or in one case even integrated overhead into the steel construction of a high-bay warehouse. A spring balancer ensures that the charging cables do not lie on the floor when no battery is connected. "With all variants, we naturally made sure that all safety regulations and standards were complied with," reports Baumgartner.

Employees also benefit from the external start-stop function of the chargers. All they have to do is connect the cable to charge the batteries - no settings need to be made directly on the device. The Selectiva devices automatically detect the voltage, capacity and condition of the connected battery and adjust the charging characteristic accordingly. A pilot contact in the plug also prevents sparks from forming if the charging cable is disconnected prematurely - "after all, highly explosive oxyhydrogen gas can be released when charging lead batteries," explains Baumgartner. However, Fronius technology ensures safety in warehouses - and at the same time simple operation.

Gentle charging preserves battery capacity
With their Ri charging process, the Selectiva devices also supply the traction batteries with energy gently and efficiently. They measure the internal resistance (Ri) of the batteries, which depends on various factors such as their age, temperature and state of charge - so each battery receives exactly the charge it needs. This reduces harmful heating to a minimum, maintains the capacity of the batteries and extends their service life. At the same time, charging times are now significantly shorter than before. "This has noticeably increased the availability of our fleet," says Thomas Broder, Head of Logistics Technology at SPAR. "The forklifts have to visit the charging stations less often and are also ready for use again more quickly."

Another positive effect is the lower operating costs. On the one hand, the energy consumption for charging the industrial trucks is up to 30 percent lower with the new Selectiva devices. Secondly, Fronius and SPAR have been able to extend the service life of the traction batteries by around a third, meaning that the expensive batteries need to be replaced less frequently. Water consumption has also fallen thanks to the gentle charging process, which in turn reduces maintenance costs. "The new charging infrastructure enables us to make significant savings," says Warehouse Manager Daniel Stohr with satisfaction. "We have also gained valuable space."

A total of 35 Selectiva chargers are now in use at SPAR's central warehouse. Those responsible are completely satisfied with the result - just as they are with the cooperation with Fronius. "We received competent, constructive and success-oriented advice right from the start," praises Stohr. "It was particularly positive for us that we had a fixed contact person from planning to implementation and operation - that made the changeover much easier for us."