CJ Lang & Son Ltd has a deep-rooted history in food supply. This began in 1919 when Charles J Lang started working in his uncle's grocery store in St Andrews. Since then, the company has grown considerably, becoming part of the SPAR Group in the 1970s and is now one of Scotland's largest independent companies. The family is still at the heart of CJ Lang & Son. Daughter Joan Scott-Adie has now taken over as Managing Director and is supported by other members of her family.

As the only SPAR Wholesaler for Scotland and part of the wider SPAR network in the UK, CJ Lang & Son employs over 2,000 people. They work in the 100 company-owned stores in Scotland, the 180,000 square meter distribution center in Dundee and the head office, also located in Dundee.

Between 300,000 and 400,000 crates are delivered each week, each of which requires different storage and handling temperatures. The logistics operation runs in three shifts per day, six days a week. To ensure that the processes run smoothly, it is essential that the fleet of 40 reach trucks, counterbalance trucks, assembly forklifts, loading forklifts and electric pallet trucks are available at all times. In some cases, interchangeable batteries are also used to keep the industrial trucks running during shift operation.

Modern forklifts need a sustainable charging infrastructure

Having recently replaced its entire fleet of manual forklift trucks with more modern equipment and technology, the company found that its existing battery charging infrastructure, a mix of older 50 hertz and radio frequency (RF) technology, was inadequate and inefficient. The existing battery chargers were also very large and took up a lot of space in the distribution center.

CJ Lang & Son already has an established sustainability and corporate social responsibility (CSR) program and was looking for a battery charging solution that would support this program in terms of reducing its carbon footprint, environmental impact, energy consumption and costs.

The energy loss of 50 Hz and HF battery chargers is high during operation. The efficiency of batteries can be problematic in refrigerated and deep-freeze areas, which is why CJ Lang & Son had to use replacement batteries, which resulted in additional operating costs.

Intelligent charging process

Colin Chapman, Distribution Director at CJ Lang & Son, didn't have to look far for a new battery charging solution. "I first came into contact with Fronius at the SPAR International Logit Conference in China in October 2019," says Chapman. "A month later, I met Fronius again at the SPAR International Partnership Forum in Amsterdam. I liked how Fronius' charging concept fitted in with our forklift truck exchange plan and our CSR program. We set up a test and data collection unit in early 2020 with Andrew Wrigglesworth, Technical Sales Advisor, and Ross Adams, National Sales Director of Fronius UK, and the results have validated the concept."

In collaboration with the British and Austrian teams from Fronius, the Selectiva 4.0 battery chargers were installed at the distribution center in Dundee on a trial basis. The intelligent Ri charging process of the battery chargers adapts individually to the state of charge and age of the batteries. This ensures cooler, gentler and more energy-efficient charging and therefore a longer battery life. The "temperature-controlled charging" option was installed at CJ Lang & Son to take account of the different temperature zones. The charging voltage is adjusted according to the temperature of the battery, which protects the battery in the long term and increases its service life. Fronius demonstrated the efficiency of the system by calculating the long-term savings potential, for example in operating costs and electricity costs, that can be achieved with this new technology._{CO2 savings} and reductions in other areas relevant to sustainability can also be demonstrated.

"Energy efficiency and emissions reduction were the main reasons for choosing the product, along with quality and design. In addition, the chargers are much smaller than our old ones," says Colin Chapman. "Customer service and communication were also key. We felt like we were entering into a partnership and felt valued."

Consistent support leads to success

The charging experts from Fronius assisted CJ Lang & Son with the planning, analysis and project planning and ensured that the installation met the applicable safety requirements. "Andrew and Ross were excellent throughout and kept us informed at all stages of the process," says Chapman. "Andrew was extremely dedicated and visited our distribution center several times to help with the preparation and installation. We were very impressed with the support and approach of the UK sales team."

A look into the future

CJ Lang & Son expects the installation of the 37 Selectiva 4.0 battery chargers to reduce_{CO2 emissions} by 265,000 kg over the next five years. In addition, savings worth GBP 100,000 (= 20 percent) will result from lower power consumption when charging the batteries and an increase in battery life. "Overall, our experience with Fronius has been very good," says Colin Chapman. "I can only recommend Fronius, because so far we are very satisfied with the support and the product. In the future, we would like to build on the existing partnership and see what else we can do to work together to reduce our emissions."

The article appeared in materialfluss 11-21/21.