Spare parts efficiently brought to the track

Kühne+Nagel and Beutlhauser were unable to visit the site at the beginning. The project was therefore planned purely on screen. A fixed delivery date also had to be confirmed at a very early stage. "The vehicles were delivered to the site from February to mid-April. The handover to the customer had to be 'just-in-sequence'. This meant that the vehicles not only had to be delivered at the right time, but also in a precisely defined sequence. With a fleet of more than 150 vehicles and nine different vehicle types, this was no easy task," explains Key Account Manager Christian Feldmeier.

Combination of new and used forklifts

Beutlhauser offered Kühne+Nagel a "mixed fleet concept" for the management of the area. This means that the fleet is made up of both new and used vehicles. All used forklifts were given a refresh in the company's own reconditioning center in Poland and are now almost indistinguishable from the new vehicles. In such a central hub of logistics, the fast and safe flow of goods has top priority. Consequently, vehicles are needed that are tailored to the requirements on site. This is reflected in the product range. It ranges from E20PH and E35HL electric forklift trucks to R16HD reach trucks, various electric tow tractors and narrow-aisle forklifts through to order pickers and high-lift trucks. Only electric forklift trucks are used: "In combination with efficient chargers, energy can be saved and carbon dioxide emissions reduced," says Feldmeier, explaining the customer's approach. The wish for an overview of the fleet was also fulfilled. All vehicles are equipped with Linde's fleet management software Linde Connect.

Newly developed concept increases safety

The majority of the industrial trucks are equipped with lithium-ion batteries. In this context, Kühne+Nagel approached Beutlhauser with a special requirement. Although lithium-ion batteries are protected in multiple ways and switch off immediately at the slightest deviation, an additional safety barrier was to be installed in order to comply with the specifications on site. Together with the battery supplier AIM, Beutlhauser developed a concept for extinguishing the batteries in the event of a fire in just two and a half months. The Flood Connector and the Flood Trolley, two newly developed components, are at the heart of this concept.

Manfred Weigert from the AIM field service explains exactly how the extinguishing concept works: "An extinguishing connection, the flood connector, is installed on the battery. In the event of smoke developing, the extinguishing trolley, the flood trolley, can be pushed to the vehicle and connected to the extinguishing connection on the forklift truck using a hose. The connection is made very simply via a magnetic coupling. A compressed air cylinder is then opened on the extinguishing trolley and the extinguishing trolley is switched on. This floods the battery with extinguishing water until the battery overflows. This means that all modules in the battery are under water and smoke development is stopped. Thanks to the compressed air cylinder, the fire engine is completely independent of other energy sources, i.e. it is not dependent on electricity or fuel."

Hardware conversion required just-in-sequence delivery

Another unusual requirement for Beutlhauser: the customer from the automotive industry needed various hardware equipment such as printers, scanners and terminals to store and retrieve parts. These had to be removed from the old vehicles and installed on the new industrial trucks. "The complete electrical supply for the hardware is provided by us. The conversions took place from mid-April - that's why just-in-sequence delivery was so important. The vehicles had to be fully operational from May," explains Feldmeier.

Looking at the large-scale project as a whole, it is clear that flexibility, expertise and a willingness to break new ground were essential for successful implementation. "A lot of effort and creativity paid off for us in the end. We worked permanently on this project with five employees and ultimately received feedback that the customer trusts us as a partner," says Christian Feldmeier happily.