Protection for the environment and goods

This is no small project. The 50 stores in the Lower Rhine-Ruhr, Münsterland, Hesse and Dresden regions have a total of 300,000 square meters of warehouse space and 20,000 square meters of showroom space. The conversion is being implemented in cooperation with Mitsubishi forklift dealer Degener Staplertechnik from Senden (North Rhine-Westphalia). "Krefeld is the first branch to be completely converted," reports Degener's customer advisor Markus Jürgens, who recommended the conversion to the Bauen+Leben Group.

Theo Peitz and Markus Jürgens (from left) with the forklift drivers from the Bauen+Leben branch in Krefeld.

Around two years ago, Bauen+Leben in Krefeld was given a test forklift so that the employees and drivers could find out whether and how an electric forklift could fit into their daily work. The EDiA EX model FB 25 N with a load capacity of 2.5 tons was equipped with a double pedal control, similar to the models from another manufacturer. The EDiA was supposed to remain in operation for 14 days in order to be tested. Less than three days later, Markus Jürgens received the feedback that the driver and managing director were delighted and the changeover could begin.

The drivers at the Krefeld site were particularly impressed by the virtually non-existent idle times. While a diesel forklift truck should not be constantly switched on and off and therefore sometimes waited chugging along waiting to be used, a cold start is no problem at all with an electric forklift truck.

About BAUEN+LEBEN

Bauen+Leben is a franchise system with medium-sized and independent builders' merchants. The group currently comprises more than 50 specialist builders' merchants in North Rhine-Westphalia, Saxony and Hesse. Bauen+Leben is a partner in Europe's largest purchasing cooperation Eurobaustoff in the building materials sector and a partner in the Eurobaustoff central warehouse in Westphalia.

Quite apart from protecting the environment and eliminating idle times, Theo Peitz, Managing Director of the Krefeld site, discovered another advantage of electric forklift trucks that nobody had expected in Bauen+Leben's open warehouse complex. Both the floors and the goods remain much cleaner due to the absence of diesel exhaust fumes. "All packaging, pallets and the vehicles themselves were covered in a fine but noticeable layer of soot," reports Peitz. And it's not just this pollution that has been eliminated thanks to the switch to electric forklift trucks. The drivers also benefit from the reduced noise pollution. "Diesel forklifts can make a lot of noise, especially when they are used in high-bay warehouses," says Jürgens.

Forklift trucks are used in a variety of ways in Krefeld and, when customers collect the goods themselves, are also often used as a "working platform" for loading purchases without straining the back.

The fact that Bauen+Leben, unlike other building materials retailers, relies on high racks up to seven meters high is also no problem for the EDiA EX. The forklift and driver master the diverse tasks on the building materials retailer's premises with ease: Loading and unloading trucks and high racks, order picking and acting as a "work platform" when customers load material directly from the truck into cars and trucks. Markus Jürgens calculates which models with which load capacity are the right ones in consultation with the management and the team on site.

To date, around 10 percent of the Bauen+Leben fleet has been converted or ordered. "The plan to only use electric forklifts in the future is not only based on economic considerations, but above all on environmental aspects," says Markus Jürgens, reflecting his customer's wishes. "Other parts of the fleet will also be gradually replaced." Even electrically powered wheel loaders will no longer be a problem in the future.

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