Davies Turner has switched to Doosan electric trucks

Davies Turner, one of the UK's leading logistics and freight forwarding businesses, is seeing the benefits from a switch from gas trucks to battery-powered vehicles.

At the company's Heathrow hub, over 2 million kg a month are processed in a 24/7 operation that demands maximum efficiency from its fleet of nine forklift trucks.

Traditionally, gas-powered vehicles are used in heavy lifting, indoor, multi-shift applications. However, when Davies Turner came to review its fleet in early 2018, it took the opportunity to explore the possibility of replacing the gas trucks with battery-powered vehicles from Doosan. Importantly, the move would help support the business in its application for environmental standard ISO 14001 by offering cleaner, quieter, more environmentally friendly handling operations.

In the spring of 2018, Doosan's latest electric B35X-7 3.5 T counterbalance trucks were supplied, along with a spare high-capacity battery for each truck, backed up by Fronius chargers with an auto-fill facility for efficient battery management. Easy-access side panels on the trucks allowed for a fast change over of batteries using a powered pallet truck, ensuring a continuous and reliable operation.

In addition to the electric counterbalance trucks, a new Doosan BR16JW-7 1.6 T reach truck was supplied with a 6.5m mast, as well as a compact Doosan B18X-7 1.8 T capacity counterbalance truck - both well suited for duties within Davies Turner's racked storage area.

However, the benefits of transitioning from gas to electric go far beyond a cleaner, quieter working environment. There is a significant cost difference, too. The outlay of GBP15 (USD19) per day per truck for gas has been replaced with the cost for charging a truck at GBP5 (USD6.35) per day. ROI was achieved within 16 months.

The reduced downtime has been another major factor. With the electric trucks, there are far fewer parts to maintain and you do not get the problem of overheating engines.

A further benefit is the Doosan Fleet Management System, which enables users to access up-to-the-moment information on their fleet, log breakdowns and reference maintenance records.