Jeff Long of EnerSys and John Blakeney of Atlantic Plywood.

An EnerSys Inc program reached its 5,000 mark recently, helping forklift users switch power source to electric from internal combustion. None involved retrofit kits.

The stored energy specialist hit the milestone in its Convert-to-Electric (C2E) program as the six-year-old initiative nears serving its 200th participating company.

Over the years, "we've saved them more than USD125 million in fuel costs" for liquid propane gas or diesel, says Jeff Long, EnerSys vice president of sales and service. "Battery power provides reliable, long-lasting, robust energy, and it's better for the environment. We've helped our customers improve productivity and save dollars and time on maintenance and fuel."

Atlantic Plywood Corp switched some of its internal combustion forklifts to battery electric over the last year and is recognised as the user of EnerSys's 5,000th equipment replacement.

"We started with five lift trucks and were so pleased with the results (that) we extended to 20 trucks," says John Blakeney, chief financial officer of Woburn, Massachusetts-based Atlantic Plywood. "We find they are cleaner, quieter, more efficient, and they handle the work better than the old propane lifts."

Blakeney estimates that Atlantic Plywood is saving USD12,000 on each forklift's use of fuel and need for maintenance. The company plans within a few years to switch its remaining forklifts to electric power and replace those units now operating with LPG-fueled engines.

In addition to its Woburn headquarters, the employee-owned distributor of interior and specialty building products has branch locations in East Providence, Rhode Island; Bethpage, Rochester and Albany, New York; South Windsor, Connecticut; Carlstadt, New Jersey; Royalton, Vermont; and Westbrook, Maine.

Long describes the transition for another EnerSys customer, a manufacturer that was operating forklifts with LPG power.

"We showed our program, and they saw the benefits," Long says. Initially, the company replaced 19 LPG units with electric-powered ones, and "now, they have more than 401 battery-powered forklifts at 35 facilities in North America".

After identifying a prospective customer, EnerSys analysts help pin down the end-users' needs and then work with the relevant dealers who are involved in replacing the forklifts and accepting the used equipment.

Typically, a user of materials handling equipment will opt to go to electric at the time its LPG forklift engines are reaching the end of their useful lives, says Mark Tomaszewski, EnerSys manager of emerging technologies.

Tomaszewski says the operational savings for an end-user should include USD6,300 per forklift for fuel and 30%-40% lower maintenance expenses.

"Some report reduced insurance premiums for not having flammable LPG on site" after the removal of the internal compression engines from the premises, he says.