Jungheinrich's new plant can produce over 10,000 trucks a year.

Jungheinrich has replaced its Qingpu production plant with a new plant in the same district.

The new plant was built according to the latest environmental standards and has a production capacity of more than 10,000 trucks a year.

"At Qingpu, we are building modern, energy-efficient forklifts based on European quality standards," Hans-Georg Frey, Jungheinrich group's management board chair, says at the plant's 8 August opening ceremony.

"The new plant provides us with an opportunity to produce additional truck types and larger quantities in line with market demand."

The plant, which was built in a year, will be used to develop and produce pedestrian-controlled trucks, and counterbalanced and reach trucks for the Asia-Pacific region. For the project, Jungheinrich bought 60,000 sqm (645,835 sqft.) of land in Qingpu's industrial district. The new production area spans 36,000 sqm (387,501 sqft.), while the office building is about 4,000 sqm (43,056 sqft.) of floor space spread over three stories. The new facility replaces the previous plant, erected in 2006, which had reached its capacity limit (Forkliftaction.com News #276).

The group estimates a 90% drop in the amount of coolant needed for the plant's air conditioning in summer, compared to similar structures, and a "substantial drop" in the quantity of greenhouse gases produced. The plant design is based on a sophisticated energy concept that primarily uses water for the air conditioning.

In winter, the plant is heated using geothermal energy, with a system that feeds unused energy back into the ground. The plant is also equipped with an energy-conserving system that supplies purified, filtered air to each office, while reducing air humidity in the building.

"Those are just a few of the numerous ecological factors which flowed into the design of our new plant," Reinhild Kühne, managing director of Jungheinrich Lift Truck Manufacturing (Shanghai) Co Ltd, says.

The plant was certified at its opening with a Leed Silver certificate, an ecological rating system for buildings developed by the US Green Building Council.

Kühne says: "We are delighted to have received this certification for one of the most energy-efficient buildings in the entire Shanghai region, allowing us to put a 'healthy' building at the disposal of our highly motivated staff."