Do you move your product by railcar or shipping container? Do you share the same challenges as those who do? The loading and unloading of railcars and/or shipping containers are often done with high lift capacity LPG or diesel-powered forklifts, with a short wheelbase or short turning radius, and a low overall machine height. Carer Electric Forklifts have revolutionized the railcar and shipping container loading industry.

Specifically, in the pulp bale handling and paper roll shipping industry where the applications typically operate high hours of daily use, over multiple shifts, and uses high energy consumption clamp attachments, considering the development of electric forklifts for these applications was challenging.

Rail cars and shipping containers are space restrictive, have confined environments, and demand a forklift solution that can navigate accordingly. They require a forklift with a very small footprint, short turning radius, and a low overhead guard to enter containers. These high utilization, multishift applications, often use clamps that consume a lot of energy to operate, and require high lift capacity forklifts with the bulk of them being in the 10,000lbs to 15,000lbs lift capacity range. This in turn, requires up to 40 percent more fuel consumption costs, creating more heat, exhaust and sound, that operators are forced to contend with day after day.

Although internal combustion (IC) Forklifts have been loading and unloading railcars and seaborne containers for decades, manufacturers have always struggled when trying to develop a solution that would overcome these application challenges. After all, how could a propane forklift overcome heat, exhaust, and sound, while keeping up with the demands of such confined environments?

It would then seem, the ideal solution for these types of environments would be an electric one. However, historically electric forklifts were not a viable solution in these applications. Firstly, the forklift efficiencies and battery power output were unable to keep up with the energy consumption demands required. Secondly, companies operating high daily utilization would not consider an installation where the forklift operator would be required to change lead acid batteries during the day, as penalties with holding up rail car movement would be costly. Thirdly, the size of the lead acid batteries required, made the forklift physically too large to fit in these small and confined spaces.

An electric forklift solution needed to be developed for the rail car and shipping container loading industry, where the battery power system could keep up with the high utilization, multiple shift, high energy consumption applications, without the need for changing batteries.

With these challenges in mind, and the technological advancements made by Carer, we have designed and launched the KR55H2-Short, to specifically overcome the ongoing pain points these industries have had to withstand.

Carer Electric Forklifts, located in the auto hub region of Italy outside Bologna, has been manufacturing only electric, high lift capacity, forklifts since 1976. Distribution for Carer in North America, including full parts inventories and technical support departments, is based out of Seattle WA and Vancouver Canada. The department of engineers at Carer, which represents approximately 40% of total staff at Carer, were tasked with the continuous development of new electric forklifts. The engineers have accomplished this goal and now companies operating LPG and diesel forklifts in the rail car and container loading industries, can save an enormous amount of money while also eliminating harmful exposure to carbon emissions, within these confined enclosures for the forklift operator.

A Carer KR55H2-Short electric Forklift has a smaller footprint, boasts similar or greater power output, can operate in all weather conditions, is designed for multiple shift applications operating up to 6500 hours per year, dramatically reduces fuel, maintenance, and labor costs, eliminates carbon emissions, and generates almost no sound or vibration.

This particular Carer chassis is a winning alternative to the internal combustion solution, and is described as the modern-day upgrade to the standard boxcar Forklift. With a very short turning radius (STR) and designed to meet all STR applications, the Carer KR55H2-SHORT is equipped with a lowered overhead guard and designed specifically to access containers and railcars. The high voltage operating system has been designed to be very efficient with energy consumption. Furthermore, they are equipped with lithium batteries for excessively high daily operating times. Without the need for spare batteries and represent a significant reduction in fuel expenses.

The lithium battery power system eliminates the need to change batteries. We have been able to pair a high output charger for the battery, that supports the excessive energy requirements from loading and clamping over multiple shifts, for up to 6500 hours per year. The lithium batteries require no maintenance, no battery watering, no facility ventilation, and will operate for beyond the useful life of the forklift without needing to be replaced. The batteries meet all safety certifications for industrial applications and can be recycled at the end of life.

Operating the Carer KR55H2-SHORT will produce substantial cost savings and we typically see a 12 to 24 month return on investment (ROI) for most rail car and container loading applications. The financial justification for the premium on capital acquisition, is an easy decision for most financial directors. However, the measurables of an internal combustion truck to electric conversion, typically only consider energy consumption (fuel) savings. In reality, a more realistic ROI would incorporate the following:

Total current monthly operating cost analysis (for diesel forklifts) includes:

• Capital costs (extended depreciation and internal cost of funds)
• All repairs and maintenance costs
• Intangible costs (emergency rentals, freight, down time, administration, etc.)
• Energy (diesel) consumption cost (today and forecasted future costs)
• Costs associated with unproductive labor (fuel tank refilling)
• Tire replacement

Total forecast monthly operating costs (for electric forklifts) include:

• Reduced utilization through elimination standby idle time
• Capital costs (extended depreciation term and internal cost of funds)
• Reduced repairs and maintenance costs
• Reduced intangible costs
• Energy (electricity) consumption costs
• Costs associated with unproductive labor - limited battery maintenance
• Reduced tire replacement costs

In short, when looking at the endless challenges that face any industry, and specifically those industries relying on railcar and shipping to move their product, eliminating obstacles, while eliminating additional expenses is key. At Carer, developing new and innovative solution is what we do, and the Carer KR55H2-Short is a perfect example.

KR55H2-Short The 12,000lb KR55-SHORT is an excellent example of a specialty model designed from the factory's SPED department. The KR55-SHORT is a leading solution for material handling within containers and railcars. With its smaller footprint, it can navigate in tight spaces while maintaining a high lift capacity.

Other popular Carer models include:

A80-300X series: Capacity ranging from 17,500lbs up to 60,000lbs at a 48-inch load center with excellent high lift height capacity retention, a 96-144-volt operating system for high-efficiency energy consumption and long operating time, high-performance dual drive motors, elevated seating position, large diameter super elastic tires, and all-weather cabin options. This series is a great fit for steel, lumber, port terminals and multi-pallet handling applications.

K100-120 series: Capacity ranging from 22,000lbs to 26,000lbs with a 96-volt chassis configuration for high-efficiency operation. Very low chassis and mast design of 88" for operation in environments with limited height access including shipping containers, mining, heavy industrial, and port terminal operations. All-weather cabin options available.

Carer electric forklifts has the right machine for any heavy-duty application in the most aggressive operating environments. Please contact Carer Electric Forklift Solutions at 1-844-33CARER (1-844-332-2737), or via email, for information on how Carer can support the integration of industrial electric forklifts into your facility.