Grocery store operator WinCo Foods LLC should begin operating hydrogen fuel cell-powered Class 1 standup forklifts from Crown Equipment Corp in five months.

Employee-owned WinCo has committed to acquire 184 GenDrive fuel cells from Plug Power Inc for use at an 800,000sqft. (72,000 sqm) food-product distribution centre near the central California city of Ceres in the agricultural San Joaquin Valley.

The first Crown units should arrive in October with the overall conversion of the centre's fleet extending into early 2014. A request for a municipal permit is pending.

Currently using battery power, the WinCo centre operates a mix of Crown and BT Class 2 European-style slide-mast units and Raymond and Crown Class 3 units.

WinCo operates 79 stores in Washington, Idaho, California, Nevada, Oregon and Utah and has more than 13,000 employees. The Ceres centre supplies merchandise including dry goods and product to 29 WinCo stores in portions of California and Nevada. WinCo has other distribution centres in Boise and Woodburn and Myrtle Creek, Oregon.