Electric forklifts, electric karts or conventional cars — powered by Linde Material Handling

particular are focusing on new emission-free vehicle concepts in order to reduce the impact of transport on humans and the environment. The automotive and component supply industry as well as research institutes are working on development projects worth billions of euros involving various concepts and technologies. In the past, the world has hardly taken notice of the industrial truck industry, which has seen the manufacture of electric forklifts and warehouse trucks for decades. Before the official opening of the 2011 StaplerCup, Linde Material Handling (LMH) presented its extensive expertise in electric drive technology, acquired over four decades, to the press.

"The industrial truck industry keeps a close eye on the automotive sector, which has given it a significant head start when it comes to electric drives. Whereas electric cars are only slowly gaining in popularity among consumers, intralogistics would be unthinkable without battery-powered forklifts. Our existing expertise is extensive and can provide important momentum for electric transport," Theodor Maurer, CEO of Linde Material Handling, explained to members of the press.

Over recent decades, in addition to developing hydrostatic drives for industrial forklift trucks, construction, forestry and agricultural machines, Linde Hydraulics, an LMH business field, has also acquired comprehensive technology expertise in electric drives. In mobile hydraulics today there are hardly any drive systems left which do not use electronics as the "brains" for the hydraulic "muscle".

Likewise, Linde MH has been manufacturing electric forklifts for forty years with tremendous success. The drive technology, electronics and control have been tried and tested a thousand times over and consistently developed within the company. The product range includes electric motors with outputs of 1 to 35 kW, integrated into forklifts and warehouse trucks. Approximately 400,000 motors are manufactured annually, including innovative drive systems like the electronically controlled compact drives for "steer by wire" functions, in which the motor, transmission, control, power electronics and sensors are integrated as one module component. The teamwork between the drive developers and forklift developers always produces new practical solutions.

With the recent introduction of its new generation of electric forklifts with a load capacity of two to five tonnes, Linde MH has impressively fortified its claim as a technological leader in electric forklift trucks. Forklifts and warehouse trucks are no longer its only focus. "Know-how and technology in electric drives have been available since 2010 to external customers as well. The knowledge acquired from these sources is, of course, being incorporated back into our development," explains Maik Manthey, Head of Electronic Systems and Drives, pointing out that the desired exchange of technology is then reinvested into forklift development.

If the development of an electric cart driven by forklift components (electric lifting motor, lithium-ion battery and electronics), which recently set a world record by accelerating from 0 to 100 km/h in 3.45 seconds, is still an exciting showpiece, then the two-way electric shunting device, "Rotrac E 2" from Zwiehoff, and the small car based on a FIAT 500, the "new500E powered by Linde Material Handling" from KARABAG in Hamburg, are two applications in a series of innovations which will set trends for the future, asserts Manthey.

The small "power dwarf" Rotrac E 2 can carry loads up to 200 tonnes and the "new500E" can achieve top speeds of 105 km/h with a range of more than 100 km. They share a common power source: Linde electric motors, inverters, control electronics and extensive know-how, all of which will also provide top performance features for the new electric forklift generation E 20 to E 50 in this or a similar form.

"Over the course of reworking and further developing the original drive concept for the new500E, we were able to almost double the efficiency by using Linde drive technology. Instead of a water-cooled drive with a nominal output of 30 kW as originally planned, we now have a much lighter, uncooled 16.3 kW Linde motor and optimised electronic control," Manthey describes the advantages of Linde technology. "The result is that the new500E now available has significantly more 'boost' than the older, allegedly more powerful version," Sirri Karabag, Managing Director of Karabag GmbH, asserts confidently. The vehicle's range of 100 km is suited to actual urban transport needs. The vehicles will be available in the next few days.

A welcome secondary result is that the costs can also be reduced, so that the vehicle is "absolutely competitive in terms of price" compared to conventional cars and can be purchased for a leasing fee of EUR 299 per month thanks to the promotion being offered by the German Federal Ministry of Transport. Another 200 electric vehicles with Linde drive technology will be supplied by the end of the year. Members of the press were able to see for themselves how the KARABAG and its "siblings" drive as part of the vehicle presentation, and put the vehicles' workmanship to the test on a forklift obstacle course. The first forklift truck driven by pedal power, the H20 "Rider" forklift, also premiered at the presentation. Remarkable and energy efficient — that is, using less "muscle" — it is a three-tonne forklift which uses hydrostatics to operate fully functionally and lift its loads.

"Linde is showing with its new business field, Electronic Systems and Drives, that the company always succeeds in creating new areas of business and developing new application fields for its technology," Theodor Maurer explains, emphasising the company's strategic approach. "Our focus is not to be a long-term competitor to the automotive industry. We are taking advantage of this exchange of technology and the knowledge we are acquiring from it, in order to improve out drives and forklift trucks for the benefit of our customers."

About Karabag GmbH:

Karabag GmbH is a German commercial vehicles dealer and electric vehicles manufacturer based in Hamburg. Founded in 1992 by Sirri Steven Karabag, the company originally specialised in commercial vehicles and camper vans from FIAT.

With an annual turnover of EUR 20 million, the Karabag Group is one of the biggest top-selling FIAT commercial vehicles dealers in Europe. Karabag has been manufacturing and selling electric vehicles with growing success since 2008 and topped the registration statistics for electric vehicles in 2010 with 251 registered vehicles.

About Zwiehoff GmbH:

Zwiehoff GmbH is a two-way technology specialist based in Rosenheim, Germany. The company offers various vehicles and attachments for construction, maintenance, vegetation control, winter services, transport, shunting, rescue services, etc. which can be used both on streets and rails.