Safety First

A large percentage of Jungheinrich reach trucks at the Shanghai distribution centre are equipped with a special camera system which allows the operator to see the goods at great heights – the maximum racking bay height for this truck generation is 10.5 metres – and to accurately and above all safely deposit and pick the goods. “Even if environmental aspects run like a ‘green thread’ through our company, the issue of safety is naturally top priority at Schneider Electric!” reports Lei Leo Yang.

All Jungheinrich trucks employed at the Shanghai distribution centre are rental trucks. “Apart from the financial flexibility, there are a number of other arguments in favour of renting forklifts,” states Mikinari Oki, Head of Rental and Used Equipment at Jungheinrich in China. As this manager explains it, the rental rate already includes factors like interest, depreciation, insurance premiums and servicing costs. And as the majority of trucks in the Jungheinrich rental fleet is less than a year old, the client always has access to the latest engineering advances. According to Oki: “Renting the trucks affords Schneider Electric complete planning security in terms of the costs and the individually definable contract lengths.” By avoiding his own capital outlays, the client can put substantially more resources into other in-house investments, Oki reports.

100% Availability of Stacker Fleet

Schneider Electric has also signed a full-service contract with Jungheinrich. “This way the client can concentrate entirely on his core business,” explains Alexander Özbahadir, as the entire responsibility for stacker fleet availability now rests with Jungheinrich, he says. “Our after-sales service assumes any cost risk and the entire maintenance planning.” A fixed monthly overall rate ensures the complete availability of the stacker fleet – including maintenance, any necessary repairs using original spare parts, safety inspections and much more. “If desired by the client, a full-service rate can even include a personal service engineer based permanently on-site.”

While Schneider Electric did not opt for that service, it did have a special request: To ensure the safe and clean charging of the truck batteries, the client asked Jungheinrich to set up an external charging station. The station is equipped with two Jungheinrich SLT 100 battery charging devices designed for standard lead acid batteries. “These battery chargers allow the client to save more than eight percent on energy costs compared with conventional charging devices,” reports Özbahadir. He explains that this was based on the employment of pulse charging technology, which uses increased current levels in the recharging phase to facilitate the thorough mixing of battery acid. “The advantage of this is faster charging and reduced maintenance as a result of lower water consumption,” he explains.

In the words of Özbahadir: “We were delighted to fulfil this special request from our client Schneider Electric.” The result: a battery charging station, located at the periphery of the Shanghai distribution centre – one of the most advanced in the entire region. “Maybe even in all of China!” adds Lei Leo Yang, with a grin.

Jungheinrich ranks among the world’s leading companies in the material handling equipment, warehousing and material flow engineering sectors. The company is an intralogistics service and solution provider with manufacturing operations, which offers its customers a comprehensive range of forklift trucks, shelving systems, services and advice. Jungheinrich shares are traded on all German stock exchanges.