Forklifts are an important part of construction work. So if you have a construction business, you’ll want to have trained forklift operators and a functioning forklift. If you’re concerned about your budget, look into cheap used forklifts for sale and cheap forklift training. However, make sure that these options are also high quality. Otherwise, you might get stuck with poorly trained employees on a machine that doesn’t work. Then your money will have been wasted.
You need someone who understands how to operate the machine and also know basic forklift repairs. Be sure to also check forklift certification. If you want to go green at your site, look into cheap electric forklift options. It might be difficult to find the equipment that fits your standards at this budget, but it is worth looking at. In the end, you can save yourself money while also having less of an impact on the environment.
Forklifts are used to drive operations at warehouses and other industrial workplaces everywhere — so it’s not a mistake to consider them among the most important vehicles in the world. Yet the majority of the world’s forklifts are powered by combustion engines that require petroleum or diesel fuels to run; such fuels aren’t sustainable in the long run and harm the environment.
As demand for environmentally sound technologies continues to increase across the globe, companies like Jungheinrich are working to provide innovations that will allow warehouses to operate more sustainably.
According to a Companies and Markets article, Europe currently leads the way in sustainable forklift fueling methods, with about 80% of its warehouses using electric forklifts powered by rechargeable forklift batteries. In America, approximately 60% of the market utilizes electric forklifts; however, the rest of the world is continuing to catch up in adapting to this green power source.
Before 2008, electrically-powered forklifts comprised just 55% of annual forklift sales to warehouses worldwide. Since then, that percentage has grown to 65%, Companies and Markets reports.
Yet the lead-acid forklift batteries that power these forklifts tend to contain hazardous materials like heavy metals like lead and nickel and acid, which may be why OSHA requires all battery rooms to be equipped with adequate ventilation to keep warehouse personnel safe. Lead-acid batteries are also an environmental hazard, leading companies in the UK to develop lithium-iron batteries and hydrogen-cell hybrid forklifts that won’t harm the environment.
The main barrier preventing universal adoption of these eco-friendly forklift batteries over fuel-powered forklifts and traditional lead-acid batteries may be the sheer price of investing in more eco-friendly forklift batteries; a typical lithium-iron forklift battery costs approximately six times more than a lead-iron battery.
So while green forklift power sources may be gaining in popularity, it may be some time before fuel-powered forklifts are officially a thing of the past.