The rapid development of logistics means that new and more requirements are put forward for forklift, the main force of the industry. China fork net arranges the elaboration of some British peers on the future of forklift, which is for reference only.
Jon Buckley, UK business director, Toyota material handling
With the UK recovering from covid-19 and becoming aware of the changes needed to re-establish our status as an independent trading country after brexit, the material handling industry has real sustainable growth potential.
Today, Toyota provides standard and driverless forklifts, which look like standard parts of enhanced material handling equipment. Tomorrow, we will provide digitally controlled horizontal pallet drones and high-rise four-way stacker drones. These driverless forklifts will be filled with sensors, and their appearance and behavior are very different from traditional forklifts.
They will simply be manufactured to order and automatically upload relevant field data, including electronic maps from digital twins, before or after arriving at the site. Such machines can basically 'unpack' after delivery. To be clear, this does not mean that human beings will disappear from logistics, but it certainly means that if a simple repetitive work has little added value and can be easily automated, they will be considered to be automated, so as to release human beings and engage in other value-added work.
Logistics efficiency and equipment safety are always crucial, but more and more buyers take energy and data systems as key purchase decisions and cooperate with Toyota to help them decide whether lithium ion or more traditional power supply provides the best medium-term investment. In some cases, more exotic fuels, such as hydrogen battery driven fuel MHE, should be considered in the long term. Similarly, more customers choose Toyota I than ever before_ Site telemetry technology to control access. In addition, Toyota already has t-stream engineer management software, which has the ability to handle remote machine diagnosis and pre emptive service intervention.
Mike Jones, general manager of red diamond distribution (RDD), a British distributor of Mitsubishi forklift
The use of automation equipment will continue to grow to maximize storage density and eliminate operator and other costs in distribution centers and large storage facilities. At the same time, we believe that the demand for traditional material handling equipment will continue in many sectors that cannot be standardized, such as environment and load. In addition, we have seen new technologies that will make operations safer, easier and more effective. Examples include remote diagnostics and intuitive / intelligent operating systems that can automatically adjust performance characteristics according to each operator's driving style.
We believe that we will also see people accept that electric forklifts are not only cleaner and cheaper than similar products of internal combustion forklifts, but also better than them in almost all applications and environments. Electric forklifts have greater capacity. The growth of lithium battery will enable designers to freely re imagine the shape and configuration of material handling equipment, and see customers re evaluate their applications to eliminate traditional charging brackets and adopt overall power packs.
Gino van der auwera, European dealer development manager, Hyundai Construction Equipment
For buyers, the required specifications may change during the lease contract. A stronger flexibility clause will be very important to enable fleet buyers to change part of the fleet without responsibility.
As we enter the fifth stage engine, the internal combustion forklift will become cleaner and environment-friendly. There will certainly be a shift from traditional internal combustion forklifts to electric forklifts powered by new lithium-ion technology or even hydrogen. It can be expected that the shift from LPG to electric forklift will be greater, because diesel forklift is mainly used outdoors, while LPG forklift is not necessarily.
Andy Kellett, manager, calor gas
In order to meet the growing concern about climate change and global carbon dioxide emission reduction targets, the company will still seek to turn to sustainable sources of electricity. While using an electric fleet is often seen as a solution, it is not the only solution. The initial capital expenditure required to switch to an electric fleet may be an obstacle. Having enough torque to lift and move heavy products and materials, or forklifts operating outdoors, is an important issue.
Since there is no need for daily charging of vehicles or expensive changes to infrastructure, calor's bio liquefied gas provides enterprises with a reliable alternative to diesel and electric forklift fleets. Once calculated, lithium ion powered forklifts are increasingly seen as providing the best long-term value proposition, with high scores in performance, forklift availability and low maintenance, as well as emissions, workplace noise, longer and more shifts.
Jason Reynolds, manager, Baumann side forklift
With the significant shift to e-commerce, we will see more automation / storage and retrieval systems in our industry, which will lead to the decline of warehouse equipment such as forward forklift. Due to the high cost and complexity of phase 5 engines and the elimination of the use of red diesel in most industries next year, this will accelerate the decline of diesel powered forklifts in the range of 1.5 tons to 8 tons, while electric forklifts are already common.
Total cost of ownership is more important than ever. The cost of running modern diesel forklifts has risen significantly. For example, larger engine machines need AdBlue, while red diesel will be used in April 2022. When you compare these with the cost of charging and maintaining equivalent electric machines, TCO is significantly reduced, even if the initial purchase cost is slightly higher.
Ron Farr, Yale forklift warehouse solutions manager
We see automation as an affordable solution. You don't have to have a huge forklift fleet. You only need one or two forklifts to perform repetitive tasks. They also do not have to be integrated into large WMS (warehouse management system), and they can exist independently.
Technological advances mean that companies can now easily integrate automation into their existing operations. Yale's solution allows forklifts to be installed around the warehouse by manually driving forklifts, so it can automatically scan the environment to create its own map. Yale robotic forklift has a dual-mode function that allows the operator to manually use the forklift when needed. Robotics can liberate employees to perform tasks that humans are best at. Making robots work with humans can take advantage of both to complete repetitive tasks and make them more complex.
John Maguire, managing director, narrow aisle
Forklift designators from many of Britain's leading retailers, manufacturers and third-party logistics experts now attach more importance than ever to designating their material handling fleets. Once the summation is completed, lithium ion powered forklifts are increasingly seen as providing the best long-term value proposition, scoring high in performance, forklift availability and low maintenance, emissions, workplace noise, etc. A fruitful transformation.
Simon Manasseh, UK sales manager, EP equipment Europe
The internal combustion engine will be replaced by lithium battery power. The cost of engines meeting emission regulations, the end of the red diesel tax preference and the need for decarbonization by customers have greatly increased the operating cost of internal combustion engines. EP equipment has answered this question with the EFL series balance car, which is based on the previous diesel model and is now driven by lithium-ion batteries.
We will see the growth of automation and robots in the warehouse. EP has made a lot of investment in this field - bringing cheap robots to the market in 2022. It is difficult to predict what will happen in the next five years. Manufacturers will need to be flexible, fast-moving and become innovators. Using data to optimize the utilization of the fleet has been accompanied by us, and hourly payment has attracted more and more attention.
Johannes Mayer, co-founder and general manager of wiferion
More and more forklifts will automatically perform their handling tasks. In this case, energy supply will become a key technology. This is because only in the case of efficient and easy to implement fully automatic energy supply, it is possible to achieve fully automated 24 / 7 continuous operation. This is why new charging technologies, such as wireless charging, will form a new standard for energy supply.
The interaction between powerful lithium battery and automatic charging process, such as our in-process charging method, will further improve the performance of forklift. Our charging device is connected to the battery through a can interface. In this way, all data about energy level, operation time and vehicle status are recorded in real time. This enables the application of industry 4.0, such as condition monitoring or predictive maintenance, and the implementation of efficient energy and fleet management.
Mike Barton milt, general manager of B & B forklift accessories
For many years, the UK has been the market leader in contract leasing, and I believe this will continue. I see the UK return to the level we saw at the end of 2019 in 2023 and grow thereafter.
Fleet buyers will want to see their forklifts make better use of add-on devices. In the past, replacing accessories on forklifts required engineers, but now operators can make such changes. This makes it easier for a forklift to select two, three or four accessories.
David Goss, technical director, British material handling Association
Business models that rely on cross-border mobility, such as professional rental fleet and second-hand market, will be affected by brexit. These are particularly important for our industry and will affect the country's ability to invest and renew the fleet. This renewal is crucial to achieving our long-term climate goals. Market conditions are very suitable to accelerate the surge of automated forklifts in the next five years. Early adopters need to be assured that the equipment is not only safe, but also in line with regulatory obligations. A key driver is the development of standards, such as the recently released international standards for driverless industrial forklifts and AGVs, which will provide certainty for the working environment and the controls required to ensure safe operation.
Although the forklift industry believes that electric vehicles are the future development direction, they have become a reality for the material handling industry for decades. At present, no battery chemical composition is ideal for every application. Although the demand for lithium ion will undoubtedly grow, the simple lead-acid battery will be with us for many years to come. In many applications, there are good practical reasons for choosing internal combustion forklifts, which is unlikely to change in the medium term.
