Suitable for range of temperature zones

HAVI Logistics stores and delivers a broad range of everyday items. McDonald’s is HAVI Logistics’ biggest customer by far in Austria. Christoph Riedel, who is responsible for Facility Management at HAVI in Korneuburg. “Provisioning operations need to run smoothly and, most importantly, there cannot be any interruption to the cold chain.”

The forklift trucks are also used in different temperature zones – a key challenge. 

“The devices and back-up batteries have to work perfectly, even in our deep-freeze warehouses at temperatures of less than 20 degrees Celsius,” explains Riedel in regard to his expectations.

When goods arrive at HAVI, they are checked and registered by employees and then temporarily stored and prepared for subsequent transport. HAVI uses electric forklift trucks for goods handling. The mixed fleet comes from a variety of manufacturers such as Linde and Jungheinrich and has steadily grown over the years. And the same is true of the batteries, which are made by manufacturers such as Banner and Hawker and in some cases are charged onboard or externally. HAVI used to use chargers with 50Hz transformer technology at its warehouses.

“The energy losses when using this technology were very high,” remembers Riedel. “And the bulky chargers took up valuable space.” Before the third site in Großebersdorf was complete, HAVI took the decision to replace the outdated charging infrastructure. “The requirements for the technology were very demanding. In addition to different manufacturers and performance requirements, several generations of batteries were also in use,” recalls Janoschek. “We wanted to ensure even utilisation of the battery pool and install reliable, efficient charging technology which is suitable for all of our batteries and helps us to achieve our sustainability goals,” adds Christoph Riedel.

HAVI finally found a suitable partner for this project in battery-charging specialist Fronius. The charging process takes the temperature in the battery into account so the batteries last longer and do not need to be replaced as often. This has a significant cost advantage and is a step in the right direction when it comes to sustainability. Riedel is very impressed with the new charging technology: “We are able to save a considerable amount of energy during charging. The devices and also the batteries are reliable.” Energy consumption is not all about costs. Sustainability is part of both the lead logistics provider’s and its customers’ corporate strategy. The intelligent Ri charging process makes chargers from the Selectiva range ideal for gently and efficiently charging batteries of different ages and in different conditions. To show how efficient the system is Fronius has calculated the long-term potential savings, such as cost savings and electricity costs, which can be achieved with the new technology. CO2 savings and reductions in other areas relating to sustainability can also be demonstrated.

Three temperature zones are managed. With the “temperature-controlled charging” feature, the Selectiva chargers adapt the final charging voltage to the temperature inside the battery, improving performance and extending service life.