At the Sappi paper mill in Gratkorn, Innofreight has handed over the first electrically operated forklift with rotator. This premiere is a milestone on the road to climate-neutral transportation of raw materials.
For more than two decades Innofreight has been constantly pushing the boundaries of what is possible. Whether in terms of containers and wagons, IT innovations or loading and unloading solutions. Where stationary unloading systems are currently not an option, because there is no direct rail connection or additional mobility is required, our own rotary forklifts are used. At the Sappi paper mill in Gratkorn, Austria, the first electrically powered forklift with rotator has now been put into operation.
It is the first electric machine in Central Europe – a real milestone for the decades of cooperation between Innofreight and Kalmar. “For us at Innofreight, this is an important step because, in addition to the railway and the e-truck, we can now also unload goods electrically,” says Andreas Koini, who is responsible for the development of forklifts at Innofreight.
A 245-kWh battery pack allows for up to seven hours of continuous operation, and a quick-charging process adds an additional 60 percent of energy in just 30 minutes. “The battery pack is the central element, and we can adapt it to the customer’s specific needs. The key factors here are the incline of the company premises and the number of moves,” says Koini. When perfectly adapted to the circumstances, 21 tons of biomass or wood chips can be unloaded with each individual operation.
In terms of performance, the electric forklift can keep up with its diesel-powered predecessor, but it saves 70 percent of energy and enables climate-neutral transportation of raw materials. “This way we save up to 15,000 liters of fuel per year. Sappi generates the necessary electricity itself, which is a real added value,” says Koini.
It is no coincidence that the first electric-powered rotary forklift was handed over to Sappi. Innofreight, Kalmar, Papierholz Austria and Sappi have been in a close partnership for more than 20 years. In 2004 and 2005, the first forklift with rotator was successfully implemented together with the WoodTainer XXL. An idea that has been perfected and developed into the European standard.
The timber industry, in particular, is keen to make the logistics chain even more sustainable and to further electrify the transport of raw materials. Infrastructure projects worth billions, such as the Koralmbahn and the Semmering Base Tunnel, are enabling longer and heavier trains – and giving timber transport by rail an additional tailwind.
In any case, additional electrically powered forklifts with rotator will soon be used outside of Sappi, as Koini knows: “There is interest across Europe, especially from biomass power plants, in also switching to electrically powered forklifts and thus further electrifying the logistics chain.”