Raymond exec views productivity gains
Raymond's Malvaso: Focusing on productivity from electric lift trucks.;Grand Cherokee vehicles move along a line at Chrysler's new Jeep Jefferson North Assembly plant. The auto maker recently completed installation of several miles of conveyor systems (Dearborn Mid-West Conveyor Co, DMW). The project featured innovations and manufacturing techniques such as modular wiring for the control panels, low voltage Device Net controls, and plastic power-and-free turns for the conveyors. Unified Indu
By Staff -- Modern Materials Handling, 11/1/1998
GREENE, N.Y.-"The supplier relationship in the next millennium will absolutely require reliable, flexible partners," remarked Raymond president and CEO James J. Malvaso in an interview recently with Modern Materials Handling at Raymond's North American headquarters.Now part of the Swedish company, BT Industries, for over a year, this U.S. manufacturer of electric-powered lift trucks, designed to boost warehouse productivity, plans to stay focused on its own productivity.
"I don't believe a customer should pay the price for a robust market," Malvaso says. "We would not accept extended delivery times from our suppliers, and we don't expect our customers to accept exceedingly long lead times from us. Shorter planning cycles, more responsiveness-that's where we're all headed."
In keeping with this philosophy, Malvaso says his company recently announced guaranteed delivery times to customers for its reach trucks, a staple of narrow aisle storage and retrieval.
Trend to electrics. "Migration by end users to electrics from internal combustion trucks," Malvaso says, "is only going to increase." And, since teaming with BT, he adds, Raymond will maintain its emphasis on electric lift trucks.
"We're very unlikely to add IC trucks," he says. "Our sales force is highly focused on productivity and space utilization issues. The IC trucks don't fit into that vision right now." Malvaso also cites both environmental concerns and increasingly sophisticated methods of accountability used by logistics professionals for the growth in the electric forklift market.
"The initial acquisition costs for electrics tend to be higher than for ICs," Malvaso explains, "but there's a tremendous lifetime-cost story to tell for these lift trucks. For ICs, fuel expenses alone over a five-year period far exceeds the cost of a battery and charger. Plus, you can depreciate the cost of a battery and a charger."
In addition to maintenance and resale value issues, the exec believes "ongoing deregulation of U.S. electric utilities helps manufacturers like Raymond because it draws attention to the declining costs of electric power." Lower energy costs cut a forklift user's expenses of keeping batteries charged for a fleet of electric vehicles.
Warehouse demands. Applications using at least one type of electric truck Raymond makes-narrow-aisle (NA) vehicles-are growing because of various market factors. Among them: "The proliferation of SKUs (stock-keeping units) have in turn increased demands within a warehouse or factory." A growing number of companies are now orderpicking, he says, from second-, third-, and even higher level racking.
"Storing and picking higher," Malvaso says, "is more often than not much less expensive than knocking out a wall to expand." That, he emphasizes, with the flexibility of NA trucks, make an electric fleet a cost-efficient and highly adaptable system of handling.
To that end, the company's future engineering efforts will be focused on solving issues faced by the rapidly changing world of distribution-with continued emphasis on improved performance by adding comfort and ease-of-use features. Operator aids like vision systems to help drivers more accurately perform picks and putaways may be on the horizon. Malvaso also indicates that fork height and tilt indicators would make working at ever-increasing elevated heights more efficient.
AC technology grows. In Europe, BT Industries has seen demand climb sharply for the new reach trucks it makes which feature the company's AC motor technology. Benefits to users include faster acceleration than BT's prior designs and lower maintenance costs due to the AC motor's brushless design.
This technology may not be appropriate yet for the North American user, Malvaso suggests. "First, there's wider use of separately excited motor technology in North America. This enables us to offer performance levels equal to or better than AC."
Furthermore, adds the CEO, higher voltage batteries (48V or more) in Europe are common, but with 24V and 36V batteries typical in North American trucks, "AC motor technology might turn out to be too expensive at this time for users here." Malvaso explains that the higher costs of AC controls on today's lower voltage systems somewhat offset the maintenance advantages.
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