California is nuts—walnuts, that is. The state produces about 99% of the nation's commercial supply of English walnuts. The Alpine Pacific Nut Company, located in Hughson, Calif., is a key part of that supply chain. They process, package and supply walnuts to grocery stores, bakery suppliers, and food and candy manufacturers.

The company took on a 40,000-square-foot expansion of an existing 250,000-square-foot walnut processing facility. And with that, they needed to grow their fleet of 10 liquid propane (LP) powered lift trucks. Also taking into account California's Central Valley air standards, Alpine Pacific purchased three electric counterbalanced trucks.

The three-phase AC technology in these trucks allows the company to run two 10-hour shifts between charges. According to plant manager Kenny Dickens, “Their battery life is excellent, and we're enjoying significant cost savings. It costs just pennies per day to charge the truck batteries compared to about $25 per day for LP on the IC trucks.”

The trucks move bins and pallets around its yard, warehouse, processing facility, and shipping and receiving area. The electric motors are completely enclosed, protecting them from dirt and water, so they can be operated indoors and out. The most critical lift truck in the fleet is an electric three-wheel stacker outfitted with a slip sheet attachment. Its high maneuverability in confined spaces makes it ideal for Alpine Pacific's drive-through racking.

State laws also factored into the decision. Dickens says, “We need to comply with emissions standards. The AC trucks are clean, quiet, require less maintenance, and do not contribute to poor air quality.”

Alpine Nut expects to transition its entire fleet to AC technology in the next three years.

Jungheinrich Lift Truck Corp., 804-737-7400, www.jungheinrich-us.com