Buffalo Forklift Blog — buffaloforklift.com

To control and optimize fleet maintenance costs, you must have some amount of data capture. Even those interested in pursuing full telematics for fleet management are likely to start with simple impact monitoring and electronic pre-shift checklists that relay information to maintenance. “Once you get the system in place, we like to have a customer get a baseline view,” says Dick Sorenson, product director for TotalTrax. “When you see the behaviors and performances of operators and equipment, then you can start truly seeing trends. What KPIs that are near and dear to you are being impacted?” Sorenson suggests waiting for...

For decades, the ratio of electric to internal combustion (IC) lift trucks in the field swung back and forth as costs and new technologies lifted one or the other to a majority. The general consensus now is the current electric market share of 65% isn’t going anywhere and will likely challenge IC performance in even more applications. Although IC technology is continually refined to boost efficiency, the returns have clearly diminished, whereas electric technology in industrial applications has undergone a sea change. The replacement of direct current (DC) with alternating current (AC) motors has boosted efficiency and supported the growing...

COLUMBUS, Ind., Sept. 20, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- For 15 consecutive years, Toyota Forklifts has earned the title of the world's top forklift supplier. Peerless Media Network recently released its Annual Top 20 Lift Truck Suppliers list, which ranks forklift brands based on worldwide sales, and once again named Toyota as the #1 supplier. In 2017, Toyota acquired two systems integrators and released new products in several industry categories. The innovations and acquisitions helped keep the company in the top spot with $8.6 billion dollars in worldwide revenue, $2.7 billion more than the next brand on the list. Toyota has more than...

Toyota Material Handling U.S.A. (TMHU), commemorated the 50th anniversary of the first Toyota forklift sold in the U.S. with a special event for dealers, associates, dignitaries and media at its U.S. forklift headquarters in Columbus, Ind. The company, which Modern has ranked the largest forklift seller in the world for 15 consecutive years, sold its first U.S. forklift to a grape farmer in Fresno, Calif., in 1967. Fifty years later, Toyota displayed that very forklift at its Columbus campus as a reminder to visitors of the brand’s longevity. To mark the golden anniversary, Toyota associates custom-designed, engineered and built a...

From their impact on productivity to their cost, poorly managed batteries can reduce the efficiency of a forklift fleet. The challenge is especially difficult in large multi-shift fleets, where state of charge, equalization and abuse require lots of effort to monitor. According to Jim Gaskell, director of global technology and business development at Crown Equipment, battery management solutions have improved, but the marketplace could benefit from diagnostic devices for lead-acid batteries. “An industrial battery is rated at 2,000 cycles, from full charge to discharge, but they rarely last that long.” says Gaskell. “The only time I ever believe a customer...