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More than simple tools of the trade, forklifts are increasingly the focus of true fleet management by their various industrial and commercial owners. Such maturation of the material-handling industry is among the leading trends that were observed by Camso’s Product Line Executive Director, Erick Bellefleur, during the successful ProMat 2017 held in Chicago this April. This year, a record number of 900+ exhibitors spread over two halls at Chicago’s McCormick Place attracted over 40,000 material-handling professionals to the exposition. What we see with larger fleets is that managers are becoming more and more concerned about the following question: “how much is it costing me to maintain our entire fleet of forklift trucks”? Fleet managers have maintenance budgets and tires are a significant portion of that budget. It can be up to 25 percent, even 30 percent, of the cost of operating a fleet of forklifts. The core issue is not that the tires themselves are particularly pricey but rather that tires are collectively the leading wear part on this type of equipment. Top 5 industry trends observed at ProMat 1. Energy Efficiency. We see a growing trend for electrically powered forklifts. A forklift battery lasts around 8 hours under good conditions. Ensuring that a facility’s fleet can run through complete shifts without downtime due to recharging batteries is key. Numerous factors play a role in determining the overall reduction of costs associated with energy savings, but one must remember that every aspect of the forklift operation is affected by the tires on which they run – and this is especially true when maximizing battery life. To that end, Camso’s new tire solutions answer the energy efficient requirements of fleets moving towards battery and alternative fuels. The Solideal RES 660 Xtreme Series and the soon-to-be launch Solideal PON 775 tires […]