IRVINE, Calif.–Toyota Material Handling USA Inc. (TMHU) and AeroVironment Inc. (AV) have teamed up to market AV’s PosiCharge fast-charge systems.
The PosiCharge systems are now available through 68 Toyota Industrial Equipment dealers with 190 locations in the U.S.
According to AV, its PosiCharge fast-charge systems help improve the environment by reducing the total number of batteries required to operate a fleet of electric lift trucks and improving the efficiency and lifecycle of batteries. In addition, eliminating the need for battery-changing rooms and manual handling of batteries reduces the chances of lead-acid spillage and other hazards, says the company. AV adds that longer-lasting batteries and reduced battery inventories also result in fewer batteries heading to landfills.
Furthermore, AV has compiled statistics indicating that, over the past 10 years, its fast-charge systems have saved 2.5 million pounds of lead, 500,000 pounds of steel, 30,000 gallons of sulfuric acid and 55,000 gallons of water.
“This alliance with AeroVironment furthers Toyota’s ‘green thinking’ philosophy by promoting high-quality PosiCharge products, which benefit the environment and our customers in numerous ways,” says Shankar Basu, president and CEO of TMHU.
Martin Boyd, national product planning manager at TMHU, says the timing for such an agreement couldn’t be better. “The state of our economy, environmental concerns, dependence on foreign oil, increasing gas and energy prices and legislative pressure to improve air quality has really made an impact on the material handling industry today,” he says. “Today, approximately 60% of lift trucks sold are electrics–the highest our industry has ever seen. We expect this trend toward electrics to continue its momentum upward for the next five years.”
