The engine plant of KAMAZ obtained more than twenty new electric lift trucks with lithium-ion batteries thanks to which it became possible to greatly reduce logistics expenses for transportation and save about six million rubles a year.
New electric loaders were obtained under the large-scale Tibet project. The main advantage of lithium-ion batteries is that it takes only one hour to charge them with an electric current of 160 A. You only need to put a plug of a charging station (there are 12 chargers at the engine plant) into an accumulator battery. A charge is enough for eight hours of work. The older generation equipment is powered with acid batteries charged for 12 hours, but their charge lasts for only six hours. Besides, they disengage hydrogen and require special care – prepared buildings, accumulator stations, and also trained personnel and special means of protection.
The new vehicle fleet reduced logistics expenses for transportation: one loader with a payload of 4.5 tonnes can carry 12 cylinder blocks instead of six transported on loaders of previous generations. Thus, the delivery to the conveyor is twice as fast, which results in lower expenses for operation – it saves five-six million rubles for a year. Another obvious advantage of the new vehicle fleet is that it enabled to give up most of diesel forklifts: only 11 loaders of 38 ones which worked last year are left to operate now, and this approach helped to make the air in the main building clearer.