Manitou Debuts Electric Reach Trucks
IMHX visitors got their first view of Manitou’s new ER16 electric reach truck at this year’s show. The 1.6 T model on show represented the middle ground of a six-model range that spans 1,200 to 2,000 kg. It appeared alongside an electric pallet truck, an electric stacker, an electric forklift and one of the company’s diesel forklifts. The electric units were shown with traditional batteries, but product manager Antoine Roger said Manitou is able to supply lithium batteries on demand. "We are targeting the smaller logistics businesses using up to 15 machines which have different needs and different levels of investment. And when you’re talking about lithium technology, it costs between four and five times the price of traditional lead acid batteries." Roger is seeing a move from di...