1000th Jungheinrich ETV 216i goes to Italy
Two years ago, Jungheinrich presented the ETV 216i to the public for the first time. At that time, it was the world's first truck with a novel lithium-ion battery concept. A world premiere that set standards in terms of design, ergonomics and agility.
Now, Jungheinrich has dispatched the 1000th ETV 216i. In Italy, the Penny Market food chain relies entirely on lithium-ion technology. This includes an entire fleet of the ETV 216i reach truck.
Penny Market is a supermarket chain owned by the German Rewe Group.
The brand is present in Europe with more than 3,000 stores, of which about 390 are located in Italy with seven distribution centres throughout the country.
The latest delivery for Penny Italy included seven Jungheinrich ETV 216i reach trucks. Among them is also the jubilee truck with the number 1000. The reach truck with integrated lithium-ion battery has become a box-office hit for Jungheinrich since its launch almost two years ago. "The ETV 216i is the first truck ever to consistently exploit the advantages of lithium-ion technology. This makes it the most compact and powerful reach truck in its class," explains Fabien Tozzi, Head of Product Management for Reach Trucks at Jungheinrich, adding: "It pays off that we directly incorporated our customers' ideas and wishes into the truck's design.
What is striking about the ETV 216i is its revolutionary truck design. By integrating the space-saving and powerful lithium-ion battery, it has significantly improved ergonomics and is much more compact than other reach trucks. This enables it to achieve high agility in the warehouse, while at the same time offering significantly more freedom of movement and perfect all-round visibility for the driver. Better user-friendliness and an overall higher level of safety are the result.
Gianfranco Virgillo, warehouse manager at Penny Market Gioia del Colle (Bari) Italy says, "With the ETV 216i, driver comfort on board is higher than ever before. It offers more space for arms and legs and, thanks to the raised seat, better visual control of the surroundings. These significant improvements are only possible thanks to the elimination of the bulky battery tray. By integrating the battery, the design is more functional, both in terms of driver comfort and the resulting performance".
In addition, the fully integrated lithium-ion battery offers other advantages such as a higher lifetime, no maintenance and better performance compared to the conventional lead-acid battery. Particularly short charging intervals enable 24/7 operation, in which the ETV 216i can store loads of up to 1,600 kg at a lifting height of up to 10.7 metres.
"We are very satisfied with our choice. Penny Market can already count three warehouses where we use reach trucks and order pickers with lithium-ion batteries. In view of the excellent results so far, we intend to complete the fleet renewal by 2021 and use lithium-ion solutions at all other locations," says Angelo Loffredo, logistics manager at Penny Italy.