Jungheinrich opens new used equipment plant

Jungheinrich opens its second used equipment refurbishing plant in Ploiești, Romania. With the new site, which covers some 5,000 square metres, the company meets the growing demand for second-hand material handling equipment and creating capacity for further growth. In Ploiești, EJE electric pedestrian pallet trucks and EFG electric counterbalanced trucks will be reconditioned for the European market with immediate effect. With this investment, Jungheinrich sets an example for the circular economy in intralogistics and enables the industry to use particularly sustainably reconditioned industrial trucks.

Jungheinrich is the first industrial company to take on the challenge of refurbishing material handling trucks industrially and in premium quality. The company promises that its "JUNGSTARS" – the official name of the used trucks – are as good as new after reconditioning. With the refurbishment plant now open in Ploiești, Jungheinrich is further expanding its existing capacities and optimising its structures and processes in the used equipment sector. Alongside Dresden, Ploiești is Jungheinrich's largest site for the reconditioning of industrial trucks. By opening the new used equipment plant, Jungheinrich will increase capacity in this area by 25 per cent by 2025.

Tino Alban, Plant Manager of the Dresden Used Equipment Centre at Jungheinrich AG: "The general trend towards sustainability is reflected in the continuously rising demand for our industrially refurbished used trucks. They are a good solution, especially for environmentally conscious customers, because by reconditioning used equipment we save about 80 per cent CO₂ compared to new production. In the Corona pandemic, many price-conscious customers are turning to the cheaper but also well-performing used units, which are optimal for low to medium usage times or as stand-by solutions."

The unique industrial refurbishment process of Jungheinrich used trucks is carried out according to a standardised procedure that is the same for all trucks, based on six steps. In the process, the used trucks are restored to a technically and visually as-new condition. Jungheinrich's 5-star principle ensures that each truck is refurbished according to the highest safety and sustainability standards as well as the strictest quality controls. While components such as frames, engines and transmissions are reconditioned, all safety-relevant and worn components are replaced with original spare parts. By remanufacturing in a resource-saving and energy-saving manner, Jungheinrich extends the life cycle of the industrial trucks by two to three operating periods while minimising the use of new parts. Currently, a reuse rate of 94 per cent per truck is achieved.

Tino Alban: "The thorough high-end refurbishment process turns our JUNGSTARS into premium-quality used trucks. They combine ecological, economic and technical advantages and thus offer a performance diversity that is unique on the market."

While the reconditioning of the EJE and EFG takes place at the Ploiești site, the Dresden plant is responsible for all other truck types as well as the system trucks. All of Jungheinrich's European sales centres deliver their trucks, which are mainly returned from transfer of use contracts, to the two plants for reconditioning. In addition, reconditioning for the Asian market takes place in Bangkok and in Qingpu in China.