CEIL are Australia’s largest Independent supplier of Electric Forklift Batteries and Chargers, and are now offering their industry leading Maxwell + Spark Lithium-Ion battery range to the Australian Forklift market. CEO David Cooper explains why Lithium-Ion battery technology is quickly becoming the far superior choice of battery for specialised high usage electric forklift applications over all other Forklift variants (Gas, Petrol, Diesel etc) which in the past, were the only feasible option to be used in applications where multiple Forklift shift usages were required on a daily basis – this is no longer the case. David also provides us with a background for what CEIL are doing as they continue to grow and expand in the Australian Motive Power Industry.
The ability to recharge the Lithium forklift battery at any time of the day and reach 100% state of charge from empty in as little as one hour is helping to boost popularity for Electric Forklifts. David adds:
“This has made a bigger opening in the market for Electric Forklifts to now become the Forklift of choice for nearly any required Industrial Forklift application, regardless of the requirement. “The return on investment for an Electric Forklift from a cost to usage perspective is much better than any other Forklift variant, with the added benefit of being much more environmentally friendly in the process, depending on the type of Battery option used,” says David. The impressive performance specs and benefits to the usage of Lithium batteries are notable.
“Lithium batteries are 100% maintenance free (no watering required), have significantly more battery cycle life expectancy than any other battery chemistry and can completely eliminate shift battery requirements at any given site for near autonomous usage.” Lithium-Ion Forklift Batteries are a definite power source to be reckoned with for specialised Motive Power Applications, where the user needs more daily operational run time out of their Batteries, with the absolute flexibility of minimal operational downtime.
“CEIL have worked hard for many years now on working towards providing the most effective and serviceable option of Lithium Battery product to our National client base here in Australia. After stringent localised testing we’re proud of our recent partnership with Maxwell + Spark in delivering the CEIL M+S Lithium Forklift Battery products into Australia,” says David. “Maxwell + Spark are already a preferred Lithium Forklift Battery supplier to a number of high quality OEM Forklift Manufacturers overseas, hence quality assurance is guaranteed.”
Like any new technology in the Australian market that is not manufactured here locally, CEIL have encountered teething issues over the past few years from a number of brands of Lithium-Ion Batteries. It is evident from this that there are industry variances in quality, serviceability and life expectancy of various Lithium brands and products. “What has been clear throughout this process, is that the technology has continued to improve year upon year, with global Electric Forklift Manufacturers actively aiming to cater for Lithium Battery options as a manufacturing standard for their respective products now and into the future. Many OEM Forklift suppliers here in Australia already doing so.”
“It was an absolute requirement for CEIL to find a Lithium Battery partner that specifically allowed for the localised Service and Support of the Lithium Batteries that CEIL have now supplied here locally in Australia.”
“Our M+S Li-ion Forklift Batteries are based on a modular design where only high quality Li-Po4 Battery cells are used, to ensure maximum life expectancy and greater supplied Warranties on our Batteries for our respective clients. This has also enabled CEIL the localised ability to repair and service each lithium battery and charger asset here in Australia, ensuring a complete and total ‘service and support’ package is supplied for all products.”
An exciting part of this relative service and support delivered by CEIL, is the unique online Telemetry system integrated into every M+S CEIL Lithium Battery supplied through CEIL. This system allows external access to all relative battery information at any given time from the factory all the way through to the end user of the battery.
It is important to note, that like any technology, there are associated pros and cons between the use of Lithium Forklift Batteries compared to the traditional Lead Acid Batteries that CEIL already supply in large quantities from our Exide Industries manufacturing plants. David explains: “The potential cost to benefit of using Lithium Batteries for many standard Forklift usage schedules is not what would be considered feasible for many applications. Hence there will forever be an ongoing requirement for Lead Acid Batteries for the majority of Electric Forklift power requirements, given the cost of Lithium Batteries is substantially higher than a Lead Acid Battery equivalent. In saying this, it is also important to note that this cost to benefit gap is continuing to shrink, as pricing comes down and greater control mechanisms for the manufacturing of product and technological advancements continue.”Most Forklift Manufacturers are working towards the ability of their supplied Electric Forklifts to be operational for both Lead Acid or Lithium Battery options.
David adds “It is relatively easy to retrofit Lithium Batteries into any existing Lead Acid Battery powered Forklift of any type or brand. There are just a few extra measures needed when retrofitting the Batteries to display the relative state of charge and discharged battery communication requirements.”
“CEIL are involved in an Industry which is continuing to grow and expand on the back of the technological advancements in both Battery Charging technology and Electric Forklift design and usability. Now with the ability to supply the M+S Lithium Batteries for an ever expanding niche market in Lithium Battery supply for Electric Forklifts, there couldn’t be a more exciting time for CEIL, or the Electric Forklift industry in general,” says David.
David then continues: “With the continued National growth of our company and new CEIL branches opening in the coming months in Brisbane and Perth, CEIL have all Motive Power requirements completely covered with our entire Battery range and specialised Fast Charger and Opportunity Charge capable Forklift Battery Chargers on hand for our Lead Acid Battery offerings. “CEIL now have over 25 full time staff Australia wide to provide customers with complete product supply and support options as we supply more and more Forklift Batteries and Chargers to the Australian Market.
“CEIL supply what is essentially referred to as the ‘Heart’ of many of Australia’s leading brands of Electric Forklift here in Australia in our Batteries,” says David. “CEIL battery products have effectively been vetted over many years, often being viewed as the most suitable battery power option to showcase the Electric Forklift products for our clients and OEM manufacturers.” “It is an honour to have the partnerships that we already have with many OEM and Independent Forklift suppliers, with new relationships constantly being created. To be viewed as an Industry Leading Supplier on the back of what we provide to our clients is humbling, but this is indicative of our approach with the Service and Support mechanisms that we have in place for all of the products that we supply. This is where the real point of difference to our competitors is found – Trust and Quality are assured when you deal with CEIL.
” Discover the LOWEST lifetime cost of any Electric Forklift Battery on the Australian market today! Call the team at CEIL Power on 1300 214 448 to find out more.