Hyster Co. announces the expansion of its integrated lithium-ion forklift lineup with the addition of the three-wheel J32-40UTTL and four-wheel J30-70UTL. The UTTL and UTL are both powered by a factory-installed lithium-ion battery and provide a new avenue for electrifying forklift applications with less demanding requirements in industries such as chemicals and plastics, third-party logistics and trucking.
Available in capacity ranges of 3,200 to 4,000 pounds and 3,000 to 7,000 pounds respectively, the trucks are designed to help a broader range of operations meet sustainability targets and productivity goals through the benefits of this advanced electric power source, including zero tailpipe emissions, fast charging times, consistent power delivery and zero battery maintenance. The trucks complement existing models in the UT series and create opportunities to electrify applications when doing so had historically been cost-prohibitive.
“The counterbalanced forklift market is seeing an accelerating shift towards electric, signaling electrification and sustainability as priorities across industries and in materials handling in particular. Advances in motive power, especially lithium-ion, are the catalysts driving the transition,” said James Nielson, senior business product manager for motive power and electrification, Hyster. “These new UT models deliver a competitive value that makes lithium-ion more accessible to more applications, without complex warranty or support limitations.”
Hyster provides service and warranties on the truck, battery and charger for maximum uptime, productivity and customer satisfaction. The lithium-ion battery can fully charge in about two-and-a-half hours and opportunity charging allows the trucks to work for the majority of a full day. The trucks also offer a number of ergonomic features, including a low step height, a small, adjustable steering wheel and a wide-view mast that helps maximize visibility and supports operator comfort.
The Hyster UT line initially launched in 2019 with a series of lift trucks powered by internal combustion engines. The series was further expanded in 2022 with a number of electric warehouse models and earlier in 2023 with multiple sit-down counterbalance lead acid battery-powered trucks.
About the Author
Michael Roth
Editor
Michael Roth has covered the equipment rental industry full time for RER since 1989 and has served as the magazine’s editor in chief since 1994. He has nearly 30 years experience as a professional journalist. Roth has visited hundreds of rental centers and industry manufacturers, written hundreds of feature stories for RER and thousands of news stories for the magazine and its electronic newsletter RER Reports. Roth has interviewed leading executives for most of the industry’s largest rental companies and manufacturers as well as hundreds of smaller independent companies. He has visited with and reported on rental companies and manufacturers in Europe, Central America and Asia as well as Mexico, Canada and the United States. Roth was co-founder of RER Reports, the industry’s first weekly newsletter, which began as a fax newsletter in 1996, and later became an online newsletter. Roth has spoken at conventions sponsored by the American Rental Association, Associated Equipment Distributors, California Rental Association and other industry events and has spoken before industry groups in several countries. He lives and works in Los Angeles when he’s not traveling to cover industry events.