From little brother to the top dog – 40 years of Linde electric forklifts trucks

The product launch of the new E20 to E50 electric forklift trucks marks the latest highlight in the history of the Linde E-forklift. Linde Material Handling introduced the first battery-operated forklift under the Linde brand at the 1971 trade fair in Hanover.

Photo: Linde Material Handling

Today, 40 years later, the company has developed into one of the leading manufacturers of electric forklifts trucks in Europe and is leading the way for future growth with the new series in this product segment:

When Linde began to produce E-forklifts at the beginning of the 1970s, its range expanded to include products for special areas of application. E-forklifts were the noiseless and emissions-free alternative to IC trucks. At first the E-forklift could not compete with the market success of their conventional IC brothers. But that all changed with three ground-breaking technological innovations.

At the beginning of the 1980s, power electronics were introduced, which allowed more precise control over the electronic motors. The differences between the E-forklifts and IC trucks in terms of lifting capacity, lifting speed and turnaround time became fewer and sales increased. The market also grew with an increasing number of distribution centres and warehouses.

Photo: Linde Material Handling

This trend continued until the next technical innovation in 1995: the electrical control system of the lift mast functions with a joystick, called Linde Load Control. This special equipment soon developed into an industry standard, offering extremely sensitive controls at the tip of your fingertips.

2002 saw another milestone with the transition from parallel or shunt motors to asynchronous three-phase motors.

Consequently Linde E-forklifts now offer similar performance to IC trucks. The industrial truck sector keeps a close eye on the automotive industry, which has given it a significant head start when it comes to electronic drives. Whereas electric cars are only slowly gaining in popularity among consumers, intralogistics would be unthinkable without battery-powered forklifts.

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