Power package
September 1st 2004

As Hoppecke Batteries UK continues to grow, managing director, Chris Barrett (pictured) speaks about how company philosophy and expertise in providing complete battery solutions, as well as its product range, is helping the company stand out from the crowd

When batteries for forklift trucks are mentioned, what is the first company that springs to mind? Obviously, the answer to this question is not going to be the same for everyone, but the chances are very few will think immediately of Hoppecke. Indeed, prior to April 1999, the company didn’t even operate in this market in the UK. Since then, however, the company has grown to take what UK managing director, Chris Barrett describes as a ‘sizable percentage’ of the market.

Based in central Germany, family-owned Hoppecke has long had a presence in the traction battery market, but it is only relatively recently that the company withdrew from automotive battery supply to concentrate on this area.

European service

Barrett admits that in the past Hoppecke had not really provided a true European service on the traction side. With business concentrated in Germany there was little provision for local sales, service and maintenance throughout the rest of the continent. Over recent years this has completely changed the company now has 16 subsidiaries worldwide, mostly based in Europe, of which the UK is currently the most successful.

So what is it that has enabled Hoppecke to make such sizable in-roads into the materials handling industry? Well, Barrett attributes much of the company’s success to philosophies that are applied right across the business. From basic suppliers through to the end user, Hoppecke encourages a method of working that involves mutual respect and co-operation.

As a new company coming into the market we were able to lay our cards on the table and build up favourable relationships, not just with our customers, but also with our suppliers, says Barrett.

Hoppecke’s customers encompass truck manufacturers, dealers and end users. The company does not simply supply the battery (although if that’s all you want, of course you can get it from the company), it supplies solutions for the life of the battery.

Service and maintenance arrangements mean that Hoppecke ensures the end user will get the very best from the battery with the highest levels of reliability ensured.

Obviously, this is also a huge advantage to the manufacturer or supplier of the truck.

I’m very much aware that the battery is an integral part of the truck. If anything goes wrong with the truck be it the hydraulics, the mast, the power the end user is not going to blame the manufacturer of the particular component for the breakdown, they are going to blame the truck. So what we want to do is make sure the truck seller can be 100% certain that nothing is going to go wrong with the battery; that he gets a good deal in the beginning; that the product works well throughout its life; and that, at the end of the day, there is a satisfied customer who will buy again.

It is such service that has contributed to one significant Original Equipment Manufacturer selecting Hoppecke as its preferred battery supplier.

In many cases, as long as performance is adequate, the end user may not pay much attention to what make of battery is in their trucks. However, Hoppecke has won a lot of its business through end user specification.

For example, Barrett cites a well known supermarket chain that was so impressed by the service from Hoppecke, it now insists on Hoppecke batteries, regardless of which company the trucks are from. This has resulted in over £2m of business through several different manufacturers in the last year alone and is seen by Barrett as a blueprint for future business.

Streamlined

Barrett sees the streamlined nature of the company as a distinct advantage. We have quite a simple strategy really. We have top quality product from one factory in Germany, so the standards and quality control are very high across the board, he says. We do everything through our own people. We have our own wholly owned direct European sales organisation there are no additional profit centres with people taking their extra 10%. We have a streamlined organisation, with minimum bureaucracy, local autonomy and quick decision-making. This enables us to remain competitively priced and offer high levels of customer service.

Barrett feels it also enhances the company’s ability to offer tailor-made solutions. This is particularly important in the UK market, which is one of the most sophisticated in terms of the demands placed on trucks.

At Hoppecke we try to learn as much as we can about how our customers work in each market so we can meet their specific needs, says Barrett. For instance, here in the UK rental accounts form a high percentage of the market and we are very aware of the fact that as a battery supplier we must not adversely affect the rental rates through reliability issues.

You also have to take into consideration the residual value of trucks at the end of contract. One of the worst scenarios is that you have a truck on a five year rental package and you end up having to to buy a new battery at the end of that period.

Of course, it’s all very well offering enhanced customer service, but to get the business in the first place a company has to have the product that the market demands.

Basically, whatever your battery needs, the chances are Hoppecke can fulfil them: from battery to charger, control units, monitoring and filling installations, though to racks and battery handling systems. And the company is always seeking new developments.

One of the latest products from the company is its new Contipower battery (the ‘Conti’ part of the name refers to continuous).

A fibre nickel cadmium battery, it can run indefinitely through opportunity charging. It is particularly suited to use in coldstores, where boost charging can take place during the mandatory 10 minute breaks forklift operators in this type of environment have to take every two hours to warm up. Although this product is unique to Hoppecke, Barrett regards it as an ‘add-on’ for the company, with the core business still firmly routed at the standard product with lead acid dominating for the foreseeable future.

Lead acid batteries are going to be around for at least another 10 years. You keep thinking that someone will come in with a new product, but a recent study in America has concluded that lead acid will be here for some considerable time to come, Barrett concludes.

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