Power provider

An advanced battery management system that manages change and charge operations for warehouse truck batteries has been installed by Ventura Network Distribution at its state-of-the-art distribution centre at Wath on Dearne. The installation is designed to optimise the performance of Ventura's warehouse truck fleet over the entire five year contract, minimise energy consumption and provide the company with the flexibility to adapt its operations.

It was decided to have separate charge and change areas close to where specific types of truck are operating. For order pickers, for example, EnerSys supplied 80 Perfect Plus batteries which offer extended work cycles between charges.

Charging is achieved using Powertech high frequency chargers which are said to be up to 20% more efficient than traditional 50Hz units.

They automatically detect the battery's level of discharge and supply just the amount of power needed to restore full charge. The EnerSys management system ensures batteries are allocated in strict rotation.