Reliable propane forklifts keep fast-paced business moving

Renze Display designs, builds and ships custom displays, exhibits and graphics. The Omaha, Neb., company works with up to 100 clients on a daily basis, from Fortune 500 companies to local mom-and-pop stores, located across the United States. After transitioning from electric to propane lift trucks, the company improved productivity and equipment reliability.

Brian Meusch, senior exhibit manager, says the previous electric forklifts created extra stress around meeting deadlines. They would often run out of battery in the middle of a job, far from the warehouse’s charging station, and one even failed while carrying a display on a ramp to storage on the second floor.

“Electric forklifts were not a good fit for us,” Meusch says.

The company needed machines that could haul up to 5,000 pounds, including raw rolls of fabric and multi-piece full kitchens used by companies such as ConAgra Foods. To meet shipping deadlines, the lift trucks had to be able to run late into the night and again early the next day.

When Renze consolidated its warehouse and production facilities, it standardized around propane-powered lift trucks (Propane Education and Research Council).

Employees reported the forklifts were able to operate at full power until tanks were empty, and refueling didn’t take a machine out of action for hours of recharging. The company stores nine propane tanks on site and its propane retailer is able to refill them when fuel use changes depending on the number of client orders. Limited downtime with the propane equipment contributes to Renze’s capabilities for fast turnaround.”

“A company’s brand is always on the line,” says Doug Buchanan, Renze owner and president. “All of the propane we use is vital to the type of work that we do. It just works well for our size of operation.”

PERC
Phone: 202-452-8975