wego vti launches first electric truck with high-reach crane
At the Frankfurt-Kelsterbach location, a new era begins in wego vti’s fleet: The building materials wholesaler is putting the first fully electric high-reach crane truck into operation and is acting as a pioneer in the industry.
The next step toward a sustainable fleet
With this pilot project, wego vti is taking the electrification of its fleet, which has been consistently pursued for years, to a new level. First, the numerous warehouse and piggyback forklifts were and are being gradually converted to electric models, and the number of fully electric company cars continues to grow steadily. Now a new drive era is being ushered in for the truck fleet, which comprises around 200 vehicles.
Alexander von Weinzierl, Head of Operations and also responsible for the fleet at wego vti, explains what makes this step special: “There are already electric trucks with hooklift cranes and piggyback forklifts. But no one in the industry has yet dared to tackle a battery-electric high-reach crane truck. For us at wego vti, reducing the CO2 footprint of our large fleet is an essential part of our sustainability strategy. We rely on our own fleet and want to make it consistently more sustainable.”
The decision to implement this ambitious project was made more than 18 months ago. With the new MAN eTGS, the focus was primarily on the desired crane equipment: “Installing a high-reach crane requires special technical prerequisites—especially regarding the strength of the auxiliary power system,” explains Alexander von Weinzierl. Close coordination took place between wego vti, MAN, Döhle Fahrzeugbau, and Palfinger as the crane supplier.
Tobias Bauregger, Key Account Manager at Palfinger: “The intelligent technology of the PK 250 TEC loader crane combines high precision, innovative assistance systems, and great performance with the advantages of a fully electric vehicle. This enables emission-free work at the job site, significantly reduced noise levels, and maximum efficiency with every lift.”
The truck's strengths
The high-reach crane has a maximum range of 25 meters, lifts up to 1,200 kilograms, and thus fits exactly into wego vti’s requirements profile. The payload of the eTGS roughly corresponds to that of the combustion engine equivalent; to compensate for the battery weight, the electric truck is allowed a higher permissible gross weight. Its battery capacity of 350 kWh (gross) is sufficient for approximately 250 km. This allows all typical construction sites in the greater Frankfurt area to be supplied from the Kelsterbach location without any problems.
Additionally, as part of the project, a 200 kW fast-charging station was installed at the branch—the necessary connection capacity was already available at this large location near the airport. Furthermore, the truck can charge at any fast-charging station (DC)—however, many charging parks are designed only for cars in terms of size and access.
Significant investment was made for this first step into electric truck high-reach logistics. Alexander von Weinzierl: “The costs for electric chassis currently amount to about 2.5 times the costs of the combustion engine versions. In our case, there are also considerable investments in fast-charging infrastructure. While a positive business case can already be demonstrated in long-distance transport today through the elimination of road tolls, this does not apply to last-mile construction site deliveries. Because the electric high-reach crane represents an important pilot project regarding the electrification of construction site logistics, our project was supported by Hessen Innovation Funding.”
As part of its sustainability strategy, wego vti plans to further electrify its truck fleet. The experience gained from now on with the new MAN eTGS will be incorporated here.
