Ready, Steady…Energy Transition…Is Your Workshop Ready?

The energy transition and the reduction of CO2 is everyday news and will at some point in the not too distant future convert gradually, but it will be upon you before you know it. Electric and hydrogen-powered vehicle adoption in the transport industry is growing globally. Are you prepared and thinking forward in terms of the long-term investments required in your workshop?

Workshops where the manufacture, maintenance, servicing or repair of these vehicles takes place must comply with strict health and safety laws and standards. As with conventional fossil-powered vehicles and soon even more so with the Hydrogen-powered engines, it is important for workshop personnel to work in the most optimum safety conditions. This is where Stertil-Koni with more than seventy years of experience in heavy duty vehicle lifting can assist in the transition, and play a crucial role in offering you a vehicle lift that will help you now and long into the future.

Regenerative mobile column vehicle lift

Stertil-Koni the number one in the world in heavy duty vehicle lifts and preferred supplier to the world’s leading companies for commercial vehicles and buses, is always on top of developments in the transportation and vehicle manufacturing industries. In 2007 with the launch of the bespoke and truly revolutionary EARTHLIFT®; the only regenerative mobile column vehicle lift in the industry which has for a very long time and continues to make its contribution to sustainability. The regenerative mobile column lift, from Stertil-Koni, the EARTHLIFT®, is unique in that the re-charging of the batteries occurs during the descent of the lift and, the heavier the vehicle the more the batteries are charged.

The EARTHLIFT is the ultimate in green technology with 35 per cent more lifting cycles before battery recharging is required; thus increased efficiency and more jobs going through the workshop each day. Of course the carbon footprint of the lift has also been taken into consideration in the design and manufacture of the lift. Although generally you have a Stertil-Koni for the rest of your life due to the durability and robustness of the lifts, if need be, the lift is, virtually totally recyclable.

Electric buses

Stertil-Koni has been present in workshops around the world and gained together with their customers and partners a wealth of experience with lifting electric clean-energy vehicles. An example is, Build Your Dreams (BYD) from China. With their first mover position in the electric bus manufacturing industry, they have around the globe set-up manufacturing facilities for the supply of electric buses for both public and commercial transport companies.

Their production facility in Lancaster, USA also manufactures fully electric transit buses and the final assembly of medium and heavy duty trucks. The Lancaster plant utilises Stertil-Koni mobile column lifts in the manufacture of the clean-energy electric buses.
Stertil-Koni have been chosen by BYD as the vehicle lift specialist and for their reputation for safe, accessibility to all parts of the vehicle and with flexibility and convenient manoeuvrability required in workshops. 

Hydrogen-Powered Heavy Duty Vehicles

Hydrogen-powered heavy duty engine vehicle development has evolved considerably in a very short period of time as the pressure is on within the worldwide vehicle market to reduce Carbon emissions. Hydrogen is a very serious contender especially for heavy goods vehicles. Alternative technologies are required where long distance transportation due to restricted battery range is an issue with electric-driven vehicles. In the light of the Paris Agreement, Europe’s truck manufacturers have concluded that by 2040 all new trucks sold need to be fossil-free in order to reach carbon-neutrality by 2050. The CEOs of Europe’s commercial vehicle manufacturers(*), under the umbrella of the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (ACEA), have joined forces with leading scientists from the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK). The transition to electric vehicles plays a major role in sustainability and reducing the environmental impact of transportation, and hydrogen with a fuel cell is part of that. Well-known vehicle manufacturers such as, BYD, DAF, Daimler, Hyundai, Hyzon, Iveco, MAN, Mercedes-Benz, Nikola, Solaris, VDL Bus & Coach, Volvo, Yutong, build Hydrogen-fuel cell powered commercial vehicles, including heavy duty trucks and or buses. Stertil-Koni vehicle lifts can be found in workshops of most of these brands.

Hyzon Motors Europe Partners With Stertil-Koni

Stertil-Koni offers an extensive range of vehicle lifts and are specialists in the heavy duty segment for wide range of applications. A good example is Holthausen Clean Technology in the Netherlands, where for years the Stertil-Koni mobile column vehicle lifts are being used for the production of hydrogen-powered electric vehicles, including trucks. Recently Holthausen Clean Technology have teamed-up with the US commercial fuel cell vehicle developer Hyzon Motors and announced the opening of the first European production facility of Hydrogen-powered trucks, under the name “Hyzon Motors Europe”. Approximately 2,000 Hyzon trucks will be manufactured annually. Hyzon Motors Europe have already been commissioned to fulfil a mega order of 1,500 Hydrogen trucks to an energy company in New Zealand.

Stefan van der Spek, European Sales Manager at Holthausen Clean Technology commented, “The Stertil-Koni mobile vehicle lifts are certainly being used for the production work by Hyzon Motors Europe. We are very happy with the Stertil-Koni mobile columns. They are easy to move around our workshop and work efficiently in a safe and reliable way.” The company has eight ST 1085 mobile columns, with a total lifting capacity of 68,000 kg.

Stertil-Koni is constantly abreast of the latest technological developments in order quickly translate them into practical solutions to ensure that customers stay ahead of the energy transition game. Sticking to their course of providing complete lifting solutions and focused on the heavy duty vehicle segment they base development specifically to fit the application and which will serve the industry now and far into the future.

Listening and advising customers on lifting solutions for their maintenance, repair and service requirements. Need a sparring partner from the heavy duty vehicle lifting specialist and number one in safety? Then, Stertil-Koni are here to help with the challenges of the new energy transition vehicles developments and making your workshop future-ready in the field of heavy duty vehicle lifting.

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(* The ACEA commercial vehicle members are DAF Trucks, Daimler Trucks, Ford Trucks, IVECO, MAN Truck & Bus, Scania and Volvo Group.)

About the Stertil Group
The Stertil Group with its global head office in Kootstertille The Netherlands, develops, manufactures, markets, and sells high quality products to global heavy duty vehicle workshops, and the transport and logistic industries. Worldwide there are 500 employees of which 230 employees are based at the head office in The Netherlands. The Stertil Group has sales subsidiaries in the U.S.A, Germany, China, The Netherlands, UK, France, Poland, and Turkey and more than 80 exclusive distributors globally. The Stertil Group's centre of innovation excellence is located in The Netherlands, with a comprehensive Research & Development team. The Stertil Group has state-of-the-art manufacturing facilities in The Netherlands, U.S.A. and China. Stertil-Koni is the global market leader in heavy duty commercial vehicle lifting market and is the preferred supplier to the world's leading companies in the commercial vehicles and bus industries.