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Proterra partners with Taylor Machine Works on electric forklift project

Ross Norton //July 26, 2021//

Proterra partners with Taylor Machine Works on electric forklift project

Ross Norton //July 26, 2021//

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Proterra batteries will power Taylor Machine Works' line of ZH-series electric forklifts and ZLC-series top handler machines for ports. (Rendering/Provided)Proterra Inc., a company that develops and manufactures commercial vehicle electrification technology, and Taylor Machine Works Inc., a heavy-duty equipment manufacturer, have partnered to power Taylor’s next-generation ZLC-series electric container handler and ZH-series electric forklift using Proterra’s battery technology.

Proterra is based in Burlingame, Calif., with an East Coast electric bus manufacturing plant in Greenville.

Introduced in 2019, the Taylor ZLC-series is the world’s first zero-emission, battery-electric top handler machine, designed to load and unload shipping containers weighing up to 75,000 pounds in port environments, according to a news release, while the ZH-series forklift is applicable in a variety of settings to handle heavy-duty, bulk materials at warehouses, plants, worksites, mine sites, lumber yards and more.

Proterra will supply battery technology to power the equipment, and the two companies will collaborate on strategies to deliver charging and infrastructure solutions to help ports and other customers electrify their heavy-duty, material handling machinery, the news release said.

The first Proterra-powered Taylor machines are expected to be delivered to customers beginning in 2022, according to the release, and will be Proterra’s entry into the heavy-duty, material handling equipment market.

“Electrifying heavy-duty equipment is a win-win for our ports and our communities. It means protecting our health and the air we breathe at the same time we meet the needs of the world’s busiest ports and other industrial settings with battery electric technology,” Gareth Joyce, president of Proterra Powered & Energy, said in the release. “We are excited to partner with a trusted, industry-leader like Taylor and deliver our proven EV technology to power the next generation of material handling machines.” 

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