Expansion leads Carrefour-Atacadão group to invest in redesign of its intralogistics

8/25/2021 / São Paulo

Over the past year, Atacadão, part of Carrefour, has been accelerating its expansion process throughout Brazil. To keep its 240 stores constantly supplied, investing in the intralogistics structure has become essential. To that end, the supermarket giant decided to modernize the battery charging rooms of its distribution centers with intelligent equipment that is compatible with the various electric forklifts in its fleet as well as capable of charging with more flexibility and energy efficiency.

Thanks to automatic voltage detection, the Selectiva 4.0 chargers allow different lead-acid batteries and voltage classes to be charged with one and the same device.

At Atacadão‘s distribution centers, a fleet of more than 1,000 electric forklifts of different power and size ensures a fast and emission-free flow of goods. Operating the fleet was a challenge in the past, as the different traction batteries could solely be charged with compatible chargers, which increased costs and complexity accordingly.

To simplify battery charging, the company opted for a solution from Fronius. Thanks to automatic voltage detection, the Selectiva 4.0 chargers allow different lead-acid batteries and voltage classes to be charged with one and the same device. In addition to greater flexibility also the energy efficiency of the charging process could be increased. Marco Tarantino, maintenance manager at Atacadão, points out that compared to 50 Hz technology „the Selectiva chargers allow faster and more efficient charging. As a result, we have now more forklifts operating while reducing our energy consumption.“

Marco Tarantino - Carrefour — Marco Tarantino - Maintenance Manager at Atacadão

Tarantino also noted that the battery temperature during charging with Fronius Selectiva 4.0 remains significantly lower than with other models on the market. This has enabled Atacadão to increase the service life of batteries by approximately one year, reduce their maintenance effort and generate 25% savings in energy consumption.

Mariana Kroker, Commercial Manager of Fronius Perfect Charging in Brazil, explains that these advantages are a result of the unique Ri charging process of Selectiva 4.0 chargers. This process determines the condition of batteries based on their effective inner resistance (Ri) and only provides the amount of electrical current they really need. „This significantly reduces energy consumption and CO2 emissions in intralogistics,“ she says.

Another goal of Atacadão was to make better use of the warehouse space and to optimize the space needed for the charging infrastructure. The old 50 Hz chargers limited the fleet‘s operational capability. This is where Selectiva 4.0 chargers, with their compact and modular design, have significant advantages according to Tarantino „As the chargers are much smaller, we were able to expand the capacity of the battery rooms and support two shifts of operation.“

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Customer information
Company Name	Atacadão
Location	São Paulo/SP (Brasil)
Sector	Wholesale Market
Forklift Truck Brand	Toyota
Battery Brand	GNB and EnerSys
Fronius Portfolio	Fronius Selectiva

» By restructuring our forklift battery charging rooms, we have been able to expand our operating capacity, increase energy efficiency and reduce energy consumption costs by about 25%. «
Marco Tarantino, Maintenance Manager at Atacadão

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Expansion leads Carrefour-Atacadão group to invest in redesign of its intralogistics

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