Hunter Valley winery installs electric forklift upgrade

A family-owned Hunter Valley winery has enhanced its carbon-neutral business status with the installation of an electric Toyota forklift.

Keith Tulloch Wines wanted to upgrade its existing fleet of LPG gas forklifts in 2021, seeing an opportunity to further reduce its carbon footprint by adding an 8FBN 3-tonne electric forklift from Toyota Material Handling Australia (TMHA).

According to Alisdair Tulloch, Keith Tulloch Wines Operations Manager, the decision to purchase a new unit came from government incentives and a chance to improve environmental credentials.

As well as replacing two LPG forklifts with a single battery-electric unit, the energy that powers the forklift is procured in an environmentally friendly way, through the use of solar power.

“We have a pretty huge solar array here, and the forklift is being charged with the solar so essentially it’s become an emissions-free vehicle for us,” Tulloch said.

Along with the improved environmental impact and cost savings, the new Toyota forklift also offers improved functionality over the older LPG units with welcome new features and technologies. It has a container mast to get out of tight spaces and has the capacity to lift heavy grape bins, barrel racks and barrels to tall heights.

Toyota’s 8FBN forklift range features Toyota’s System Of Active Stability safety system, designed to help prevent forklift rollover and contribute to accident prevention.

It also features a high water resistance rating of IPX4, meaning it can work as comfortably outside as it does inside.

According to Tulloch, the reliability of the unit has helped the business.

“Having moved on from having some older units that would be constantly breaking down or having downtime — you only notice those things when they’re having downtime, and there hasn’t been any with the new machine apart from regular servicing, which is perfect, because it’s a tool that’s ready to use all the time instead of something that is unreliable,” he said.

Allan Peacock, local TMHA area sales manager, said it has been a pleasure to work with Keith Tulloch Wines and the team over the journey.

Tulloch said servicing with TMHA has been particularly easy.

“The sales and the aftersales service was really good. Allan came out and visited the site and walked us through everything that we wanted from the unit and made sure the specs were exactly what we were looking for and priced us up on it, so that part of the service was really good,” he said.

Tulloch has also recommended TMHA to others in the winemaking industry.

“There are things like the additional hydraulic control which helps to tip bins, which people like; there’s an auto-leveller on one of the hydraulics to level out the tynes on the forklift, which can be helpful when you’re moving bins of fruit or going in and out of racks,” he said.

Keith Tulloch Wines was first founded in 1997 by Tulloch’s parents, Keith and Amanda, as a family owned and operated boutique winery in Pokolbin. It specialises in semillon chardonnay and shiraz, with an annual crush of between 110 and 150 tonnes.