As 2018 comes to a close, we’re so thankful to have had a great year providing motive power solutions to our customers and dealers worldwide. We are very excited with all that 2019 will bring, but let’s recap our year with you.
Below are some highlights (and challenges) we experienced in 2018.
Accomplishments
● We’d be remiss without mentioning our 2018 National Sales Meeting held in Scottsdale, Arizona, where we honored some of the best HAWKER® dealers for FY2018. During the meeting, we presented the prestigious First, Best, & Energized FY2018 Award to Battery Concepts International, based in El Paso, Texas. This award is given to one dealer that exemplifies outstanding traits, including: solutions selling, being a 100% exclusive HAWKER® dealer for more than 13 years, exhibiting a “whatever-it-takes attitude”, being customer-focused, respected by and supports other dealers, easy to conduct business with and challenges HAWKER® without complaining.
● HAWKER® expanded upon its product offering with the FLEX® 2V TPPL battery. FLEX ® thin plate pure lead batteries are a great alternative for multi-shift opportunity charge operations, retail stores and membership warehouses. Requiring the most minimal of maintenance, TPPL batteries provide an alternative for applications or facilities which prohibit flooded lead acid batteries, struggle with battery watering, battery cleaning and battery changing. These batteries are also a great alternative for operations with an environmental conscious focus.
● In 2018, we received our first order of over $1M (USD) for FLEX®motive power batteries and chargers executed by Industrial Power Products.
● 2018 also saw the near completed development for bi-directional communication with HAWKER® modular chargers via HawkerNET™.
HawkerNET™ is a cloud-based battery management tool, accessible by secure login through any web and mobile browser. This allows the user to be connected to their battery fleet at all times. HawkerNET™ gathers measurable data that can better direct your operations and improve overall productivity. It provides data regarding:
1. How efficiently the battery fleet is being managed?
2. How well the battery fleet is being maintained?
Since the launch of HawkerNET™, the next step was to create bi-directional communication where the charger settings can be changed remotely. This means a charger can be updated via computer or mobile device rather than requiring an employee to physically visit the charger to make adjustments. This capability will result in time and money saved, improved charger maintenance, and a more efficient manner of control for the customer. HAWKER® has been working on the software development of this component and will be ready to beta-test in 2019.
Challenges (And How We Addressed Them)
One of our main concerns this year was how to best educate our customers and community about the benefits (and differences) of the available lithium chemistries. After announcing our newest lithium battery - FLEX® Li3, launching in 2019, we wanted to ensure our dealers could rely on us for having the most reputable, unique, and safest lithium battery on the market. HAWKER® has spent countless hours researching the safest and most tested lithium chemistries available to confirm we are bringing the best battery to market.
The vendor HAWKER® is using for our lithium cells is the top lithium cell manufacturer in the world. In fact, they are so exclusive that they choose the companies they feel will use their product most responsibly, and they chose us.
In efforts to make sure our dealers and customers are knowledgeable about our newest lithium battery, HAWKER® will continue to educate through one-on-one meetings, training schools, and webinars.
What’s On the Horizon
In 2019, we’re gearing up to officially launch multiple products:
1. The FLEX® Li3 lithium battery
a. Available in Summer of 2019
2. Inductive charging
a. The inductive charger will allow a motive power vehicle to simply pull up next to or over a recessed coil and automatically begin charging wirelessly. This process is the same as wireless charging for mobile devices. We are currently preparing to beta-test the charger and planning for launch at the end of 2019.
3. GEN2 TPPL battery
a. This next generation TPPL bloc product will provide all the performance advantages of our current offerings and will have highly technical monitoring and control.
We are also excited to gear up for ProMat 2019, in Chicago, IL during April 8-12 at McCormick Center.
We’ve had a successful year and we can’t wait for you to see what we have in store for 2019.
With over 75 authorized sales and service centers across North America, HAWKER® can provide the best solution for your business’ needs. From forklifts to AGVs, we offer a range of solutions that will bolster production while keeping your operation sustainable and environmentally-conscious. Contact your local HAWKER® representative today by calling 1-877-7HAWKER or click here.
