Navitas Systems Announces Strong Overall Revenue Growth and Bookings Momentum of Starlifter Lithium Forklift Battery, and Introduces 5 New Starlifter Models
Starlifter® lithium forklift batteries now in successful operation at numerous leading corporations across North America
Woodridge, Ill – November 20, 2018 – Navitas Systems LLC (www.navitassys.com), a leading provider of lithium energy storage products for commercial, industrial and government customers, announced today that it has seen almost 200% year over year growth in overall company revenues, including having achieved more than US $10 million in bookings for its Starlifter® line of lithium-ion forklift batteries so far in 2018.
Starlifter deployments are found in some of the top Fortune 500 firms such as at consumer packaged goods leader Proctor & Gamble, and span major industries such as food manufacturing/distribution, third-party logistics (3PL), beverage, government, and automotive industries.
“We’re very pleased to see the increased momentum in Starlifter installations at some of the most well-known corporations in North America” said Alan ElShafei, Chairman and Founder of Navitas Systems. Most recently, the company has received an initial order of 150 Starlifter lithium batteries from one of the world’s largest manufacturers of heavy duty vehicles. This order is believed to be the single largest order of lithium forklift batteries in the Western Hemisphere. “These sales results demonstrate our position as the leading battery supplier in the North American lithium battery material handling segment with our UL-Recognized line of Starlifter batteries” ElShafei concluded.
There are a variety of recent deployment examples showing the wide breadth of applicability for Starlifter. One example is found at Legacy Supply Chain Services, a major third-Party Logistics (“3PL”) company, where Starlifter lithium batteries power almost 30 forklifts in an intensive 24×7 cross-dock application in two of their distribution centers. “The new technology has been an instant hit with our staff. The Starlifter batteries have increased efficiencies, driving true cost out to which we are able to pass along to our customer,” said Jeremy Rathjen, Regional Operations Manager for Legacy. “The lifting performance from the beginning of the shift to the end of the shift is stronger and consistent with Starlifter” concluded Rathjen.
Another example which illustrates the new trend for deploying Starlifters over lead acid in newly-built facilities is a major consumer appliance manufacturer who decided that they did not want to spend the typical upfront investment for lead acid battery change equipment. They chose an all-lithium fleet of 20 Starlifters to power their clamp lift trucks at their new appliance distribution facility in Northern California. Since Starlifters have a unique ability to charge at the highest rate in the battery industry—500 amps—lift truck operators there enjoy the quick return of capacity when charged during breaks as well as the consistent strong lifting performance powered by Starlifter.
And finally, an example of a current transition of a fleet of lift trucks from lead acid to Starlifter lithium is found at a major North American manufacturer of corrugated packaging materials. Close to 100 Starlifters are in place at 52 company locations this year. All told, over 500 trucks are planned to be converted to Starlifter power as the remaining lead acid batteries come off of their lease cycles.
“Based on recently introducing five new Starlifter product models, and the successful trials and initial deployments at several major corporations, Starlifter is positioned for dramatic scale-up of sales. Customers can be quite confident that we can scale with their demand“ said Kevin Hykin, Navitas Systems President and Chief Operating Officer.
Separately, on November 13th, Voltabox AG made a unilateral decision to withdraw from the acquisition of Navitas Systems, due primarily to lengthy delays In the U.S. Government approval process. “The US government recognized that Navitas Systems was working on important advanced lithium battery technologies, and rightly wanted to ensure that this transaction would not threaten to impair US national security” said ElShafei.
About Navitas Systems, LLC
Navitas Systems is a US leader in integrated design, technology development and manufacturing of innovative, energy-efficient system solutions and energy storage products. Navitas Systems’ product portfolio ranges from customer-specific energy storage solutions to integrated energy systems for renewable energy and lithium-ion standard batteries as a replacement for conventional lead-acid batteries. Navitas Systems is headquartered in Woodridge, Illinois. This company acquired a division of the lithium-ion battery manufacturer A123 Systems in 2012, and it has a 50,000 square-feet research, development and manufacturing center in Ann Arbor, Michigan. More information on Navitas Systems is available at www.navitassys.com.
For more information on how to partner with Navitas Systems please contact Monica Futrell via email at mfutrell@navitassys.com or call her at 630-755-7925. For more information on Navitas Systems please visit www.navitassys.com. Follow us on LinkedIn at www.linkedin.com/company/navitas-systems-llc
