Refreshingly different. Working with the eHoftrac in a drinks cash-and-carry

The electrically-driven 1160 eHoftrac from Weidemann has been in use at the Getränkemarkt Bachhuber cash-and-carry since September 2017.

Together with a forklift, it assists the family company with loading, stacking and transporting beverage crates, beer kegs and party accessories. The family-owned business, based in the Bavarian municipality of Falkenberg, was established in the 1950s. Ownership has since passed to the family's second-generation. “In those days, we had three lorries and all the bottles were labelled by hand. As children, we always had to help,” recalled Fritz Bachhuber. His father, who then worked at a brewery, produced soft drinks on the side and built up his own beverage business. The company no longer makes soft drinks, but the beverage business was taken over by Fritz Bachhuber and his wife Anita in 2005. They subsequently invested in storage facilities and a forklift and also hosted events for the company.

Whilst Fritz Bachhuber continued his main job in a bank, his wife ran the business. In addition to more party seating, they also purchased the refrigerated trailer for hire. The Bachhubers thus managed to get their family business onto a firm footing and establish it as a viable operation for the future. The couple have both been running the beverage business as their main jobs since 2017. “There are lots of parties, especially in the spring. That is our peak season,” said the beverage expert. As there are no return stations in operation, a lot of manual work is required. The bottles have to be sorted and crates have to be moved around. A lot of work, for which a Weidemann now provides assistance.

Due to the cash-and-carry's location, the Bachhuber family cannot use a forklift in all buildings. For example, access to the cellar is unsurfaced, so a different solution was needed there. These entrepreneurs were fortunate in finding Weidemann dealer Stephan Schönberger from Mitterskirchen. “As we were also looking to invest in the expansion of our PV system, we ultimately decided on an electric Hoftrac”, said Fritz Bachhuber. As their son Philip has just qualified as an electrician, they also have a certain fascination with this technology. Both sons, Philip and Jakob, provide hands-on help in their parents’ business and enjoy driving the Weidemann.

In addition to the work in cash-and-carry, the 1160 eHoftrac also takes care of maintaining the land. It clears the snow in winter and as work platform, it can also be used for completing jobs safely where working at a height is involved, such as cleaning gutters or hanging Christmas lights. There are plans to purchase a rotary sweeper in the summer to clean open spaces.