Case study | Food & beverage warehousing
Enhancing battery performance in cold storage with Gordon Food Service
Key metrics
+220% active hours
recorded by trucks powered with UgoWork batteries vs lead-acid units in the first five months
-56,000 kWh annually
a 36% efficiency gain compared to lead-acid batteries, equivalent to 30 tons of CO₂ reduced each year
100% reach truck conversion in 9 months
validating the solution’s ability to support demanding 24/7 operations
Company overview
Part of the largest privately held foodservice distributor in North America, Gordon Food Service’s Calgary distribution center drives excellence in the food and beverage industry. Serving the Western Canada restaurant sector with relentless, high-performance operations, it stands as a benchmark for flexibility, efficiency, and reliability.
F&B warehousing and distribution
Gordon Food Service
Calgary, Canada
Challenges
The customer operates a 24/7 distribution environment across frozen, fresh, and ambient temperature zones. With their reliance on lead-acid batteries, they faced challenges related to their short lifespan, high maintenance costs, and performance consistency. They were looking to improve:
- Battery performance consistency across different temperature zones
- Mitigation of the operational impacts of battery maintenance and replacement
Solutions
To address the limitations of lead-acid batteries, they chose UgoWork’s lithium-ion battery solutions that provided a shift towards greater efficiency and reliability. This transition not only improved operational capacity but also aligned with the customer’s need for a solution capable of sustaining high performance in a demanding, 24/7 environment.
Unlimited maintenance coverage with the Energy as a Service program
Thermal management system ensuring optimal performance in all areas
Enhanced performance through data-driven insights for more efficiency
Consistency matters when operations never stop.
Lead-acid batteries struggle to deliver steady performance across temperature zones, leading to higher maintenance and shorter lifespans that impacted overall efficiency.
Benefits
High performance in critical operations
Within the first month, Calgary reach trucks worked 21% more than an average GFS site
Operators favored UgoWork trucks for their productivity and reliability
More operational hours enabled higher pallet movement and lower CPU (cost per unit)
Optimized operations through data insights
Real-time data has provided visibility into battery usage, enabling workload balancing
Energy savings and CO₂ reduction were maximized through data-driven decisions
Predictive maintenance has minimized downtime by identifying issues before they arose
Reliable performance across all environments
UgoWork batteries, equipped with a universal thermal system, ensure reliable operation in temperatures ranging from -4°F to 86°F
No longer need to assign trucks to specific temperature zones, enhancing flexibility
“In 20 years, I’ve never experienced an integration as seamless as with UgoWork. The process was smooth, efficient, and the support was outstanding from start to finish.”
Looking for steady performance across all conditions?
If your fleet needs consistent power to match demanding schedules and environments, we can help you find the right balance between reliability and efficiency.
