Trucks
Trucks
Since moving from diesel to zero emissions trucks, Reto Lauper has gone from being an electric pioneer to a convert. His company, E. Bigler Transporte AG, was the first in Switzerland to run a Volvo FE Electric garbage truck.
“It all started with a city asking us if we can have pure electric trucks for collecting garbage,” he says. “So, I thought, am I ready to have electric trucks?” Now he has a fleet of four, with big ambitions for the future. “We won’t go back to diesel again,” he adds.
As managing director, Reto has seen first-hand the benefits switching to electric has brought his company, its staff, and the communities they serve. “It’s had a lot of impact on the business, but it's not just about price, it's also the impact on your environment,” he believes.
One truck can work the entire day.
Because his trucks are quiet and don't produce any emissions, he found that the working day is not only better for the communities they serve but it’s easier and less exhausting for his drivers as well. His staff have even told him they are more relaxed in the evening since switching to electric.
What was perhaps one of the biggest surprises for Reto, though, was the efficiency of his trucks. “One truck can work the entire day and there's still some power left in the batteries in the evening.” Using energy produced from solar panels on the roof of the depot building, his trucks receive a full charge of electricity overnight, enough to see them through an entire shift the next day.
One of the key changes his company made was to change the routes his trucks made. They now start at the top of hills and collect garbage on the way down, so they regenerate electricity as they go. But what this means is their routes are now more efficient, so they’re actually saving time, too.
“It wasn´t too difficult to change from diesel,” he says. His advice for other companies to go electric? “Just try it. Believe in this transition to zero emissions. Because in the future that's going to be the way it is.”
