Case Study: United Natural Foods Inc. (UNFI) achieves increased productivity and faster refueling with The Raymond Corporation's hydrogen fuel cell lift trucks

UNFI - Customer Case Study

United Natural Foods Inc. (UNFI), the largest U.S. distributor of natural, organic and specialty foods, needed a more sustainable, reliable power source for its lift truck fleet to improve material-handling productivity while supporting corporate sustainability goals. As a nationwide customer of The Raymond Corporation, UNFI worked with The Raymond Corporation and longtime service partner Abel Womack Inc. to evaluate hydrogen fuel cell technology and convert its Sarasota, Fla., Raymond® lift trucks to fuel-cell power.

The Raymond Corporation engineered and implemented hydrogen fuel cell conversions (including the industry’s first fuel cell–compatible orderpicker with a 21‑inch battery box), installed refueling infrastructure, and tested performance in cold-storage conditions. Since the June 2010 conversion, UNFI reports steady operator feedback and measurable operational gains — trucks run at full voltage for an entire shift and refueling times are much shorter than battery changes — leading to increased productivity and a clearer, trackable ROI that UNFI plans to monitor for future rollouts.

UNFI

Tom Dziki

Chief Human Resources and Sustanability Officer