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ESS Inc.

Leading Global Clean Energy Systems Provider Brings Container Handling In-house

Bison Group

11 Jan 3 Minutes

Customer Stories

Bison C-Lift X Series equips ESS Inc. to handle containers itself, removing reliance on outside crane vendors, increasing production throughput, and enhancing flexibility.

C-Lift X SeriesThe ESS Energy Warehouse

Established in 2011, ESS Inc. provides flexible energy storage solutions for commercial and industrial applications.

Housed within 40’ high cube shipping containers, the ESS Energy Warehouse is an environmentally sustainable battery with no capacity fade or cycling limitations throughout its 25-year operating design life. Once fitted out, the containerized Energy Warehouse weighs up to 40,000 lb.

Prior to investing in a Bison C-Lift X Series, ESS had to store containers off-site and experienced costs and delays waiting on outside crane vendors to position containers for production.

Empty Bays, Unwanted Downtime and Inflexibility

Storing containers offsite and relying on external crane services to decouple the containers from chassis was an ongoing headache for ESS's operations team. Being tied to its vendor’s availability meant the team would sometimes wait several days for vendors to fit ESS into their schedule and bring containers and cranes to site. This led to empty build bays and periodic delays in production.

Challenges Solved With High Capacity Container Lifting Jacks

For greater flexibility and reduced downtime, ESS invested in a C-Lift X Series, Bison's highest capacity lifting jack, capable of lifting all ISO container types and sizes weighing up to 88,000 lb. The C-Lift X Series is fully automated, allowing for effortless transfer of heavy containers between a chassis and the ground. The set up process is efficient, safe, and requires only one operator with the aid of a light forklift.

According to Andrew Feist, ESS’s Advanced Manufacturing Technical Leader, the C-Lift X Series has greatly improved operations. ESS have been able to increase production throughput by making more containers available at their build bays. And the C-Lift allows containers to be positioned in more places, giving ESS more control over its work environment and avoiding the need to work outside in any conditions.

"The X Series gave us flexibility to manage our fleet and not rely on outside services to re-enable production."

— Andrew Feist, Advanced Manufacturing Technical Leader, ESS Inc.