Lead-acid firm East Penn Manufacturing is moving with the times as it looks to reclassify itself as an energy storage company— including embracing lithium-ion technology.
The company’s CEO Daniel Langdon spoke of the new ‘mindset’ during an interview with the Reading Eagle Business Weekly newspaper from where the company is headquartered.
Langdon told the newspaper: “Our view is that we should be an energy storage company, not a lead-acid battery company. That’s a different mindset.
“We have a dedicated group of engineers working on lithium-ion technology.”
The change in mindset comes as the North American energy storage market exploded by 243% in 2015, with utilities and small scale ESS firm’s embracing lithium-ion technology.
So perhaps it’s no surprise the company, which celebrates its 70th anniversary this year, took the decision to incorporate lithium-ion in its product range.
The Pennsylvania based company, started by father and son team Delight Breidegam Snr and Jnr in 1946, is currently in a period of expansion.
That includes a $70million, 218,600-square-foot plant in Oelwein, which should be ready by July this year catering for the electric forklift motive power and automotive markets.
On top of that the company is expanding its existing Oelwin plant to assemble batteries (mainly fill and charging of lead-acid batteries) which should be ready by the first quarter of 2018.
