How BorgWarner Cut Forklift Fleet in Half

BorgWarner's Chicago manufacturing plant was drowning in forklift traffic. 

Thirty-six forklifts competed for 4-foot-wide aisles in an 80-year-old facility with no room to expand. Production lines ran low on materials while drivers sat in traffic jams between workstations, creating delays, safety risks, and frustrated workers.

The solution wasn't more space or automation. 

BorgWarner replaced half their forklift fleet with six tugger trains and wheeled "daughter carts" that workers could push by hand. The result: they cut their forklift fleet from 36 units to 18 while maintaining the same throughput and dramatically improving safety.

This article breaks down their assessment process, the unexpected role of manual handling, and why a two-week demo period revealed applications they never planned for. Plus the complete playbook other manufacturers can use to solve similar congestion problems without facility expansion.

What’s Inside

• The Scene → When 36 forklifts become a traffic problem

• The Assessment → Mapping movement patterns and production needs

• The Fix → Tugger trains with a manual handling twist

• The Implementation → Two-week demo proves the concept

• The Impact → Cutting forklift fleet in half without losing capacity

• The Playbook → Replacing forklift traffic with tugger systems

• Full Q&A → With Alex Stone at K.Hartwall