A couple of key factors contribute to higher battery cost: The quality of materials used and technology the batteries include. For example, HAWKER uses more material in the positive plates of its batteries for forklifts, resulting in thicker plates. The company also uses a higher quality lead and more advanced technology in its batteries than other manufacturers. Quality manufacturing processes like these result in more efficient batteries and longer battery life. While you may pay more up-front, that cost will be more than recoupled over the life of the battery. In fact, HAWKER batteries have been shown to deliver a lower total cost of ownership than less expensive batteries.