It was in the start of the 20th Century when the very first lift trucks were launched. These equipment during the past 90 plus years has changed the material handling business and even the recycling industry. The factors for safe operation, the forklift's evolution and the many different kinds are discussed below.
History of Lift Trucks
These powered industrial trucks, also known as forklifts and lift trucks, were created and introduced to the market in the late 19th century. At first, these models were low lift trucks that were only capable of raising platforms several inches high. Usually, these machines were used for transporting supplies within a store, such as work-in-progress situations. During the latter part of 1910s, high lift trucks first emerged and truck design enhancements started to take root from there. The tier trucks eventually developed and this allowed for better stacking of loads and storage effectiveness.
There were extremely tough economic times throughout the 1930s. However, throughout this period, labor was freely available but capital for investment was more and more difficult to come by. This situation significantly slowed the growth of forklift usage.
Forklifts became a very strategic part of the World War II war effort because the vast shortages in manpower during that time happened as a resulting of enlistment of thousands of men. It was discovered that its driver and the forklift can deal with the work of many men and were very productive. As the War continued, many women operators filled the many demands. When the war was over, forklifts became a mainstay of the material handling business. They were used a lot in the Pacific war efforts. Several of the leftover pallets and lift trucks in Australia left behind by the U.S. Military became the basis for the Commonwealth Handling Equipment Pool or CHEP, who today is referred to as the world's biggest pallet pooling company.
Diesel/Gasoline
There are many advantages to utilizing a gas or diesel powered engine. They are readily available all around the globe; they deliver consistent power throughout the shift, they are great for heavy duty workloads and lots of operators are quite familiar with the source of power.
Several of the diesel and gas engines disadvantages comprise: they need much more maintenance than electric units, due to the emissions they release, they are not appropriate for indoor applications, there is some cost and difficulty connected to fluid and oil disposal and they need a re-fueling station on-site if they are going to be in continuous use.