It was during the beginning of the 20th Century when the first lift trucks were launched. These machines over the last 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 invented and introduced to the market during the late 19th century. At first, these units were low lift trucks which were only capable of raising platforms several inches high. Normally, these equipment were utilized for moving material in a shop, like work-in-progress situations. In the latter part of 1910s, high lift trucks initially emerged and truck design improvements started to take root from there. The tier trucks eventually developed and this allowed for better storage efficiency and stacking of loads.
There were extremely difficult economic times throughout the 1930s. Then again, during this time, labor was freely available but money for investment was increasingly more difficult to come by. This situation greatly slowed the growth of forklift usage.
Lift trucks became a very strategic part of the the second World War war effort since the vast shortages in manpower during that time happened as a resulting of enlistment of thousands of men. It was discovered that a lift truck and its operator could handle the work of many men and were extremely productive. As the War continued, a lot of women drivers filled the many demands. When the war was over, lift trucks became a mainstay of the material handling industry. They were used a lot in the Pacific war efforts. Some of the leftover pallets and lift trucks within Australia left behind by the United States Military became the basis for the CHEP or Commonwealth Handling Equipment Pool, who today is known as the largest pallet pooling business in the world.
Diesel/Gasoline
Diesel and gasoline engines have lots of benefits. They are readily available all over the world; they are perfect for heavy duty workloads, they deliver consistent power throughout the shift and numerous operators are quite familiar with the source of power.
Some of the main drawbacks of diesel and gasoline models consist of: they need a lot more maintenance compared to electric versions, because of the emissions they release, they are not suitable for indoor applications, there is some cost and difficulty associated to oil and fluid disposal and they require a re-fueling station on-site if they are going to be used always.