Ever since its introduction during the early 1920s, the lift truck has become an invaluable piece of equipment found in many industrial operations and warehousing. Clark, amongst the pioneers of the very first forklift, has grown to become a leader within the material handling business and still remains a leading supplier. Other popular names in the manufacturing of these machinery include: Yale, Hyster, Nissan Cat, Toyota and Mitsubishi.
Hyster has grown to become amongst the most popular units of lift trucks in the business. The fact is, in some regions, the word "Hyster" is synonymous with forklift. Various other names for this industrial lifting machines comprise: lift truck, jitney, high/low, fork truck and stacker truck.
It was in the 19th century that the machine ancestors of the lift truck was first developed. At this time, small, battery-powered units were made for the purpose of transporting traveler's baggage at the Altoona train station in Pennsylvania. In WWI, some different types were made within England specially to be utilized in the material handling industry. These machines evolved as a solution to the manpower shortage at that time.
The modern equivalents come in a variety of configurations and sizes. There are the big truck-mounted forklift models which are also known as sod loaders and then the opposite end of the spectrum has small hand truck units. There are also a line of automated versions known as forklift automated guided vehicles that are basically robotic in nature. These units were made to improve production and as a way of lowering operational expenses.
A common forklift is able to utilize a wide array of attachments that are capable of being added for a range of particular functions. The motors could be internal combustion or IC models, working on propane, diesel or gasoline, or there are battery operated options that require regular charging. Standard warehouse models will usually be rated to lift between around 1 and 5 tons.
The forklift has become a priceless component within the material handling industry. Thousands of these units are used each day throughout the world to perform tasks that used to require a lot more man-power. Operators should take stringent training courses so as to operate these heavy machinery legally and safely. Many workers have better health overall and longer careers now due to their not having to lift items by hand anymore as the forklifts are capable of handling those situations now instead.