Ever since its introduction during the early 1920s, the forklift has become an invaluable piece of equipment found in numerous industrial operations and warehousing. Clark, amongst the pioneers of the first lift truck, has grown to become a leader within the material handling industry and still remains a leading supplier. Other well-known names in the making of these machinery include: Nissan, Yale, Hyster Toyota, Mitsubishi and Cat.
Hyster has grown to become amongst the most popular units of lift trucks within the business. The truth is, in some regions, the word "Hyster" is synonymous with forklift. Various other names for this industrial lifting equipment consist of: lift truck, jitney, high/low, stacker truck and fork truck.
It was during the 19th century that the machine ancestors of the lift truck was first developed. At this time, battery-powered, small units were invented for the purpose of moving traveler's luggage in Pennsylvania at the Altoona train station. During the First World War, some different kinds were developed in England particularly to be utilized in the material handling industry. These machines evolved as a solution to the lack of manpower at that time.
The modern equivalents come in a range of sizes and configurations. There are the big truck-mounted lift truck models that are also referred to 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 practically robotic in nature. These units were developed as a means of lowering operational expenses and to improve production.
Attachments have been made to fit onto a lot of regular lift trucks, giving them the capability of performing a wider selection of tasks. The motors could be IC or internal combustion units, working on diesel, gasoline or propane, or there are battery operated options that need regular charging. Standard warehouse models would usually be rated to raise between roughly 1 and 5 tons.
Since their evolution, lift trucks have become a priceless part of the material handling business. Many of these models are used each day throughout the world to perform tasks which used to need a lot more man-power. Operators should take stringent training courses in order to run these heavy equipment safely and legally. A lot of workers have longer careers now and better health overall due to their not having to raise things by hand anymore because the forklifts can handle those situations now instead.