The forklift has become such an invaluable piece of machinery found and utilized in most warehousing and industrial operations, ever since its introduction to the market more than 90 years ago in the 1920's. Amongst the forklift's pioneers, Clark has grown to become an industry leading supplier in the material handling industry. Other popular names in the manufacturing of these machinery consist of: Hyster, Nissan, Yale Mitsubishi, Cat and Toyota.
Hyster has grown to become amongst the most popular models of forklifts within the business. As a matter of fact, in several regions, the word "Hyster" is synonymous with forklift. Various other names for this industrial lifting machines include: high/low, lift truck, jitney, fork truck and stacker truck.
It was in the 19th century that the machinery ancestors of the lift truck was initially made. At this time, small, battery-powered models were invented for the purpose of moving traveler's luggage within Pennsylvania at the Altoona train station. In the First World War, various kinds were developed in England specially for use in the material handling industry. These equipment evolved as a solution to the lack of manpower at that time.
Today's machines come in various configurations and sizes. Sod loaders are large truck-mounted forklift units and some of the larger machinery, whereas the smaller machinery consist of hand truck units. There are also a line of automated versions known as forklift automated guided vehicles which are practically robotic in nature. These units were developed as a way of lowering operational expenses and to improve productivity.
A regular forklift is able to use a huge range of attachments that are capable of being added for a range of specific functions. The motors could be IC or internal combustion models, working on gasoline, propane or diesel, or there are battery operated options which require regular charging. Standard warehouse models will usually be rated to lift between about 1 and 5 tons.
The lift truck has become a priceless component within the material handling industry. Thousands of these units are used on a daily basis all over the world to complete jobs which used to require a lot more man-power. Operators should take stringent training programs so as to operate these heavy machinery legally and safely. Numerous workers have longer careers now and better overall health due to their not having to raise things by hand anymore as the forklifts can handle those situations now instead.