It was during the beginning of the 20th Century when the very first lift trucks were launched. These equipment 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 various different kinds are discussed below.
History of Forklifts
These powered industrial trucks, also known as forklifts and lift trucks, were invented and introduced to the market during the late 19th century. Initially, these models were low lift trucks that were just capable of raising platforms several inches high. Normally, these types of equipment were used for transporting material in a shop, such as work-in-progress situations. During the latter part of 1910s, high lift trucks initially emerged and enhancements in truck design started to take root from there. The tier trucks ultimately developed and this allowed for better stacking of loads and storage efficiency.
There were extremely tough economic times throughout the 1930s. Then again, throughout this specific period, labor was freely available but money for investment was increasingly harder to come by. This situation really slowed the growth of forklift usage.
Lift trucks became a very strategic part of the the second World War war effort because the vast shortages in manpower in that time occurred as a resulting of enlistment of thousands of men. It was discovered that a forklift and its driver could deal with the work of many men and were very productive. As the War continued, many women operators filled the numerous demands. When the war was over, forklifts 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 in Australia left behind by the United States Military became the basis for the Commonwealth Handling Equipment Pool or CHEP, who today is known as the largest pallet pooling business in the world.
Diesel/Gasoline
There are many benefits to utilizing a gas or diesel powered engine. They are always available around the world; they are great 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 diesel and gas engines disadvantages consist of: they require much more maintenance than electric units, because of the emissions they release, they are not suitable for indoor applications, there is some difficulty and cost connected to fluid and oil disposal and they need a re-fueling post on-site if they are going to be used always.