It was in the start of the 20th Century when the first forklifts were introduced. These machinery over the last 90 plus years has revolutionized the material handling industries and even the recycling business. The factors for safe utilization, the lift truck's evolution and the various different types are discussed below.
History of Lift Trucks
These powered industrial trucks, also referred to as forklifts and lift trucks, were invented and launched to the market during the latter part of the 19th century. At first, these models were low lift trucks which were only capable of raising platforms several inches high. Usually, these types of machines were utilized for moving supplies inside a shop, such as work-in-progress situations. In the latter part of 1910s, high lift trucks first emerged and improvements in truck design began to take root from there. The tier trucks eventually developed and this allowed for greater storage efficiency and stacking of loads.
There were extremely difficult economic times in the 1930s. Nonetheless, in this time, labor was freely available but capital for investment was increasingly more difficult to come by. This situation really slowed the growth of forklift usage.
Lift trucks became a really strategic part of the WWII war effort because the vast shortages in manpower in that time happened as a resulting of enlistment of thousands of men. It was discovered that its operator and the lift truck were really productive and can handle the work of numerous men. As the War progressed, numerous women drivers filled the numerous demands. By the time the war was over, forklifts became a mainstay of the material handling business. They were used a lot in the Pacific war efforts. A few of the leftover pallets and lift trucks within Australia left behind by the U.S. Military became the basis for the CHEP or Commonwealth Handling Equipment Pool, who today is referred to as the world's biggest pallet pooling company.
Gasoline/Diesel
There are many benefits to using a gas or diesel powered engine. They are always available around the globe; they are perfect for heavy duty workloads, they deliver consistent power throughout the shift and many drivers are quite familiar with the source of power.
Several of the diesel and gas engines drawbacks consist of: they require much more maintenance than electric versions, because of the emissions they release, they are not appropriate to be utilized indoors, there is some cost and difficulty connected to disposal of fluid and oil and they require a re-fueling station on-site if they are going to be utilized always.