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