Ever since its introduction during the early 1920s, the forklift has become an invaluable piece of machine found in numerous warehousing and industrial operations. Clark, one of the pioneers of the very first forklift, has grown to become a leader within the material handling business and still remains a leading supplier. Other popular names in the making of these machines comprise: Cat, Toyota, Mitsubishi, Nissan, Yale and Hyster.
The Hyster type of forklift has become amongst the industries most popular manufacturers. The truth is, in some places, the word "Hyster" is synonymous with forklift. Various other names for this industrial lifting equipment consist of: stacker truck, fork truck, lift truck, jitney and high/low.
The ancestor of today's machinery was first developed in the early part of the 19th century. At this time, battery-powered, small models were made for the purpose of transporting traveler's baggage at the Altoona train station in Pennsylvania. In WWI, various versions were developed within England particularly for use 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 variety of sizes and configurations. There are the big truck-mounted lift truck models which are also called sod loaders and then the opposite end of the spectrum has small hand truck models. There are also a line of automated versions referred to as forklift automated guided vehicles that are basically robotic in nature. These models were made to improve productivity and as a means of lowering operational expenses.
A common lift truck is able to utilize a wide array of attachments that are capable of being added for a range of particular functions. The motors can be IC or internal combustion units, running on diesel, gasoline or propane, or there are battery operated options which require regular charging. Standard warehouse units would usually be rated to raise between around 1 and 5 tons.
Since their evolution, lift trucks have become a priceless component of the material handling business. Thousands of these units are utilized on a daily basis throughout the world to complete jobs that used to need much more man-power. Operators need to take stringent training programs so as to safely and legally run these heavy machinery. Many workers have better health overall and longer careers now due to their not having to lift objects by hand anymore as the forklifts can handle those situations now instead.