Since its introduction in the early 1920s, the forklift has become an invaluable piece of machinery found in numerous industrial operations and warehousing. Clark, among the pioneers of the very first forklift, has grown to become a leader within the material handling business and still remains a top supplier. Other well-known names in the making of these equipment consist of: Toyota, Mitsubishi, Cat, Hyster, Nissan and Yale.
Hyster has grown to become amongst the most popular units of forklifts within the industry. As a matter of fact, in several regions, the word "Hyster" is synonymous with forklift. Different other names for this industrial lifting machines include: stacker truck, fork truck, jitney, high/low and lift truck.
The ancestor of today's machines was first developed during the early 19th century. At this time, small, battery-powered units were invented for the purpose of moving traveler's luggage in Pennsylvania at the Altoona train station. In the First World War, some different types were developed in England specifically for use in the material handling industry. These equipment evolved as a solution to the lack of manpower at that time.
The modern equivalents come in a range of sizes and configurations. There are the large truck-mounted forklift units that are also referred to as sod loaders and then the opposite end of the spectrum has small hand truck models. There are also a line of automated versions known as forklift automated guided vehicles that are basically robotic in nature. These models were developed as a means of lowering operational expenses and to improve productivity.
A common lift truck is able to utilize a wide range of attachments which are capable of being added for a variety of specific functions. The motors can be IC or internal combustion units, working on propane, diesel or gasoline, or there are battery operated options which require regular charging. Standard warehouse units will normally be rated to lift between approximately 1 and 5 tons.
The forklift has become a priceless part within the material handling industry. Many of these models are utilized each and every day throughout the globe to complete jobs that used to need a lot more man-power. Operators should take stringent training programs in order to operate these heavy equipment legally and safely. Numerous employees have better overall health and longer careers now due to their not having to lift objects manually anymore since the forklifts are capable of handling those situations now instead.