Since its introduction in the early 1920s, the lift truck has become an important piece of machinery found in many industrial operations and warehousing. Clark, one of the pioneers of the very first lift truck, has grown to become a leader in the material handling business and still remains a leading supplier. Other popular names in the manufacturing of these equipment consist of: Mitsubishi, Cat, Toyota, Hyster, Nissan and Yale.
The Hyster brand of forklift has become among the industries most popular manufacturers. The truth is, in several regions, the word "Hyster" is synonymous with forklift. Other common names for this industrial lifting machines include: stacker truck, fork truck, jitney, high/low and lift truck.
The ancestor of today's equipment was first developed during the early 19th century. At this time, small, battery-powered models were invented for the purpose of moving traveler's luggage in Pennsylvania at the Altoona train station. In WWI, some different kinds were developed within England specifically for use in the material handling business. 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 big truck-mounted forklift models that are also known as 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 that are practically robotic in nature. These models were made to improve production and as a means of lowering operational costs.
A regular forklift is able to use a wide array of attachments which are capable of being added for a variety of particular functions. The motors could be internal combustion or IC units, running on propane, diesel or gasoline, or there are battery operated options that require regular charging. Typical warehouse models would usually be rated to raise between about 1 and 5 tons.
The forklift has become a priceless component within the material handling industry. Thousands of these units are used on a daily basis all over the globe to complete tasks which used to need much more man-power. Operators should take stringent training courses in order to legally and safely run these heavy machinery. Lots of employees have longer careers now and better health overall due to their not having to raise objects manually anymore because the forklifts are capable of handling those situations now instead.