Since its introduction during the early 1920s, the lift truck has become an invaluable piece of machinery found in many industrial operations and warehousing. Clark, amongst the pioneers of the first forklift, has grown to become a leader within the material handling business and still remains a top supplier. Various other well-known names in the making of these machines include: Mitsubishi, Cat, Toyota, Hyster, Nissan and Yale.
The Hyster brand of forklift has become among the industries most popular manufacturers. The truth is, in some regions, the word "Hyster" is synonymous with forklift. Different other names for this industrial lifting machinery include: high/low, lift truck, jitney, stacker truck and fork truck.
The ancestor of today's equipment was first made in the early part of the 19th century. At this time, small, battery-powered units were invented for the purpose of transporting traveler's baggage at the Altoona train station in Pennsylvania. In WWI, various types were made 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 sizes and configurations. There are the large truck-mounted forklift units which 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 which are practically robotic in nature. These models were made as a way of lowering operational expenses and to improve production.
A common lift truck is able to utilize a huge array of attachments which are capable of being added for a range of specific functions. The motors could be IC or internal combustion models, working on diesel, gasoline or propane, or there are battery operated options which need regular charging. Standard warehouse units would normally be rated to raise between roughly 1 and 5 tons.
The forklift has become a priceless component within the material handling business. Many of these units are utilized on a daily basis throughout the world to complete jobs that used to require a lot more man-power. Operators should take stringent training courses in order to operate these heavy equipment safely and legally. Many workers have better overall health and longer careers now due to their not having to lift objects by hand anymore since the forklifts are capable of handling those situations now instead.