The forklift has become such an invaluable piece of machine found and used in most industrial operations and warehousing, since its introduction to the market more than 90 years ago in the 1920's. Amongst the forklift's pioneers, Clark has grown to become an industry top supplier in the material handling industry. Other well-known names in the making of these machines include: Nissan, Yale, Hyster Toyota, Mitsubishi and Cat.
The Hyster type of lift truck has become one of the industries most popular manufacturers. The truth is, in several places, the word "Hyster" is synonymous with forklift. Various other names for this industrial lifting machinery comprise: fork truck, stacker truck, high/low, lift truck and jitney.
It was in the 19th century that the machinery ancestors of the forklift was first developed. At this time, battery-powered, small units were made for the purpose of moving traveler's baggage at the Altoona train station in Pennsylvania. In the First World War, various kinds were made within England particularly to be utilized 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 variety of configurations and sizes. There are the large truck-mounted forklift units that 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 which are basically robotic in nature. These units were developed as a way of lowering operational costs and to improve productivity.
A common lift truck is able to use a huge range of attachments which are capable of being added for a variety of particular functions. The motors can be IC or internal combustion units, running on propane, diesel or gasoline, or there are battery operated options that need regular charging. Standard warehouse units will normally be rated to lift between approximately 1 and 5 tons.
The forklift has become a priceless component within the material handling business. Many of these models are used every day all around the world to perform jobs that used to require a lot more man-power. Operators must take stringent training programs in order to safely and legally operate these heavy equipment. Many employees have better health overall and longer careers now due to their not having to lift things by hand anymore since the forklifts are capable of handling those situations now instead.