It was during the beginning of the 20th Century when the very first forklifts were introduced. These machinery during the last 90 plus years has revolutionized the material handling business and even the recycling industry. The factors for safe utilization, the lift truck's evolution and the many different types are discussed below.
History of Forklifts
Powered industrial trucks are also known as lift trucks and forklifts, were first launched and invented during the late 19th Century. These first models were low lift trucks which could raise platforms just several inches from the ground. Usually, these types of equipment were utilized for transporting material in a store, like work-in-progress situations. In the latter part of 1910s, high lift trucks initially emerged and improvements in truck design began to take root from there. The tier trucks eventually evolved and this allowed for greater stacking of loads and storage effectiveness.
There were really hard economic times throughout the 1930s. However, throughout this time, labor was freely available but capital for investment was increasingly more difficult to come by. This situation greatly slowed the growth of forklift usage.
In WWII, lift trucks became a strategic part of the war effort. In that era, vast shortages in manpower occurred resulting from the wartime enlistment. It was found that a forklift and its driver were extremely productive and could handle the work of numerous men. As the War progressed, many women operators filled the many demands. By the time the war was over, forklifts became a mainstay of the material handling business. They were utilized a lot in the Pacific war efforts. Several of the leftover pallets and forklifts in Australia left behind by the U.S. Military became the basis for the CHEP or Commonwealth Handling Equipment Pool, who today is referred to as the world's biggest pallet pooling business.
Diesel/Gasoline
Gasoline and diesel engines have numerous benefits. They are readily available all over the globe; they are perfect for heavy duty workloads, they deliver consistent power throughout the shift and numerous operators are quite familiar with the source of power.
Several of the gas and diesel engines disadvantages comprise: they need much more maintenance than electric models, due to the emissions they release, they are not appropriate for indoor applications, there is some cost and difficulty connected to fluid and oil disposal and they need a re-fueling post on-site if they are going to be utilized always.