Ever since its introduction during the early 1920s, the lift truck has become an important piece of machinery found in numerous industrial operations and warehousing. Clark, amongst the pioneers of the first lift truck, has grown to become a leader within the material handling business and still remains a leading supplier. Various other well-known names in the manufacturing of these equipment include: Cat, Toyota, Mitsubishi, Hyster, Nissan and Yale.
Hyster has grown to become amongst the most popular units of forklifts in the business. The truth is, in several regions, the word "Hyster" is synonymous with forklift. Other common names for this industrial lifting machinery consist of: lift truck, jitney, high/low, fork truck and stacker truck.
It was during the 19th century that the equipment ancestors of the lift truck was initially made. At this time, battery-powered, small models were invented for the purpose of transporting traveler's baggage at the Altoona train station in Pennsylvania. During the First World War, various kinds were made within England particularly for use in the material handling industry. These machines evolved as a solution to the manpower shortage at that time.
The modern equivalents come in a variety of configurations and sizes. There are the large truck-mounted lift truck units which are also referred to as sod loaders and then the opposite end of the spectrum has small hand truck units. There are also a line of automated versions known as forklift automated guided vehicles that are practically robotic in nature. These units were made to improve production and as a way of lowering operational costs.
A common forklift is able to use a huge range of attachments that are capable of being added for a variety of particular functions. The motors could be internal combustion or IC models, working on gasoline, propane or diesel, or there are battery operated options which require regular charging. Typical warehouse units would normally be rated to raise between around 1 and 5 tons.
The forklift has become a priceless part in the material handling industry. Thousands of these units are utilized every day throughout the world to complete jobs that used to need much more man-power. Operators must take stringent training programs so as to safely and legally run these heavy machinery. Many employees have longer careers now and better overall health due to their not having to raise objects by hand anymore since the forklifts are capable of handling those situations now instead.