Lift trucks were launched onto the market in the beginning of the 20th Century. These equipment have played a tremendously powerful part within the recycling industry and have also changed the material handling business. The considerations for safe use, the lift truck's evolution and the many different types are discussed below.
History of Forklifts
Powered industrial trucks are also called lift trucks and forklifts, were originally launched and created in the latter part of the 19th Century. These initial units were low lift trucks which could raise platforms only a few inches from the ground. Normally, these machines were used for moving supplies in a shop, such as work-in-progress situations. In the late 1910s, high lift trucks initially emerged and improvements in truck design started to take root from there. The tier trucks eventually evolved and this allowed for greater storage efficiency and stacking of loads.
There were really difficult economic times in the 1930s. Nevertheless, during this particular period, labor was freely available but capital for investment was increasingly more difficult to come by. This situation greatly slowed the growth of forklift usage.
Lift trucks became a very strategic part of the WWII war effort since the vast shortages in manpower in that time occurred as a resulting of enlistment of thousands of men. It was found that a forklift and its operator were extremely productive and can handle the work of many men. As the War progressed, a lot of women operators filled the numerous demands. By the time the war was over, lift trucks became a mainstay of the material handling business. They were utilized a lot in the Pacific war efforts. Some of the leftover pallets and lift trucks in Australia left behind by the United States Military became the basis for the Commonwealth Handling Equipment Pool or CHEP, who today is known as the world's largest pallet pooling company.
Diesel/Gasoline
There are numerous advantages to using a diesel or gas powered engine. They are readily available around the world; they are great 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 diesel and gas engines drawbacks include: they need a lot more maintenance than electric units, because of the emissions they release, they are not appropriate for indoor applications, there is some difficulty and cost connected to fluid and oil disposal and they need a re-fueling station on-site if they are going to be used always.