Since its introduction during the early 1920s, the forklift has become an invaluable piece of machinery found in many warehousing and industrial operations. Clark, amongst the pioneers of the very first forklift, has grown to become a leader within the material handling business and still remains a top supplier. Other popular names in the manufacturing of these machines include: Cat, Toyota, Mitsubishi, Nissan, Yale and Hyster.
Hyster has grown to become amongst the most popular units of lift trucks within the business. In fact, in several places, the word "Hyster" is synonymous with forklift. Other common names for this industrial lifting equipment consist of: lift truck, jitney, high/low, stacker truck and fork truck.
The ancestor of today's machines was initially developed in the early 19th century. At this time, battery-powered, small models were made for the purpose of moving traveler's baggage within Pennsylvania at the Altoona train station. During the First World War, various kinds were made in England specially to be used in the material handling business. These machinery evolved as a solution to the lack of manpower at that time.
The modern equivalents come in a range of configurations and sizes. There are the large truck-mounted forklift units which 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 models were made as a means of lowering operational costs and to improve productivity.
A common forklift is able to use a wide array of attachments which are capable of being added for a range of particular functions. The motors can be IC or internal combustion units, working on diesel, gasoline or propane, or there are battery operated options that require regular charging. Typical warehouse models will usually be rated to lift between roughly 1 and 5 tons.
Since their evolution, lift trucks have become a priceless component of the material handling business. Thousands of these models are utilized each day all around the world to complete jobs that used to need a lot more man-power. Operators need to take stringent training programs so as to operate these heavy equipment legally and safely. Many employees have longer careers now and better health overall due to their not having to raise items by hand anymore because the forklifts can handle those situations now instead.