Lift trucks were introduced onto the market in the beginning of the 20th Century. These machinery have played a hugely powerful role within the recycling industry and have also revolutionized the material handling industry. The factors for safe utilization, the lift truck's evolution and the many different types are discussed below.
History of Lift Trucks
Powered industrial trucks are also called forklifts and lift trucks, were first introduced and invented during 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 types of machinery were used for transporting supplies within a store, like work-in-progress situations. During the latter part of 1910s, high lift trucks initially emerged and improvements in truck design started to take root from there. The tier trucks eventually developed and this allowed for greater stacking of loads and storage efficiency.
Throughout the 1930s, there were some really hard economic times. Nonetheless, in this time, labor was freely available but capital for investment was more and more difficult to come by. This situation really slowed the growth of forklift usage.
In the second World War, forklifts became a strategic part of the war effort. During that era, vast shortages in manpower happened resulting from the wartime enlistment. It was found that its operator and the lift truck could deal with the work of many men and were really productive. As the War progressed, many women operators filled the numerous 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 within Australia left behind by the United States Military became the basis for the Commonwealth Handling Equipment Pool or CHEP, who today is referred to as the world's largest pallet pooling company.
Gasoline/Diesel
Gasoline and diesel engines have lots of advantages. They are always available all around the globe; they deliver consistent power throughout the shift, they are great for heavy duty workloads and a lot of drivers are quite familiar with the source of power.
Several of the diesel and gas engines drawbacks include: they require much more maintenance than electric units, due to the emissions they release, they are not suitable to be used indoors, there is some cost and difficulty connected to disposal of oil and fluid and they require a re-fueling station on-site if they are going to be utilized always.