The lift truck has become such an important piece of machine found and used in most warehousing and industrial operations, since its introduction to the market more than 90 years ago during the 1920's. One of the forklift's pioneers, Clark has grown to become an industry leading supplier in the material handling industry. Various other popular names in the manufacturing of these machinery include: Nissan, Yale, Hyster Mitsubishi, Cat and Toyota.
The Hyster brand of forklift has become among the industries most popular manufacturers. In fact, in some places, the word "Hyster" is synonymous with forklift. Other common names for this industrial lifting equipment consist of: stacker truck, fork truck, lift truck, jitney and high/low.
It was during the 19th century that the equipment ancestors of the forklift was first developed. At this time, battery-powered, small units were invented for the purpose of moving traveler's baggage at the Altoona train station in Pennsylvania. In WWI, various versions were developed in England specifically for use in the material handling industry. These equipment evolved as a solution to the lack of manpower at that time.
Today's machines come in various configurations and sizes. Sod loaders are big truck-mounted forklift models and several of the bigger machinery, while the smaller machines consist of hand truck models. There are also a line of automated versions known as forklift automated guided vehicles that are basically robotic in nature. These models were developed as a means of lowering operational expenses and to improve productivity.
A common forklift is able to use a huge array of attachments that are capable of being added for a range of particular functions. The motors can be internal combustion or IC models, working on diesel, gasoline or propane, or there are battery operated options which need regular charging. Typical warehouse units will usually be rated to lift between about 1 and 5 tons.
The lift truck has become a priceless component in the material handling industry. Many of these units are utilized every day throughout the globe to perform jobs which used to require much more man-power. Operators should take stringent training courses in order to legally and safely operate these heavy equipment. Many employees have longer careers now and better health overall due to their not having to lift items manually anymore since the forklifts are capable of handling those situations now instead.