Lift trucks were introduced onto the market in the beginning of the 20th Century. These equipment have played a tremendously 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 various different types are discussed below.
History of Lift Trucks
These powered industrial trucks, also referred to as forklifts and lift trucks, were created and launched to the market in the late 19th century. Originally, these units were low lift trucks that were just capable of raising platforms a few inches high. Generally, these types of machines were used for transporting material inside a shop, such as work-in-progress situations. During the latter part of 1910s, high lift trucks first emerged and truck design improvements began to take root from there. The tier trucks ultimately evolved and this allowed for better stacking of loads and storage effectiveness.
During the 1930s, there were some really difficult economic times. Nevertheless, throughout this time, labor was freely available but money for investment was increasingly harder to come by. This situation greatly slowed the growth of forklift usage.
In World War II, forklifts became a strategic part of the war effort. In that period, vast shortages in manpower happened resulting from the wartime enlistment. It was found that a lift truck and its operator were extremely productive and can deal with the work of many men. As the War progressed, numerous women drivers filled the many demands. When the war was over, forklifts became a mainstay of the material handling industry. They were used a lot in the Pacific war efforts. Some of the leftover pallets and forklifts in Australia left behind by the U.S. Military became the basis for the Commonwealth Handling Equipment Pool or CHEP, who today is referred to as the largest pallet pooling business in the globe.
Diesel/Gasoline
There are numerous advantages to utilizing a diesel or gas powered engine. They are always available all 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 gas and diesel engines disadvantages consist of: they need a lot more maintenance compared to electric units, because of the emissions they release, they are not suitable for indoor applications, 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 in continuous use.