Forklifts were introduced onto the market in the beginning of the 20th Century. These machines have played a tremendously powerful role in the recycling business and have also changed the material handling business. The factors for safe operation, the forklift's evolution and the various different kinds are discussed below.
History of Lift Trucks
These powered industrial trucks, also known as lift trucks and forklifts, were invented and launched to the market in the late 19th century. Initially, these units were low lift trucks which were just capable of raising platforms a few inches from the ground. Usually, these equipment were utilized for moving material within a store, such as work-in-progress situations. During the late 1910s, high lift trucks initially emerged and improvements in truck design began to take root from there. The tier trucks ultimately evolved and this allowed for better storage efficiency and stacking of loads.
In the 1930s, there were some extremely tough economic times. However, in this period, labor was freely available but money for investment was increasingly harder to come by. This situation greatly slowed the growth of lift truck usage.
In WWII, forklifts became a strategic part of the war effort. In that period, vast shortages in manpower occurred resulting from the wartime enlistment. It was found that its operator and the forklift could deal with the work of many men and were extremely productive. As the War continued, lots of women operators filled the many demands. When the war was over, lift trucks became a mainstay of the material handling industry. They were utilized a lot in the Pacific war efforts. Several of the leftover pallets and forklifts within Australia left behind by the U.S. Military became the basis for the CHEP or Commonwealth Handling Equipment Pool, who today is known as the largest pallet pooling company in the globe.
Diesel/Gasoline
Gasoline and diesel engines have numerous benefits. They are readily available all over the globe; they are great for heavy duty workloads, they deliver consistent power throughout the shift and many operators are quite familiar with the source of power.
A few of the major drawbacks of diesel and gasoline models include: they need a lot more maintenance compared to electric units, because of the emissions they release, they are not appropriate to be used indoors, there is some cost and difficulty connected to oil and fluid disposal and they need a re-fueling post on-site if they are going to be in continuous use.