Lift trucks were launched onto the market during the start of the 20th Century. These equipment have played a tremendously powerful role in the recycling business and have also changed the material handling business. The factors for safe operation, the lift truck'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 introduced to the market in the late 19th century. At first, these units were low lift trucks which were only capable of raising platforms several inches from the ground. Generally, these machines were used for moving material in a store, like work-in-progress situations. In the late 1910s, high lift trucks first emerged and improvements in truck design began to take root from there. The tier trucks ultimately developed and this allowed for better storage efficiency and stacking of loads.
There were really hard economic times in the 1930s. However, in this specific time, labor was freely available but capital for investment was increasingly harder to come by. This situation really slowed the growth of lift truck usage.
During the second World War, lift trucks became a strategic part of the war effort. During that period, vast shortages in manpower occurred resulting from the wartime enlistment. It was discovered that a lift truck and its operator could deal with the work of many men and were extremely productive. As the War continued, many women drivers filled the many demands. When the war was over, forklifts became a mainstay of the material handling industry. They were utilized a lot in the Pacific war efforts. A few of the leftover pallets and lift trucks in 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 world's biggest pallet pooling business.
Gasoline/Diesel
Gasoline and diesel engines have a lot of benefits. They are always available around the globe; they are perfect for heavy duty workloads, they deliver consistent power throughout the shift and numerous operators are quite familiar with the source of power.
Some of the diesel and gas engines disadvantages include: they need much more maintenance than electric models, due to the emissions they release, they are not appropriate to be used indoors, there is some difficulty and cost associated to fluid and oil disposal and they require a re-fueling post on-site if they are going to be in continuous use.