Lift trucks were launched 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 changed the material handling business. The considerations for safe operation, the lift truck's evolution and the many different kinds are discussed below.
History of Lift Trucks
These powered industrial trucks, also known as lift trucks and forklifts, were created and introduced to the market during the late 19th century. Initially, these units were low lift trucks which were just capable of raising platforms several inches high. Normally, these kinds of machines were used for transporting material in a shop, such as 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 evolved and this allowed for better stacking of loads and storage efficiency.
There were really hard economic times during the 1930s. Nonetheless, throughout this particular period, labor was freely available but money for investment was increasingly more difficult to come by. This situation greatly slowed the growth of lift truck usage.
Lift trucks became a very strategic part of the WWII war effort since the vast shortages in manpower during that time occurred as a resulting of enlistment of thousands of men. It was discovered that its driver and the lift truck can handle the work of many men and were very productive. As the War progressed, numerous women drivers filled the many demands. By the time the war was over, forklifts became a mainstay of the material handling industry. They were utilized a lot in the Pacific war efforts. Some 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 known as the largest pallet pooling company in the world.
Gasoline/Diesel
There are numerous benefits to using a diesel or gas powered engine. They are readily available around the globe; they are perfect for heavy duty workloads, they deliver consistent power throughout the shift and many operators are quite familiar with the source of power.
Some of the diesel and gas engines drawbacks consist of: they require much more maintenance compared to electric models, due to the emissions they release, they are not suitable for indoor applications, there is some difficulty and cost connected to oil and fluid disposal and they require a re-fueling post on-site if they are going to be in continuous use.