Forklifts were launched onto the market during the beginning of the 20th Century. These machinery have played a tremendously powerful part in the recycling industry and have also revolutionized the material handling industry. The considerations for safe use, the forklift's evolution and the various different kinds are discussed below.
History of Lift Trucks
These powered industrial trucks, also referred to as lift trucks and forklifts, were created and launched to the market during the late 19th century. Originally, these models were low lift trucks which were just capable of raising platforms a few inches from the ground. Generally, these types of equipment were used for moving material inside a store, such as work-in-progress situations. In the late 1910s, high lift trucks first emerged and truck design enhancements started to take root from there. The tier trucks eventually evolved and this allowed for better storage effectiveness and stacking of loads.
There were extremely hard economic times throughout the 1930s. Nonetheless, during this particular period, labor was freely available but capital for investment was increasingly harder to come by. This situation significantly slowed the growth of lift truck usage.
In the second World War, lift trucks became a strategic part of the war effort. In that era, vast shortages in manpower occurred resulting from the wartime enlistment. It was found that a forklift and its driver could handle the work of numerous men and were very productive. As the War continued, numerous women operators filled the numerous demands. By the time the war was over, forklifts became a mainstay of the material handling industry. They were used a lot in the Pacific war efforts. A few of the leftover pallets and forklifts within Australia left behind by the United States Military became the basis for the CHEP or Commonwealth Handling Equipment Pool, who today is known as the world's largest pallet pooling company.
Gasoline/Diesel
There are many benefits to utilizing a diesel or gas powered engine. They are readily available all around the world; they are perfect for heavy duty workloads, they deliver consistent power throughout the shift and a lot of operators are quite familiar with the source of power.
Some of the gas and diesel engines disadvantages include: they require a lot more maintenance than electric versions, due to the emissions they release, they are not appropriate to be utilized indoors, there is some cost and difficulty associated to disposal of oil and fluid and they require a re-fueling station on-site if they are going to be used always.