The first forklift was invented more than 100 years ago. Today, we have forklifts that can drive themselves and others that can lift more than 100,000 lbs.
As you might imagine, the first forklift looked quite different from its modern cousins. Read on for a brief history of forklifts, including photos of old forklifts.
As early as 1913, people built vehicles that could lift loads and move them vertically and horizontally. An early version was a truck equipped with a small crane that attached to the vehicle.
In 1917, The Clark Material Handling Company introduced the Tructractor, often regarded as the first forklift. This vehicle was specially designed for warehouses and factories and was the first seated counterbalanced truck.
The first forklifts had a very limited capacity compared to forklifts today. But forklifts got a power boost in 1920 when hydraulic components were added.
In 1923, forklifts were equipped with a vertical lifting cantilever and started to look like the modern lift trucks we use today. Throughout the 1920s, designers added tilting masts, shortened wheelbases and welded joints to increase strength and efficiency.
In the 1930s, the history of the forklift becomes intertwined with the history of pallets. For many years, pallets came in all shapes and sizes. But when the first forklift with a mast was introduced in 1923, the material handling industry started narrowing the field to a few standard pallet sizes. The forklift industry followed suit, standardizing fork size, spacing and length.
By WWII, forklifts were used in a variety of industries. New manufacturers entered the market and prices leveled off. At this point, engineers started making additional improvements to differentiate their trucks.
Some of the earliest safety innovations included:
You may be surprised to learn battery-powered forklifts were used back in the 1950s. Some operations, such as food handling, need zero-emission equipment.
In recent years, lithium-ion batteries have revolutionized the electric forklift market. A lithium-ion forklift eliminates:
Many forklifts also have computers that improve accuracy, maneuverability and safety. Forklift attachments, such as sideshifters, fork positioners and the innovative single-double help operators do more work in less time.
Forklifts are more popular than ever. More than 500,000 people operate forklifts every day, and they're a vital cog in the global economy.
So what's the next big thing? We predict it's automated (self-driving) fork trucks. Toyota has two automated tow tractors available and Linde has autonomous tow tractors and pallet stackers.
Whether you're excited about the latest and greatest technology, want to convert your fleet to lithium-ion or simply have a forklift question, we'd love to hear from you. Our friendly experts can help you choose new or used material handling equipment, assist with a forklift rental or schedule forklift repair.
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