George Raymond Sr. was instrumental in developing the first electric, narrow aisle lift truck, the double-faced wooden pallet and the hydraulic hand pallet truck.

The Raymond Corporation’s founder George Raymond Sr. was announced as an inductee into the 2019 Supply Chain Hall of Fame by the Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals(CSCMP) at the recent EDGE Conference in Anaheim, Calif.

George Raymond Sr. established Raymond in 1922 when he purchased a foundry in Greene, N.Y. Seventeen years later, George Raymond Sr. was granted patents for the double-faced wooden pallet and the hydraulic hand pallet truck, revolutionizing the material handling industry.

Always the visionary, George Raymond Sr. was instrumental in developing the first electric, narrow aisle lift truck. Able to operate in aisles less than 7 feet and without a counterbalancing chassis, the vehicle preserved its gravitational integrity by straddling the pallet with baselegs, the basic principle for all narrow aisle trucks from that point on. This truck cemented Raymond’s place as the undisputed leader in the material handling industry.

“The principles instilled by my grandfather in 1922 are the same values that continue to define The Raymond Corporation to this day,” said Steve Raymond, former vice president of The Raymond Corporation and former president and CEO of the Raymond Handling Concepts Corporation, an authorized Raymond Sales & Service Center. “The company’s vision and penchant for innovation were part of Raymond’s core beliefs from the very beginning and continue to help us pioneer high-productivity material handling solutions.”

CSCMP established the Supply Chain Hall of Fame in 2016 and honors individuals who have made outstanding contributions to the supply chain discipline and served as role models to supply chain students, young professionals, budding entrepreneurs or career supply chain professionals.