In the past century years, the on-going innovative material handling technology has released the human’s hands from heavy-duty work, playing quite important roles in the commercial activity and industrial development.
Beginning with the first Truclift (Tructractor) made by innovative American Clark Corporation earlier in 1917, global material handling industry moved into an extremely new era.
According to the rough statistics of Chinaforklift.com (www.chinaforklift.com, English Version: www.forkliftnet.com ), nowadays there are more than 500 enterprises engaging in handling equipments. By the year 2007, nearly 1 million sets of power forklifts as well as several million sets of manual handling equipments were manufactured and consumed all through the world. The total industrial scale of forklifts exceeded 10 billion dollars.
Material handling equipments are referred to the machineries used to load, unload, transport, lift, descend, stack and stock materials in locations such as terminals, material yards, mines and commercial warehouse, generally including industrial trucks (forklift, tractor and so on), heavy-duty machinery, conveyor, loading/unloading machinery and warehouse equipment.
Before ICE (internal combustion engine) appeared, people relied on manpower, livestock, water power and wind power to handle and transport the materials.
In 1917, the engineering technicians in Clark Corporation successfully installed the internal combustion engine onto their Truclift. At that time, there was no hydraulic apparatus on the material handling truck just like a modern dumping truck. However, this truck was truly an epoch-making invention and the forerunner of the modern forklifts. Based on this invention, Clark technicians made out a machine with real fork handling function—forklift, that is, the machinery with fork to lift and descend materials in 1924. Although Tructractor was quite different with today’s forklift in the rough and ugly external form, it was also featured with such basic factors as engine, counter-weight, fork and lifting oil cylinder (single cylinder). Right after World War I, the forklifts invented by Clark started serving great material handling markets around the world while serving the war.
Hereafter is some brief introduction on development course of global material handling equipment and technology, among which lots are revolutionary events:
In 1917, Clark—US, development of the Tructractor, the forerunner of ICE forklift truck;
In 1924, Clark—US, design of the Duat, forerunner of the classic forklift truck;
In 1925, Yale—US, first commercially battery forklift;
In 1937, MIAG-Germany, launch of electronic explosion-proof tractor;
In 1943, Steinbock—Germany, first electric three-wheel lift truck in Europe;
In 1947, BT—Sweden, first mechanical hand pallet truck;
In 1949, Hyster—US, first ICE three-wheeled lift-truck;
In 1951, Steinbock—Germany, first production rough terrain truck;
In 1953, handling tool AGV without manual operation was invented;
In 1963, Steinbock-fasted forklift truck in the world (50km/h);
In 1969, Moffet—first truck mounted forklift;
In 1973, Pyroban—Britain, firstly application of explosion-proof technology on the forklift;
In 1981, Merlo—Italy and Manitou—France, launch of first telescopic handler;
In 1985, Kalmar, production of first RTG;
In 1996, Airtrax—US, application of universal wheel technology from Sweden and launch of universal forklift and universal lifting platform;
In 1998, Stocklini produced first AC trucks;
Bauwmann—Germany built largest (30T) electric sideloader;
In 2005, Kalmar began to use PE4000 series of electric pallet truck using hydrogen as fuel supplied by Crown Equipment Company;
In 2006, Intermec and Cascade jointly developed conceptive RFID forklift;
In 2008, Still and Toyota launched hybrid fuel cell forklifts respectively;
Toyota and Linde launched hydrogen fuel cell forklift;
Junheinrich launched oxide fuel cell battery forklift.
Seeing from the development course of forklift technology, we can find that in 1924, 1925 and 2005, people firstly used three different fuels to drive forklifts—patrol, battery and hydrogen fuel cell, which were unprecedented technological revolution in the history of material handling. These have thoroughly released hands from the original role of handling. Whatsoever, these three development processes are some quality leap forward, during which forklift as the main force of material handling equipments are playing an important role.
As for innovation on technological method of forklift in material handling industry, Steinbock produced the first electric three-wheeled forklift in Europe as well as in the world. Three-wheeled forklift provided more charming solution for saving handling area and space. As the turning radius of forklift was shorter, the space for using becomes more. In 1951, all-terrain forklifts appeared on the market. Before all-terrain forklifts, common forklifts mostly conducted handling operation on smooth and solid ground, and now terrain forklifts can be operated without the limitation of working area. The first batch of users of terrain forklifts were armies from NATO, North Atlantic Treaty Organization. In 1958, Atlet produced the first electric stacker in the world, which could offer better solution for handling light loads in narrow area.
It’s valuable to point out that forklift with power apparatus was invented earlier than hand trucks which was firstly invented by BT in 1946. Today, China has become the largest export country of hand trucks and every year millions of hand trucks are exported to Europe and America. Ironically, these two European forklift manufacturers BT and Atlet with innovation and long history had been acquired by Japanese Toyota (world ranking No.1) and Nissan (No.8), which could not get away from the fate of being defeated in the fierce market competition. In Europe, we cannot find manufacturers of hand trucks basically, mostly of whom came to China to manufacture under their brands or acquire Chinese local hand truck manufacturers.
Since 1950s, different types of material handling technology merged out. AGV without operator has always been the ultimate material handling solution till today. However, without operator resulted the fixation of handling lines and limitation of application area of AGV, which are generally the ideal handling tool for large-scaled cross-national companies and military organism to handle precision and expensive loads. Due to the manufacturing cost and core technology of AGV, it cannot be used extensively as common forklifts.
After 1960s, European material handling technology expert invented truck-mounted forklifts, which solved the issues of loading trucks to load and unload in the remote places. These forklifts could still be seen in Europe and America till now. At the beginning of 1980s, telescopic handler and hinge forklift was made into use, which improved the lifting height of forklift after loading materials and maneuverability in handling locations to the extreme extent.
The most stunning technology of material handling must be the invention of universal forklifts. The patent right of universal wheel was possess by a Swedish inventor, who later sold it to an American company. US Navy Forces bought out this patent and applied on handling warship after improvement. In 1996, US Navy Forces transferred this technology through commercial research and development agreement (CRADA)to Airtrax, which firstly developed a series of practical and economic universal forklifts and platform trailer after systematic test and re-design using new conception and technology.
Till today, people never stop using innovative material handling technology to handle normal or anomaly materials, such as container, stone, timber, prefabricated concrete units, steel and glass. Material handling equipments are not only used on smooth and solid roads, but also operated on the muddy ground, climbing up the stairs or entering mining area which needs to be explosion-proofed.
Numbers of technicians in material handling industry made their every effort to apply new technological concept onto new products, giving birth to more forward-looking products, RFID –conceptive forklift with intelligent terminal. This technology has varied forklift from former pure handling tool to a handler with intelligence and identification ability, significantly enhancing the working efficiency and quality of forklifts during material handing process.
All of this tells us that the innovation of material handling equipment around the world is various while applicable. People will comply with one rule when inventing and innovating as using high-efficient handling to reduce logistics cost while taking the concept of human-oriented. Moreover, high-efficient handling shall rely on high technology, which again refers to invention and innovation.
If USA is the invention center while Europe is the innovation origin for material handling technology, China is making the effort to take place of Japan to be the manufacturing country of material handling equipment in the world, and then it is time to see who rules the material handling equipment industry.
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