The History of The Fork Lift Truck
Episode 23: 1955 - Britain's Truck Manufacturers' Association publishes Code of Practice
Late in the summer of 1955 the compact, three-wheeled, electric 'Piccolift' was produced by Steinbock to be sold in Britain and the USA. This machine had a 24-volt battery and was capable of lifting 0.6 tonnes, with a choice of mast to 2.9 metres or 3.5 metres. Such was its popularity that it still survives in many applications today.
 Towmotor also launched a new model at this time, which was designed to work in the American port areas. The machine, which had a lift capacity of 2.3 tonnes, was also stated to be especially suitable for working on board ships. It had a full free lift of 2.2 metres and with an overall lift height of 3.3 metres it would certainly have been ideal for work between decks.
Another machine with special features was now on proving trials in Britain. The Conveyancer 'Overlander' had been produced to work in the conditions frequently met by public works contractors at home and abroad. Its rugged design also made it suitable for work in timber yards, airfields, harbour installations and oilfield work such as laying pipelines. Features included driver selection of two or four wheel drive, with a similar selection for power-assisted steering. Two sets of foot controls and steering wheels, front and aft, and an adjustable swivel type pedestal seat enabled the driver to face either direction of travel. When the driving position was changed, the operator also had the option of matching the chosen direction with four forward speeds and one reverse. Road speeds of up to 30mph were available to the driver by choice of the higher range in the dual selection gearbox. The power for this road vehicle/forklift truck was supplied by a six-cylinder diesel engine through a torque converter and a pneumatically controlled, epicyclic gearbox.
In September 1955, Lansing Bagnall's two joint governing directors celebrated the 21st anniversary of their business partnership. Mr E. Kaye and Mr J. R. Sharp invited every member of Lansing Bagnall Ltd and its associate companies to join them in the celebrations.
Another company in the news was ITD Ltd, the agents for the Aerolift and Stacatruc models. They were reported to have purchased the Clifford Aero and Auto Company, which manufactured the Aerolift forklift truck.
Also newsworthy was a booklet published by the recently formed British-based Industrial Truck Manufacturers Association, giving a recommended code of practice for the industry. Among other concerns this covered construction and design, capacity ratings, operation of equipment and operators' safety rules and regulations. The safety rules featured a do`s and don`ts section with humorous illustrated situation cartoons.
To complete the main headline stories of 1955, a new British company was designing and producing forklift trucks. Diac Ltd of New Addington, London launched the 'Diamatic' forklift truck, which incorporated automatic transmission and a full free lift mast. The truck used a 14.7 horsepower Perkins P3 diesel engine and a Brockhouse torque converter to give road speeds in excess of 10 mph. Maximum lift heights of up to 3.7 metres could be attained, and there were two lift capacities of 1.8 tonnes and 2.3 tonnes that were shared between the eight variant models.
To be continued
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For further information about this company's activities in the warehouse and logistics industry please contact:
James Brindley
07801 954 167 |
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