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The History of The Fork Lift Truck
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Episode 1 - The Need For Mechanisation
 Warehouse & Logistics News is proud to bring you the first instalment in an exclusive series on the history of the forklift truck, which has transformed the face of materials handling around the world.
The writer is James Brindley, an acknowledged authority on forklift trucks. In James's distinguished career he has worked in engineering and management roles with BT Rolatruc and served as a Director of the Fork Lift Truck Association, before setting up the National Fork Truck Heritage Centre in 2004.
You will be hearing a lot more from James and the Heritage Centre in these pages, as we will be telling you just why the Heritage Centre needs your support. Now sit back and enjoy the first part of our new series.
The History of The Fork Lift Truck
By James Brindley, Director, National Fork Truck Heritage Centre
Ask most people within the materials handling industry why we have so many different types of machine to do the same sort of job, and they will differ greatly with their replies. The correct answer is of course that there is no single correct answer, because customer needs and finances have to be balanced on the one hand, whilst on the other the best possible solution has to be found for their workplace problem.
These are the main reasons for such diversity and why there are still so many types of machines that are used within our industry. Some of these machines first came into being during Victorian times but others, even though the technology was available, had to wait until the beginning of the following century for their turn.
The Evolution of the Forklift Truck
From the middle of the nineteenth century the growth of Great BritainŐs industrial base has created an ever-increasing need for the mechanisation of goods movement in the workshop and factory.
This requirement was satisfied in the early stages by the use of basic manually propelled equipment such as the sack truck. Some of these were later modified for specific tasks in the chemical and gas industries, where large drums and cylinders had to be moved.
 Agriculture also benefited from these modifications, with an interesting version of the sack truck. These can still be seen on some farms, and can be easily recognised by the cranked handle, situated to one side of the uprights. The mechanism is attached to one end of an open link chain, the other end being secured to a moving platform that runs between the uprights.
By rotating the handle, the load can be moved up or down a distance of some five feet. This height was found to be ideal for loading and unloading heavy items such as sacks of grain and full milk churns, which were carried on the horse drawn carts.
As the different companies increased their range of goods, other types of hand-operated equipment were introduced. These took the form of hand-powered platform trucks, four-wheeled trailers and wheeled stillages, and made possible the horizontal movement of multiple loads. Moving large amounts of goods in this way was, to say the least, slow and cumbersome, so there could be no surprise when automation came upon the scene.
As with most of the early automated materials handling equipment, these developments first appeared in the U.S.A., and around 1910 the American market saw the introduction of the first powered platform trucks. The first designs were driven by electric motor and carried a traction battery to supply the power. Safety considerations, in keeping with the design, were fairly basic and incorporated a cramped standing area at the front to provide support for the operator and manual controls.
To be continued in next issue.
If you would like to support the National Fork Truck Heritage Centre, call James Brindley on 0780 195 4167
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