Tuesday, January 16, 2007
Forklifts Trucks
A forklift truck, a lift truck or a forklift is a powered industrial truck used to lift and transport materials, normally by means of steel forks inserted under the load. Forklifts are most commonly used to move loads stored on pallets.Forklift trucks are available in many variations and load capacities. In a typical warehouse setting most forklifts used have load capacities of around one to five tons. (Machines of over 50 tonnes capacity have been built and operated.)
In addition to control a raise or lower the forks (also known as blades or tines), the operator can tilt the mast to compensate for a load's tendency to angle the blades toward the ground, and risk slipping off the forks. Tilt also provides a limited ability to operate on non-level ground. Some machines also allow the operator to move the tines and backrest laterally(side-shift), allowing easier placement of a load. To aid the handling of skids that may have become excessively tilted or other specialty material handling needs, some forklifts are fitted with a mechanism that allows the tines to be rotated. Also, a few machines offer a hydraulic control to move the tines together or apart, removing the need for the operator to get out of the cab to manually adjust for a differently sized load.
Today's Market:
Five companies now dominate the counterbalanced forklift market in terms of worldwide sales. They are:
Toyota Industries Corporation (3.47 M€ in '03/04)
KION Group (2.94 M€ in '03)
Jungheinrich (1.35 M€ in '03)
NACCO Industries, Inc. (1.27 M€ in '03) with YaleandHyster Brands
Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (0.95 M€ in '03/04) with Mitsubishi and Caterpillar brands
