Logistics and transport form the backbone of the business world. Most commercial businesses rely constantly on the movement of goods across countries to operate properly. Without these systems of transport, the business world would simply ground to a halt, failing to function without the network of transport that serves it. Even since the industrial age, the human race has relied heavily on transport via rivers and the seas to move goods such as coal and textiles around the country. We have advanced these systems so that they now serve us in a way that means that the world of commerce is now completely reliant on these measures. We need ships, planes, trains and trucks, but we also need intermediary tools to link all these systems together, and that is where the high lift pallet truck comes in.
History of The High Lift Pallet Truck
Pallets have been around for about 100 years and were conceived alongside the first folk lift, which was invented in 1915. Pallets are pre-dated by skids, which are essentially flat platforms that goods were placed upon so that they could be easily manoeuvred. Skids date back to the Ancient Egyptian times, where they were used to haul heavy objects. We know that the Egyptians would place items on the skids, then roll the skids along the ground on top of logs acting as rollers. It allowed heavy objects to be moved great distances. Fast forward a few millennia and we are still using the roller technique today, we have just integrated it into a functional tool known as the high lift pallet truck.
Businesses That Use These Tools
You may be surprised to learn that amount of companies that rely on these tools to carry out their day to day operations is quite staggering. Any business that needs to facilitate the sending or receiving of goods that are either of a large gross weight or any goods in a large volume, will rely on the high lift pallet truck. We are so reliant on these simple tools that we never even give a second thought to, without them, we would face safety issues, timekeeping problems, and the simple fact that some heavy goods that are pallet laden cannot be moved whatsoever.
The Beauty of Technology
We rarely give a second thought, but the fact is that these tools have undergone significant development over the years, and they are quite complex. To safely lift heavy goods to a suitable desired height, there are a number of factors that need to be considered. As a load is lifted up high, the lateral (or side to side) forces that then become an issue increase exponentially with height. This means that the pallet truck needs to be designed in a way that can handle these forces, but they also need be able to lower the forks low enough to get under the pallet so that it can be lifted. This all needs to be designed in a way that is cost-effective to the manufacturer and end-user.