Forklifts are industrial handling vehicles, wheeled handling vehicles can load and unload, stack, and short-distance transportation operations on pieces of palletized goods. Forklifts have greatly improved social production efficiency, liberated productivity, and made great contributions to modern industrial production. The first forklift recognized in the world was launched by CLARK Equipment Company in 1924. Strictly speaking, the first forklift in the world was CLARK Equipment Company installed a mast and lifting chain on the basis of Duat tractor. It can lift 1,000 pounds of weight.
In 1917, the United States invented the world’s first single-cylinder forklift with a lifting device (front-wheel steering). In 1932, a real forklift (front-wheel drive, rear-wheel steering) was invented, which became the true prototype and originator of modern forklifts. Once the vehicle was launched, it was immediately used by the US military for military purposes.
There is no doubt that in World War II, forklifts were widely used by the US military to load and unload military materials at airports and ports to the opposite shore (Europe and Asia) to defeat the fascist (Germany and Japan) demon. Therefore, the forklifts are credited for the US military aid materials that China obtained during the War of Resistance Against Japan!
Compared with the manual handling and loading and unloading since ancient times, the loading and unloading efficiency of forklifts is the best! After the war, with the rapid development of the automobile industry in Europe, America and Japan, forklifts gained unprecedented opportunities in terms of technological improvement and sales.
In 1928, CLARK Equipment Company launched Tructier. Tructier was the first internal combustion power forklift to use hydraulic devices instead of mechanical chain devices to lift loads. The weight of the lifted cargo can be greatly increased.
CLARK Equipment Co., Ltd. invented the first small-tonnage internal combustion forklift: Carloader with a modern prototype in 1938. This product greatly shortens the length of the body, has a reasonable design, a compact and scientific structure, and simple operation. It is a breakthrough product and popularized by the market, production was not stopped until 1964, and the production model of counterbalanced forklifts was basically established, and the Carloader model was the basic reference for modern forklift design. During World War II, 90% of Allied material handling forklifts were products of Clark Equipment Company. Clark was synonymous with forklifts at that time and for a period of time thereafter.