With many seemingly mundane things in life, dig down and you start to discover a whole new world you didn’t know existed, even with forklifts.
For example, did you know there’s such a thing as a forklift rodeo, or that we have war to thank for the forklifts we have today?
In this short article, 5 Surprising facts about forklifts, we’ve searched the web for some of the more unusual forklift facts, including the ones mentioned above, to help show you that there’s so much more to these wonderful machines than you first thought.
Ok, this is a fact about spiders as much as it is about forklifts, but it’s a fascinating fact all the same. Just like forklifts, spiders use hydraulic pressure to lift things. In a spider, this means generating pressure in the cephalothorax, then pumping fluid (haemolymph) into all the soft tissues of its legs to enable the legs to extend and lift. Similarly, in a forklift, pressure is generated in the tank then pumped through a system of valves and cylinders to perform lifting operations.
This sounds unlikely, but forklift rodeos are real, and if you ever get the chance to attend one, we’re in no doubt you’ll love it. Usually arranged by companies or manufacturing groups, forklift rodeos put some of the best forklift operators in the world through rigorous trials, testing their abilities to the extreme. Trials might include speed stacking, or negotiating courses made up of extremely narrow gangways, whilst balancing basket balls on the forks.
If you know anything about forklifts, you’ll know they lift some pretty heavy stuff, particularly the forklifts used in the Boeing Everett Factory, which lifts and stacks aeroplane parts all day long. But, surprisingly, the record for the heaviest load ever lifted by a forklift hasn’t been broken since 1989. The load was 90 tons, so you can sort of see why.
War, what is it good for? Well actually, the second world war was pretty good for speeding up the development of the modern forklift. The reason for this fast-tracked evolution, and an increase in forklift production, was largely due to the necessity to move huge amounts of war supplies onto ships and wagons etc. more efficiently.
Some might doubt it, but the tractractor, developed at Clarks Axle Plant in the early part of the 20th Century, was the beginnings of the modern forklift. Originally designed as a piece of farming equipment for their own use, visitors to Clarks Axle Plant soon started asking for their own models with raising forks, to be developed, which eventually led to machines similar to the forklifts we see today.
Whether you’re looking to buy or hire a forklift, or looking for professional forklift servicing, get in touch with Beds & Bucks Forktrucks today. We have a huge range of new and used forklifts available, plus a highly-skilled team of forklift engineers and specialists ready to help with all your forklift needs.
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