A forklift is a powered industrial truck used to lift and move materials over short distances. The forklift was developed in the early 20th century by various companies, including Clark, which made transmissions, and Yale & Towne Manufacturing, which made hoists.
A warehouse is a building for storing goods. Warehouses are used by manufacturers, importers, exporters, wholesalers, transport businesses, customs, etc. They are usually large plain buildings in industrial parks on the outskirts of cities, towns, or villages.
Toyota Industries Corporation is a Japanese machine maker. Originally, and still actively, a manufacturer of automatic looms, it is the company from which Toyota Motor Corporation developed. It is the world's largest manufacturer of forklift trucks measured by revenues.
A distribution center for a set of products is a warehouse or other specialized building, often with refrigeration or air conditioning, which is stocked with products (goods) to be redistributed to retailers, to wholesalers, or directly to consumers. A distribution center is a principal part, the order processing element, of the entire order fulfillment process. Distribution centers are usually thought of as being demand driven. A distribution center can also be called a warehouse, a DC, a fulfillment center, a cross-dock facility, a bulk break center, and a package handling center. The name by which the distribution center is known is commonly based on the purpose of the operation. For example, a "retail distribution center" normally distributes goods to retail stores, an "order fulfillment center" commonly distributes goods directly to consumers, and a cross-dock facility stores little or no product but distributes goods to other destinations.
Clark Material Handling Company (CMHC), also known as CLARK or CLARK the Forklift, is an American manufacturer of forklift trucks based in Lexington, Kentucky. The company has manufacturing facilities in Changwon, South Korea, Lexington, Kentucky, Qingdao, China, and Hanoi, Vietnam. CLARK currently (2023) offers one of the broadest product lines in the industry, with products covering all five forklift classes, ranging from hand pallet jacks to 18,000 pound-capacity sit down forklifts.
An automated guided vehicle (AGV), different from an autonomous mobile robot (AMR), is a portable robot that follows along marked long lines or wires on the floor, or uses radio waves, vision cameras, magnets, or lasers for navigation. They are most often used in industrial applications to transport heavy materials around a large industrial building, such as a factory or warehouse. Application of the automatic guided vehicle broadened during the late 20th century.
An automated storage and retrieval system consists of a variety of computer-controlled systems for automatically placing and retrieving loads from defined storage locations. Automated storage and retrieval systems (AS/RS) are typically used in applications where:
A pallet jack, also known as a pallet truck or pallet pump, is a tool used to lift and move pallets. Pallet jacks are the most basic form of a forklift and are intended to move pallets within a warehouse.
Kion Group AG is a German multinational manufacturer of materials handling equipment, with its headquarters in Frankfurt, Hesse, Germany. Its principal products are intralogistics, warehouse automation equipment, and industrial (forklift) trucks. Kion Group was founded in 2006 by the demerger of Linde's materials handling equipment operations. It is the world's second-largest manufacturer of forklifts measured by revenues.
A straddle carrier or straddle truck is a freight-carrying vehicle that carries its load underneath by "straddling" it, rather than carrying it on top like a conventional truck. The advantage of the straddle carrier is its ability to load and unload without the assistance of cranes or forklifts. The lifting apparatus under the carrier is operated by the driver without any outside assistance and without leaving the driver's seat.
Pallet rack is a material handling storage aid system designed to store materials on pallets. Although there are many varieties of pallet racking, all types allow for the storage of palletized materials in horizontal rows with multiple levels. Forklift trucks are usually required to place the loaded pallets onto the racks for storage. Since the Second World War, pallet racks have become a ubiquitous element of most modern warehouses, manufacturing facilities, retail centers, and other storage and distribution facilities. All types of pallet racking increase storage density of the stored goods. Costs associated with the racking increases with increasing storage density.
Material handling equipment (MHE) is mechanical equipment used for the movement, storage, control, and protection of materials, goods and products throughout the process of manufacturing, distribution, consumption, and disposal. The different types of equipment can be classified into four major categories: transport equipment, positioning equipment, unit load formation equipment, and storage equipment.
The term unit load refers to the size of an assemblage into which a number of individual items are combined for ease of storage and handling, for example a pallet load represents a unit load which can be moved easily with a pallet jack or forklift truck, or a container load represents a unit for shipping purposes. A unit load can be packed tightly into a warehouse rack, intermodal container, truck or boxcars, yet can be easily broken apart at a distribution point, usually a distribution center, wholesaler, or retail store for sale to consumers or for use.
Material handling involves short-distance movement within the confines of a building or between a building and a transportation vehicle. It uses a wide range of manual, semi-automated, and automated equipment and includes consideration of the protection, storage, and control of materials throughout their manufacturing, warehousing, distribution, consumption, and disposal. Material handling can be used to create time and place utility through the handling, storage, and control of waste, as distinct from manufacturing, which creates form utility by changing the shape, form, and makeup of material.
Mitsubishi Caterpillar Forklifts, Inc. is a group of multinational companies that were formed under a joint venture between Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) and Caterpillar Inc. in order to manufacture and market trucks. The group manufactures and distributes Cat Lift Trucks, Mitsubishi Forklift Trucks and Jungheinrich warehouse products to the material handling industry.
Toyota Material Handling, Inc. (TMH), also referred to as Toyota Forklift, is an American manufacturer and distributor of forklifts and tow tractors that is based in Columbus, Indiana. TMHU also is the sole United States distributor for Aichi aerial work platforms, which include scissor lifts, crawler and wheeled boom lifts. TMHU is a subsidiary of Toyota Industries Corporation. Toyota has been the number one lift truck supplier in North America since 2002.
Atlet was a Swedish company that manufactured indoor and outdoor trucks. The company also provided services related to trucks and material handling, such as logistics analysis, training and service. The head office, manufacturing and training premises were located in Mölnlycke, just outside Göteborg, Sweden.
A Drum handler is a piece of mechanical equipment that is used to securely grip, lift and transport cylindrical modules such as steel drums, barrels, plastic drums and fiber drums. It has spring-loaded metal arms to create a tight and secure grip. This equipment is commonly used in chemical and petroleum industries, as well as industries that require shipping and storing of cylindrical modules.
The European Materials Handling Federation, is the association representing material handling, lifting and storage equipment manufacturers in Europe.
Jungheinrich AG is a German company active in the material handling equipment, warehousing and material flow engineering sectors. In these segments, the company is ranked in second place in Europe, and third in the world.
