The History of the Hand Pallet Truck
Can you imagine a world without a hand pallet truck within it? It may not sound like such a dire set of circumstances, but when you stop to consider just how much they are used in all industries across the world, managing without them would make life a lot harder for many people.
The hand pallet truck as we know it today was actually invented in 1939. It is, in the larger view, a reasonably recent invention. It was created by George Raymond Senior and Bill House. They are the ones who filed the patent, they are the ones who created the design we know and love.
It changed the way that loading was carried out forever. Now, instead of a group of people who would life and move the load, only one man was required, with the truck doing the majority of the work. The load could be transported with ease, freeing up other employees to carry out additional work. Or reducing the number of employees required in total. Not only that, but the pallet truck that came about in 1939 was much smaller than any other kind of truck that had gone before. That made it even easier to use, and it also allowed for the truck to squeeze into smaller spaces, with the ability to navigate narrower areas.
Although the mechanism may have changed – originally it was cranks and levers that created the ability for the truck to life, but now it can be done using hydraulics or even batteries – the general idea has remained the same.
Hand pallet trucks may be simple, but they are effective, and we would be lost without them.