In Praise of the Humble Used Forklift

Do you take your used forklifts for granted? Odds are, you do. They’re such a part of normal operations today, that it’s easy to overlook their importance. Maybe it’s time to take a moment and give the humbly used forklift its due.

The History of Material Handling

The Bahrns Material Handling & Equipment Company website gives a short history of material handling (click the link above to view). The article briefly covers the history of the forklift. In a nutshell, the forklift evolved in response to the industry’s need to move and store all kinds of materials more quickly and efficiently. It started with an electric platform truck used by the Pennsylvania Railroad to transport baggage and as its potential was discovered, forks and a hydraulic lifting system were introduced. After that, further improvements were made until we had the forklift as we know it today.

In Praise of the Humble Used Forklift

Since the 1960s, continual improvements have been made to the forklift, but its basic function and the operating environment remain the same. In virtually all settings where forklifts are used, you will find pallets and pallet racks. The only differences will be in how modern the material handling system happens to be. A very large warehouse, for example, may have the latest VNA (Very Narrow Aisle) lift trucks and a sophisticated racking system while a smaller warehouse can still operate efficiently with a couple of electric rider lift trucks and standard pallets racks.

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Everywhere you look these days, the latest and greatest in technology is being praised. Do you have the newest smartphone? If not, you’re missing out. Does your warehouse have the latest innovation in robotics? No? Well, you’re behind the times.

Are you missing out if your smartphone doesn’t have the latest operating system update? If you can still get your email or install a helpful app, probably not. Does your warehouse really require a robotics system? Not unless its cost can be justified by increased productivity.

Even some of the largest and most profitable warehouses and factories stick with their used forklifts because their cost benefits outweigh the benefits of updating to the latest models. Instead of investing in new forklifts, they invest a little time in improving forklift maintenance by sticking to a regular maintenance schedule and replacing parts as necessary.

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Businesses like these don’t take the humbly used forklift for granted. On the contrary, after careful cost-benefit analyses, they recognize and appreciate their value. When one of the used lift trucks in their fleet starts to cost more to maintain than it’s worth, they will replace it, but even companies that can afford the latest model will often choose a good quality reconditioned forklift instead.

Are you still taking your used forklifts for granted? If so, try shutting them down for a day or so and see how your productivity plummets. Or go ahead and find out how much replacing your used lift trucks with new ones is going to cost you and ask yourself if having shiny new forklifts in your facility is going to be worth the cost. More than likely, you’ll discover just how valuable your used forklift is and stop taking it for granted. It may not be very pretty, but if it gets the job done, it’s probably just what you need.