Is It Time To Upgrade Your Forklift?

This is not your grandfathers idea of a forklift. In fact, forklifts are now available in many different variations and load capacities to suit your desired applications. Typically, in your warehouse environment you will discover that most forklifts have maximum rated load capacities that are between one to five tons. Whether you are looking at new electric forklifts to purchase or for forklift maintenance providers, some preliminary research will help you select the best forklift company.

Those involved in forklift sales can tell you that variations on the forklift have been around a lot longer, but the modern forklift was adapted in the 1960s to increase worker productivity exponentially. It has become the standard draft horse in many warehouse facilities that are optimized for both vertical storage systems and stacking of products and inventory.

Assuming that your site needs to find reliable forklift rentals or forklift repair to stay productive, you should begin researching local forklift sales and repair companies online. Whether you find testimonials and recommendations on their website, or client reviews on third party sites, you should arm yourself with enough information to make quick decisions before you are buried under a backlog of warehouse work.

To begin the process, it helps to evaluate your baseline lifting needs and size constraints. The forklift attachment manufacturer will work with you to calculate a safe and optimal lifting capacity when using each individual attachment. You can use this for estimating upgrades and repairs, but the forklift manufacturer will be the only one that can provide an accurate lifting capacity rating. If you choose to upgrade, before installing any attachment, you should work with your particular dealer to have the rating of your lift redone. By working to get rerated you should receive a new factory authorized specification plate that will insure your employees and equipment is operating in compliance with the necessary regulations.

With all of the attachment and forklift specifications, you should include all parts of your materials handling team in your research. They can help to specify appropriate attachments and features that will help you find greater efficiencies in the warehouse from your new forklift sales or rental acquisition.