The History of The Forklift Truck – Episode 26: 1957: a brace of British launches

Warehouse & Logistics News is proud to bring you the twenty-sixth instalment in our exclusive series on the history of the forklift truck, the machine that over the decades has revolutionised the face of materials handling around the world. Our writer is James Brindley, an acknowledged authority on forklift trucks. James’s distinguished career has involved engineering and management roles with BT Rolatruc and serving as a Director of the Fork Lift Truck Association, before he set up the National Fork Truck Heritage Centre in 2004 as Britain’s first such collection open to the public. The Heritage Centre continues to need your support in 2008, and if you or your company would like to help in any way, you can contact James on the number below. Now sit back and enjoy the latest part of this fascinating series.

Episode 26: 1957 – A brace of British launches
Despite the fuel shortages caused by the Suez crisis, a plethora of new trucks were produced during the first half of 1957. The majority were battery-operated and made by Western European companies.
In the first of these launches, Hirst and Son Ltd of Dewsbury made two additions to their “Forager” range, a ride-on stillage truck and a pedestrian controlled counterbalance stacker. The stacker was battery-operated and had a 10 cwt lifting capacity.

A few more miles to the North, in Leeds, Greenwood and Batley Ltd introduced their new electrically operated forklift truck. This addition to their range was flame proofed to Buxton standards, and known as the “Greenbat” type F.F.L.2. It was capable of lifting two tons and had three speeds in both directions through a drum controller.

Another British company to launch a new truck at this time was Cleco Electric Industries Ltd of Leicester. This was a battery-electric, side loading truck with a 1-ton lifting capacity. Designated the F9CZ Mark 1V, it was designed primarily to handle and transport long loads in and around the narrow aisles of the factory environment.

Unlike the Irion side loader or the various heavy-duty straddle carriers, the Cleco, in many cases, weighed no more than a conventional forklift of the same capacity. This expanded its usefulness to operation in factories with intermediate floor levels. Its main advantage over the competition at the time was its three-way steering system. The system gave the driver a choice of two-wheel or four-wheeled steering, in forward, reverse or a crabwise direction. Controls for these manoeuvres were by two hand wheels, which were mounted in different positions within the driver’s cab, negating the need for a common steering wheel and column. Its principal sizes were 110 inches long and 53 inches wide with an overall weight, including batteries, of 4,800Ibs.

A further company taking good advantage over the competition was Yale and Towne, who launched an electric forklift truck specially modified for the newspaper industry. At the time, its lift height of 26 feet and six inches was believed to give the highest lift of any electric forklift in Britain. The machine was delivered from its Wednesford, Wolverhampton factory and was designed for the extra high stacking associated with the handling of 60-inch wide paper reels. To achieve the necessary lift capacity of 1 ton at full lift height, the machine used was one of Yale and Towne’s 5000 lb capacity Series 51 models. This formula, with the aid of a rotating reel clamp, gave the machine the ability to stack reels up to five high.

Montgomery Reid launched an addition to their range, in the form of the “Tunstack”. This machine model was capable of lifting 1 ton to a standard lift of 108 inches, and had a tilting fork carriage. Safety features included an electric interlock on the handbrake so the machine could not be driven with handbrake applied: a horn that sounded continuously, should the ignition key be removed without the handbrake being applied: and an interlock on the driver’s seat, so the machine could not be driven with the operator in the standing position.

In May the Matling Company of Wolverhampton added a sit-on counterbalance to their range with the model RFLT 2. It had a maximum lifting capacity of 3,000lb at 20-inch load centres, and could lift to 112 inches. The truck was powered by a 24-volt battery, which operated a heavy-duty constant speed reversing motor. Transmission was through a multiplate clutch and gearbox, providing three speeds in both forward and reverse. A foot brake was provided on the left hand side next to the parking hand brake. The gears were selected by means of a lever on the steering column. To reverse the machine, the operator pressed a footswitch next to the dead man’s pedal, which was to the right hand side of the steering column. Red and green lights on the facia panel indicated the direction engaged. The company considered this method of drive to be “simple to operate as it avoiding the use of the more complicated electrical control gear.”

To be continued

By James Brindley, Director, National Fork Truck Heritage Centre

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