Fifty years of reach trucks

By Staff -- Modern Materials Handling, 11/1/2004

Put this one in the-more-things-change, the-more-they-stay-the-same category. In 1954, just like today, warehouse managers were looking for ways to increase storage density, make better use of the cube, and improve productivity.

That brought on the creation of the first reach truck that year. Raymond Corp. applied for a patent on a pantograph mechanism that allows the truck to reach into a storage location without driving into the rack to store loads more than one deep. Its predecessor, the straddle truck, drove into racks for such deep putaway of loads, limiting productivity. In addition, the new reach truck could store loads higher than its predecessor, accommodating higher racks and better use of the cube.