Raymond celebrates 90 years as a leader in the material handling industry

This year The Raymond Corporation is celebrating its 90th anniversary as a leader in the materials handling industry. From the company’s invention of the first hydraulic hand pallet truck in 1934 to its current advancements in lift truck automation, Raymond has pioneered leading-edge innovations that improve materials handling productivity, reliability and efficiency.

“In the past 90 years, the demands on warehouses and distribution centers have dramatically changed,” says Chuck Pascarelli, president of sales and marketing for The Raymond Corporation. “Facilities are expected to perform more efficiently and be more productive than ever. In response to this, Raymond has designed increasingly sophisticated lift trucks that help producers and shippers reduce costs, increase throughput, improve order picking selectivity and store more products in smaller and higher spaces.”                     

Raymond began producing lift trucks in 1922 when George Raymond Sr. purchased Lyon Iron Works, a small foundry in Greene, N.Y. Since then, the company has invented and patented technologies that have become industry standards, such as the hydraulic hand pallet truck, the double-faced pallet, the narrow aisle lift truck and the Reach-Fork truck — a narrow aisle concept first introduced by Raymond in the early 1950s to help solve a grocer’s need to go higher in less space. Today, Raymond’s innovative narrow aisle concept has been adopted as a standard and is in nearly every distribution center in the world.

Today, Raymond continues its tradition of leadership and innovation by researching ways to improve materials handling performance through new and emerging technologies and features such as the Raymond 8000 series pallet trucks featuring PowerSteer, the 7000 series Reach-Fork trucks with Eco-Performance, automated lift trucks, fuel cell-powered lift trucks and the iWAREHOUSE warehouse optimization system.