From January 10 to January 12, I attended the ProMat Material Handling Show in Chicago with Rodger Lamb of Forkliftaction.com.
Big names attending were Yale, Hyster, Toyota, Raymond and Jungheinrich. We attended the Yale booth on Monday morning and were surprised to be greeted by Yale president Donald Chance. Chance, Jon Levine, vice president (sales), and Lee Tracy, director, gave us an overview of the new Veracitor Yale SDCB. It was a revelation of changes to the already tried and true Yale. The safety improvements are great.
There are so many new features to the Yale and its sister truck Hyster, both under the NACCO umbrella, that this column cannot address them all. From a safety standpoint, one thing NACCO engineers did that is simple, low tech and will save lives by improving stability, is the change in steer axle mounting to instantly improve the stability platform if an operator should inadvertently accelerate in a turn. Another very interesting improvement is a unique transmission structure that preserves traction and reduces wear at the same time.
NACCO’s Lee Tracy, from Oregon, told me a great story that ranks with so many trendsetting ideas. After work, while having a "coffee", one of the engineers suggested changing the directional resistance in the mounting of the steer axle to increase stability. He drew out his idea on the proverbial napkin and everyone said, "Naw can’t happen". They tried it and … Eureka, it worked.
The new style mounting of the Yale steer axle will save lives and avoids the difficulty Toyota is having with the complexity of its SAS system and at a fraction of the cost. Toyota’s SAS system is integral with the electrical system and there have been some concerns, as indicated in the Forkliftaction.com discussion forum. Which system is more effective from a three-dimensional viewpoint will show up as more new Yales are sold. What a great dynamic, companies competing to be the safest forklift.
Another huge feature to the Yale transmission is its automatic braking system. Yale’s enhanced clutch pack drive operates with the attributes of a hydrostatic unit without the stupendous cost and complexity of hydrostatics. At the same time the Veracitor has solved the problem of manipulating the inching pedal and accelerator to increase RPM for lifting/tilting. The new ergonomic finger-operated hydraulic controls have the power increased as required, automatically.
NACCO has set a new safety standard. Toyota started the trend to a safer forklift with SAS and NACCO answered – and how.
Wayne Chornohus is a forklift consultant with Hunter Industries Ltd. He brings more than 20 years' experience in the forklift and training industries to the Forkliftaction.com community.
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