darly j,
Just a little bit of history from the former colony on the other side of the pond, a lift truck company named Allis Chalmers developed the same technology (regen. hydraulic lowering system based on the principle of driving a DC motor backwards & it becomes a generator) on a proto type unit called the "QJ 37" that had the mast behind the operator & the operator had the option to go up with the forks or not. It was exhibited at the MH show in Cobo Hall Detroit in the mid 1970's (1974?).
They received an initial order for 150 units from a major airline company but corporate did not want to commit to the total development costs. From about that point Allis-Chalmers started "dying the death of a ragged doll" - not because of the QJ 37 but for other reasons.