Raymond's 1951 narrow-aisle solution

The Raymond Corporation has commemorated the 65th anniversary of the Raymond Reach-Fork truck patented in 1951.

The power-driven narrow-aisle materials handling truck developed by George Raymond Sr and Christian Gibson, an engineer at the company, got its patent on August 14, 1951.

In the 1940s, a grocery consultant brought a problem to Raymond's attention: the consultant recognised that wide-aisle warehousing was costing American companies millions of dollars, and George Raymond Sr. had the vision to develop the narrow-aisle concept. This warehousing idea led to the design of Raymond's narrow-aisle vehicle that manoeuvred in aisles less than 7 ft. (2 m) wide and retrieved and put away pallets two tiers high. The vehicle preserves its gravitational integrity by straddling a pallet with baselegs.

"Many of the basic principles of Raymond's first power-driven narrow-aisle materials handling truck are used in the narrow-aisle reach trucks of today," says Susan Comfort, product manager for narrow-aisle products at The Raymond Corporation.

"As warehouse and distribution centres find ways to gain productivity and efficiency, our forward-thinking products and solutions evolve and advance to keep up with our customers' demands. Today, the Raymond Reach-Fork truck series has over 200 configurations and can be customised for a variety of applications, including retail, grocery, manufacturing and distribution.  

"The high-density warehouses that we know today are only possible because 65 years ago, our founder revolutionised warehouse operations through creating the narrow-aisle concept and Reach-Fork truck - and we continue to lead the way in innovation, proven by our recent recognition of 19 engineers who have contributed to 32 patents awarded by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office since 2012," says Michael Field, chief executive officer of Raymond.