A creative role for a Mitsubishi FG14.

Ries Niemi works with large objects and occasionally uses a Mitsubishi FG14 and a pickup truck to unconventionally move industrial art from his fabrication shop to a flatbed truck.

The image shows a 30 foot (9m) bench that was installed for the Great Mall bus and light rail station in Milpitas, California. "We built four benches, and we needed to move them a couple of hundred feet," Niemi says. "We were driving the forklift and the truck at the same speed-about 2 miles per hour (3.2 km/h)" on private property to the 40 foot (12m) truck. The bench was within the capacity of the forklift, but the road access prevented carrying an excessively wide load.

The industrial artist is candid. "You might call that creative misuse of a machine (and it) may not be an OSHA-approved technique", he says. "My shop is back down a dogleg road. The big trucks can't get back there, so we have to stage the big stuff in front."

Niemi recalls acquiring the used forklift in 2002. He spread compacted gravel between the shops and in the outdoor work and loading area.

"I can drive my semi-pneumatic-tyred forklift wherever I need," he says. "It is small enough to drive into the shop and use most places" unlike "a big 4x4 model".

Niemi uses the forklift for assembly work, as a movable-height work table and platform and for moving and loading tasks. "At times we use it a lot, but other times we may not use it for a month," he notes. "The three-segment mast is handy for building big stuff." The forklift lists a lifting capacity of 2,390 kg (5,258 pounds).

Among Niemi's projects in progress are bicycle racks for the public library in St Cloud, Minnesota.

Niemi has exhibited his work at numerous group and solo shows.

Niemi obtains parts and service as needed through a local serviceman for Seattle, Washington-based Washington Liftruck Inc, an authorised dealer for Mitsubishi and Taylor forklifts.