Raymond Corporation has marked 50 years of producing its Reach-Fork truck, introduced in the 1950s as a space-saving innovation for warehousing.

Raymond believes the then-new development led to "an era of continuous improvements in storage space efficiency and warehouse productivity".

Raymond president and chief executive Jim Malvaso said the success of the truck stemmed from listening to customers' needs and using innovations to develop better methods.

"We are working with developers of radio frequency identification (RFID), fuel cells and other emerging technologies to ensure our trucks can incorporate these innovations as they become practical, dependable and commercially available," he said.

"Customers count on us for the most advanced, reliable, cost-efficient lift trucks. To meet these expectations, Raymond invests heavily in research and development, and in reliability engineering," Malvaso added.