Technology has changed the way materials handling products around the world are developed and produced. Complex computer aids have replaced sharp pencils and graph paper as companies strive for the perfect forklift.
US companies BPR/Rico Equipment Inc, Toyota Material Handling USA Inc and Crown Equipment Corp have all improved the quality of their products using various forms of cutting-edge computer design and development technology.
Boyd P Ross established BPR/Rico in 1980. Rico, based in Medina, Ohio, manufactures specialist materials handling equipment, with capacities up to 300,000 pounds (136 tonnes), for users in the industrial, commercial and military markets. Rico has a second facility in West Virginia.
In the past, Rico developed designs and performed strength and durability tests of structural components and tested machine stability by using complicated, expensive, trial-and-error manual methods.
Now the company uses finite-element-analysis software and computer-aided design (CAD) programs to evaluate designs before making prototypes. Rico also collaborates with customers on their specific needs using eDrawings, the first ultra-compact CAD format that allows online viewing.
Toyota USA uses advanced technology in its 7-Series three-wheel electric forklifts, incorporating an alternating current power system for the drive and lift motors to gain up to 45 percent more power than their predecessors. Two AC motors at the front control drive functions, and a third AC motor controls steering and hydraulics.
Designers adopted some technology from parent Toyota Motor Corporation's electric and hybrid cars. One example is the motor's metal oxide semiconductor field effect transistor controller, which adjusts electrical frequency directed to the motor.
Another innovation for the 7-Series recovers energy through pioneering regeneration. When the accelerator pedal is released for coasting, the brake pedal pressed, or the directional level shifted in either direction, the forklift's wheels generate electricity, which is fed back into the forklift's AC motors.
The new line incorporates Toyota's safety-oriented active mast control, with a sophisticated system of sensors, limit-switches, actuators and sensitive controllers to achieve optimum safety for the forklift operator.
USA production is at Toyota Industrial Equipment Manufacturing Inc in Columbus, Indiana. Toyota USA was established in Irvine, California, in 1967, and the Indiana manufacturing facility began operating in 1990. The company has 183 dealerships in the USA.
Crown Equipment's redesigned FC 4000 Series has been recognised with a design award from the Chicago Athenaeum Museum of Architecture & Design, and ranked third in the prestigious design.net German design award program.
The four-wheel, sit-down rider forklift features new innovations such as a cab-forward design that positions the operator in an optimum line of sight to the fork tips. Other visibility enhancements include a low-profile, sculpted cowl, a narrow steering column and improved cylinder and internal hose placement.
Crown, based in New Bremen, Ohio, opened in 1945 and began producing forklifts in 1957. The company manufactures in six states in the USA, and has facilities in Australia, Ireland, Germany and Mexico.
Websites:
www.bpr-rico.comwww.toyotaforklift.comwww.crown.com