Special
Delivery
Walk into any warehouse, distri- bution center, retail stockroom, grocery store, or transportation
operation and you’re sure to see pallet jacks
and pallet trucks. These ubiquitous pieces
of equipment are typically used for moving
pallets over long distances as well as into
and out of trailers and low-level storage.
They include manual versions—
essentially a pull handle and forks on wheels—
and electric-powered walk-behind trucks
(“walkies”) and operator-aboard walkie/
riders.
These warehouse stalwarts have been undergoing
a transformation. While manual pallet jacks haven’t
changed significantly, powered pallet trucks—the
primary focus of this article—have far more capabilities than they did just a few years ago. (Although the
terms are often used interchangeably and with many
variants, this article generally uses “pallet jack” for
those that are driven manually and “pallet trucks” for
powered types.) According to the manufacturers we
polled, there are many more improvements to come.
Here’s an overview of how they’ve changed and what
they might be like in the future.
NEW DESIGNS FOR NEW PLACES
As pallet truck applications and demands change, so
must the equipment’s design and capabilities. For
example, because a grocery operation nowadays may
run 20 hours a day, seven days a week, pallet trucks
and jacks must be designed to reliably work longer
in harsh environments such as cold storage, says
Susan Rice, product manager, pallet trucks and stack-
ers, for The Raymond Corp. With more customers
using this type of equipment on delivery trucks,
Raymond has moved to the IP65 standard of ingress
protection against dust and water. “This allows [end
users] to take the equipment on the street and work
in rain or snow—that was unheard of 10 years ago,”
she says.
Pallet trucks overall have been getting smaller and
lighter, with lower capacities, says Bill Pedriana,
director of sales and marketing at Big Lift LLC,
maker of Big Joe forklifts. In large part, that’s because
the growth of e-commerce, just-in-time delivery,
This humble piece of material
handling equipment is getting
more sophisticated in terms of
design, technology, and applications.
What will they do next?
BY TOBY GOOLEY
Pallet trucks look to
the future
