Eugene Clark

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Eugene Bradley Clark (* 1873 in Columbia (Maryland) , † 1942 in Chicago ) was an American entrepreneur. He is considered the inventor of the forklift , which he initially used for internal transport. In 2007 he was inducted into the Logistics Hall of Fame for his merit . The Clark Material Handling Company still bears his name today .

Life

Eugene Clark studied mechanical engineering at Cornell University in Ithaca (New York) . Until 1904 he was an employee at Illinois Steel Works in Chicago, then he went to the George R. Rich Manufacturing Company, a drill manufacturer , where he first became a consultant, then a manager and later a partner. This company was founded in 1903 as an automotive supplier.

Inventions

Clark forklift

In 1917, Clark manufactured the first platform truck with an internal combustion engine (the “Tructractor”) to move material between different parts of his company. Visitors to the plant were enthusiastic about it and asked Eugene Clark to make such devices for them. Eight cars were produced in 1918 and over 75 in the following year. In 1922, the “Truclift”, the first forklift truck with a combustion engine, and finally in 1924 the first forklift truck (a tractor developed in 1923, called “Duat”, with a mast). Clark builds industrial trucks to this day .

According to another opinion, however, it was Yale Materials Handling Corporation and not Clark who invented the first electric forklift, which was successfully used to lift loads in 1925.

Clark also designed other machines, including a portable, electric conveyor belt for unloading trucks in 1930.

Only after the Second World War did the forklift achieve its worldwide breakthrough. Series production of forklifts began in Great Britain for the first time in 1946 .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Eugene Bradley Clark in the Logistics Hall of Fame .
personal data
SURNAME Clark, Eugene
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Clark, Eugene Bradley (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American inventor of the forklift and entrepreneur
DATE OF BIRTH 1873
PLACE OF BIRTH Columbia (Maryland)
DATE OF DEATH 1942
Place of death Chicago