Hand carts have been used throughout our history almost as far back as the invention of the wheel. In literature, they were mentioned in the second millennium B.C. In Ancient Rome, hand carts were used for judicial punishments. It was a disgrace to be transported by hand cart. In England the condemned were tied to the “cart-tail” and administered public whippings (later replaced by Elizabeth I by the “whipping pole”).
The hand cart had evolved to much less sinister uses, in the mid 1930’s when Sylvan N. Goldman created a shopping cart version. Goldman owned a grocery store chain called “Humpty Dumpty”. He observed his customers struggling to transport their groceries and created yet another evolution of the standard cart.
Throughout the years, hand carts continued their progression towards numerous uses. The heavy duty carts helping movers and tradesmen, the moderate weight bearing cart for people’s homes and even what has been referred to as the “Granny Cart” for transporting small items. Large companies such as Magnacart and Cosco were born focused on mass producing these different carts and styles. The main hand carts produced today are a few feet tall and have either a shallow or deep platform that sits on the floor. With two wheels at the back, they can handle loads of various heights, weights and widths. The basic hand carts have minimally advanced since being mass produced. The main change has been better materials used to create them primarily with both aluminum and stainless steel. They also have different looks based on their primary function. The market was strong (STATISTIC), yet the cart development was stagnant, however there was yet another evolution to come that would change everything.
In 2015, a company was started by Michael Reznik and Leonid Khodor called TriFold LLC. This company changed the hand cart industry by advancing the capabilities of any standard hand cart. They created a better solution for transporting items up and down stairs and over rough terrain with the UpCart Original. The cart boasts six wheels, three on each side and will reduce the effort and strain for using a cart up and down the stairs or over rough terrain. It also has patented technology where the wheels will fold in completely flat. This was a complete game changer because it changed the functionality and usability of standard hand carts. Now people could easily transport items up and down stairs without straining their backs. The cart was tested and proven to reduce the strain by up to 64% when compared to a standard hand cart. Since the invention of the UpCart Original, there have been several different models added to the UpCart brand including a hand truck for up to 200 lbs, a Deluxe model for up to 125 lbs, a cart designed specifically for laundry (Handy Hamper) and one for shopping (ProShopper).
The hand cart has come a long way from its early origins and it is from forward thinking people like Goldman, Reznik and Khodor that it continued to evolve. TriFold LLC now has taken the reigns in designing for the modern age and continues in its efforts to keep pushing the development of the hand cart industry to the next level.
The post The History and Evolution of the Hand Cart appeared first on UpCart Blog.source https://www.upcart.com/blog/2018/01/30/history-evolution-hand-cart/
