As one of hydraulics' earliest adopters, Anthony Liftgates has been a trailblazer in the world of transportation technology since the company's conception, creating and developing innovations with powerful repercussions in material handling, industrial machinery, and more. Today, the traditional liftgate, which has seen relatively few improvements in its lifetime, faces a new set of problems that must be addressed if they are to remain the most effective option for loading and deliveries. Looking to make waves once again in the market, Anthony is now partnering with RISE™ to introduce the next generation of liftgates set to be more efficient, reliable, and sustainable than any of their predecessors.
Roots in Innovation
The story of Anthony Liftgates can be traced as far back as the early twentieth century, claiming its beginnings in 1917, when William Anthony and his brothers joined with various business partners to develop innovations for the then-infantile transportation industry. Later, these innovations were incorporated into Ford Model T’s. However, it was not until 1939 that Anthony's right-hand, Lawrence Walker, would be approached by the manager of a local Ford dealership with the original liftgate concept, while the first Anthony liftgate would not be introduced until 1941.
With the Walker family acquiring the company in the 1980s, they have continuously expanded since, improving upon the liftgate design and steadily establishing themselves as a producer of high quality, durable, reliable machinery packaged with the latest innovations the industry offers.
Today, Anthony continues the legacy of its founders, carrying their drive for innovation forward as they endeavor to revolutionize liftgate technology once again. Paying homage to the American entrepreneurial spirit from which their original design sprung, Anthony proudly offers products exclusively manufactured in the United States, speaking to what they cite as a significant contributor to their success: recognizing the value of "at-home innovation."
At Anthony, they believe those who have the most to offer the field of transportation technology are those whose passion for the nuts and bolts of engineering extends past the confines of their professional projects. Instead, they seek out the hobbyists of the world— the weekend welders, resident handypersons, and hot rod restorationists— and encourage them to find the places where side projects can become impactful solutions. To support this, they maintain a company culture and structure in which team members can easily and comfortably approach leads to pitch ideas or discuss topics while consistently being made aware of their work's impact on the company and their customers.
Liftgates, Drawbacks, and Consequences
Although the automotive industry has made significant strides in quality, technology, and standards over recent years, the liftgate itself has largely failed to keep pace. At this moment, the material handling industry is under immense pressure. With consumers increasingly turning to e-commerce, delivery services are in higher demand than ever, and at an inopportune time at that. Today, global supply chains are still struggling to recover from the massive disruptions caused by COVID-19 in 2020, and the virus's evolving nature means that further complications are no remote possibility.
Liftgates are indispensable pieces of equipment for loading and deliveries; some products may even be undeliverable without them. With e-commerce still booming, delivery routes are continuously increasing in length and number of stops, and current liftgate models fail to perform as needed. Instead, because the hydraulics consume a significant amount of power, they are often unable to maintain a sufficient charge to complete a delivery route. In some cases, they may drain a truck's battery entirely, making it unable to start ceasing service altogether. Although auxiliary batteries used exclusively to power the liftgate have been presented as potential solutions, the need to charge and maintain those batteries cause further complications.
Additionally, with concerns over environmental sustainability now coming to a head and drawing the attention of lawmakers, the automotive and other related industries are now pushing hard to improve energy efficiency and minimize carbon footprints. Electric trucks are now being looked at as a possible alternative to their diesel counterparts. However, this spells further trouble for liftgates; where a conventional truck may be able to maintain a charge for an entire route even with difficulties. Liftgates can be a heavy draw and reduce the range of an electric truck. There are also voltage mismatches that will need to be addressed in the long run.
Considering this, the consequences of the traditional liftgate's issues are twofold. From a business perspective, liftgates that perform inadequately and damage truck performance can cause delivery services to lose customers and revenue by creating delays and cancellations. Meanwhile, they and the trucks powering them will require more attention, substantially increasing maintenance and repair costs while causing further loss of profits when those trucks are out of commission. From an environmental perspective, inefficient liftgates (and hydraulics more generally) are a significant roadblock on the path to sustainable material handling, something incredibly noteworthy considering that the industry is one of the world's most prolific producers of greenhouse gas. Thus, solving the liftgate problem is not simply a matter of better business, but one of protecting our planet as well.
Anthony and the RISE™ Solution
In pursuit of a solution to these issues, Anthony spent years attempting to improve the efficiency of their hydraulics, exploring a wide variety of motion technologies and finding little success. Upon meeting with the RISE™ team, Anthony approached with a single goal, modernizing liftgates and a willingness to take risks to achieve it. This gave RISE™ the opportunity to demonstrate the abilities of RISE™Technology by providing one of their products for developing and testing in the liftgate application. They found a system capable of performing even beyond their expectations, not only lacking the power consumption of hydraulics but also producing its charge during operation. These breakthroughs in the technology were in addition to the solution being more straightforward, more reliable, and more easily installed, monitored, and serviced than its competition.
This initial demonstration gave Anthony the confirmation they needed to move forward with the collaboration, proving RISE™Technology as a valid, viable alternative to hydraulics, holding the potential to revolutionize the liftgate market. Now, this partnership has produced a machine unlike any in its class— the world's first self-sustaining liftgate, a solution to both the financial and environmental drawbacks of hydraulic systems. With this new product, Anthony now looks forward to encouraging adoption, rising above their competitors to continue their legacy of innovation, and making real, positive change while doing so.
