For many companies, hand pallet trucks are simple tools to be bought cheaply, treated badly and dumped quickly in favour of a newer machine.
The BT Lifter range from BT is made of solid quality. Factory tests have shown that the BT Lifter lasts up to five times longer than other hand pallet truck models, and BT is so confident in its product quality that the standard BT Lifter LHM230 comes with a lifetime guarantee on its fork 
frame.
To highlight the BT Lifters durability, TMHE recently conducted a campaign to find the oldest BT Lifter still in service. The winning truck was located at the Walter Overbeck carpentry company in Bocholt, Germany.
Still hard at work after nearly half a century, the Series 2 BT Lifters machine plate was a bit worn, but the serial number was legible enough to indicate that the truck was manufactured in 1964-65.
This BT Lifter hand pallet truck was part of the inventory when we took over the business in 1992, explains owner Walter Overbeck. We are very happy to have used this quality product for so many years.
Andreas Bößler, product manager at Toyota Material Handling Deutschland, discovered the winning truck. As the winner of this contest, Walter Overbeck receives a brand new BT Lifter, Andreas says. The winning hand pallet truck has been retired and returned home to a place of honour alongside other classic hand pallet trucks at our hand pallet truck factory in Mjölby, Sweden.
A number of other veteran trucks were also located as part of the contest, including a BT Ministacker in Italy from 1971 and a BT Lifter in the Netherlands from 1972.
"The very old BT Ministacker was still in perfect working condition at the Arce-Ungari Group in the Milan area," explains Andrea Bergonzini, Used Equipment Manager at Toyota Material Handling Italia. "The 38-year-old BT SV 05 B/4 model was being used for picking and handling operations.
Sven Wirenhammar, Division Manager of BTs Hand Trucks Division, says: For more than 60 years, the BT Lifter has set the standard for hand pallet truck excellence. Since 1946 we have worked closely with our customers to understand their needs and develop the broadest, most reliable hand pallet truck range on the market.
All of our hand pallet trucks are manufactured here in Sweden, ensuring customers a high-quality, durable product with excellent ergonomics, produced according to strict environmental standards, Sven Wirenhammar adds. The BT Lifter is easy to use and built to last, meaning better value for our customers and for future generations of hand pallet truck users.