The History of Conveyors

Modern conveyors with advanced features make production run smoothly and efficiently for many large companies. They enable items to be made at a much faster pace than ever before. While the technology and advancements are somewhat new, the idea behind the conveyor is not.

The need and desire for increased productivity and safety has been the push for the evolution of conveyors and other machinery for a long, long time.

The earliest examples is the use of wooden rollers to transport pyramid blocks in Ancient Egypt, as suggested by historical experts. In more recent history, inventor Thomas Robins developed the first conveyor belts in 1892, which were used at the time to transport coal, ores, and other materials.

A few decades later, Henry Ford made strides in conveyor evolution by developing conveyor belt assembly lines, followed by B.F. Goodrich Company’s Turnover Conveyor Belt System in 1957.

Belts have gone from leather, canvas, or rubber used on wooden systems to synthetic materials or polymers.

The basic idea of conveyors has not changed, efficiency and safety, but modern conveyors are more powerful, faster, safer, and customizable. There is now a wide variety of conveyors from simple belt conveyors to large, steel conveyors that can carry live loads from 10,000 pounds.