Forklift steer axles typically are factory fitted with needle roller kingpin bearings. These bearings are prone to wear especially in dirty environments. Vesconite was installed on a 2.5 ton Yale forklift working in a metal recycling plant. Vesconite replaced the kingpin bushes and kingpin thrust rings. The forklift truck worked 3 shifts per day, often over broken concrete sections. The factory fitted OEM needle roller bearings lasted 2 months under these conditions. Vesconite kingpin bushes inspected after 4 years of operation were still in perfect condition.

A forklift repair company in Australia has replaced forklift side shift carriage pads with Vesconite. This machine operates in a Foundry, the conditions are often harsh and dirty. Having experienced troubles with premature wear of the lower pads they made up new pads out of Vesconite which have solved their wear issues and continue to perform well under these challenging conditions.

A sawmill forklift has to operate under dusty conditions and over rough terrain. These unfavourable conditions coupled with poor lubrication resulted in the original bearings on the mast breaking down approximately every six months. To reduce the downtime, the six high capacity roller bearings were replaced with two Vesconite slides (500 mm x 140 mm x 38 mm thick) (20" x 5.5" - 1.5" thick). The change to Vesconite slides resulted in the following improvements: Downtime on the machine due to bearing failure has been eliminated. Longer bearing life. Three years later there was no sign of wear.