In warehouse and manufacturing environments, the kinds of machines that operators utilize to shuttle materials from one place to another are referred to as forklifts. The machinery lifts pallets, also known as skids, that are loaded with objects. The lift truck is designed with forks that insert into the pallet rungs. Forklifts are also sometimes known as as Lift Trucks, Pallet Trucks, High/Low, Skid Trucks, Stacker-Trucks and Side Loaders.
Companies like Clark and Yale & Towne Manufacturing sold the very first forklifts in the early part of the 1900s. Nowadays nearly all supplies are shipped to warehouses and stores on pallets. Forklifts are usually found in warehouses and manufacturing factories, where they are utilized to operate the business smoothly.
The following are some of the various types of pallet or skid lifts: Hand pallet truck; Walkie low lift truck - with electrical motor; Rider low lift truck; IC counterbalanced truck; Telescopic handler; Towing tractor; Sideloader; Slip Sheet machine; Walkie stacker; Rider stacker; Electric counterbalanced truck; Walkie Order Picking truck; Reach truck; Rider Order Picking truck - also referred to as "Order Picker"; Articulated Very Narrow Aisle Counterbalanced trucks - also referred to as "Flexi Truck"; Truck Mounted Forklift / Sod Loader; Guided Very Narrow Aisle truck ; 'Man Down' - for narrow aisles; and 'Man Riser' Combination Order Picker/ Stacker truck
The articulated counterbalance truck is a kind of counterbalanced forklift truck that is used for specialized applications. This hybrid is recommended for very narrow aisles as it could onload and offload within very tight spaces.
Capable if lifting as high as 12 meters are the Guided Vary Narrow Aisle Trucks. The "non top-tied" type can lift up to 30 meters high. These kinds of trucks are available in man-riser and man-down models. This equipment should be used only on floors which are flat and even.