Forklifts are equipment that forklift operators utilize to transport materials from one location to another in manufacturing and warehouse environments. The machinery lifts pallets, also called skids, which are loaded with items. The lift truck is made with forks which insert into the pallet rungs. Forklifts are also sometimes known as as Lift Trucks, Pallet Trucks, Skid Trucks, High/Low, Stacker-Trucks and Side Loaders.
The first forklifts were marketed in the early part of the 1900s by companies like Clark and Yale & Towne Manufacturing. These days the majority of supplies are shipped to warehouses and stores on pallets. Forklifts are commonly found inside warehouses and manufacturing factories, where they are used for the smooth operation of business.
The following are among the various types of pallet or skid lifts: Hand pallet truck; Walkie low lift truck - with electrical motor; Rider low lift truck; Telescopic handler; Towing tractor; IC counterbalanced truck; Sideloader; Slip Sheet machine; Walkie stacker; Rider stacker; Electric counterbalanced truck; Walkie Order Picking truck; Reach truck; Rider Order Picking truck - also called "Order Picker"; Articulated Very Narrow Aisle Counterbalanced trucks - also known 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
There are counterbalanced forklift trucks available for specialized uses, like for example the articulated counterbalance truck. This particular hybrid is suggested for really narrow aisles since it could onload and offload within really tight spaces.
The Guided Very Narrow Aisle Trucks are capable of lifting as high as 12 meters, and even up to 30 meters if it is a "non top-tied" kind. These trucks are available in man-riser and man-down models. This machine must be utilized only on floors that are even and flat.