In warehouse and manufacturing environments, the kinds of equipment which operators use to shuttle materials from one location to another are known as forklifts. The machinery lifts pallets, also called skids, which are loaded with items. The lift truck is made with forks that insert into the pallet rungs. Every so often, forklifts are also called Lift Trucks, Pallet Trucks, High/Low, Skid Trucks, Stacker-Trucks and Side Loaders.
The first forklifts were sold during the early 1900s by companies such as Yale & Towne Manufacturing and Clark. Today nearly all supplies are delivered to warehouses and stores on pallets. Forklifts are commonly found in warehouses and manufacturing plants, where they are used to operate the business smoothly.
Some of the various kinds of pallets or skid lifts are as follows: Hand pallet truck; Walkie low lift truck - with electrical motor; Rider low lift truck; Telescopic handler; Towing tractor; IC counterbalanced truck; Sideloader; Walkie stacker; Rider stacker; Slip Sheet machine; Electric counterbalanced truck; Walkie Order Picking truck; Reach truck; Rider Order Picking truck - also known as "Order Picker"; Articulated Very Narrow Aisle Counterbalanced trucks - also called "Flexi Truck"; Truck Mounted Forklift / Sod Loader; Guided Very Narrow Aisle truck; 'Man Down' - utilized 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 hybrid is recommended for really narrow aisles as it is capable of offloading and onloading within really tight spaces.
Capable if lifting as high as 12 meters are the Guided Vary Narrow Aisle Trucks. The "non top-tied" kind can lift up to 30 meters high. These trucks are available in man-riser and man-down models. This machine should just be utilized on floors that are flat and even.