In warehouse and manufacturing environments, the kinds of machinery which drivers utilize to shuttle supplies from one place to another are known as forklifts. The equipment lifts pallets, also known as skids, which are loaded with items. The lift truck is designed with forks that insert into the rungs of the pallet. Sometimes, forklifts are also called Lift Trucks, Pallet Trucks, Skid Trucks, High/Low, Stacker-Trucks and Side Loaders.
Companies like Clark and Yale & Towne Manufacturing marketed the first forklifts in the early 1900s. Nowadays the majority of goods are shipped to warehouses and stores on pallets. Forklifts are commonly found within warehouses and manufacturing factories, where they are used to operate the business smoothly.
Among the different kinds of skid lifts or pallets are the following: Walkie low lift truck - with electrical motor; Rider low lift truck; Hand pallet truck; IC counterbalanced truck; Telescopic handler; Towing tractor; Sideloader; Rider stacker; Slip Sheet machine; Walkie stacker; 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' - for narrow aisles; and 'Man Riser' Combination Order Picker/ Stacker truck
There are counterbalanced forklift trucks available for specialized uses, such as the articulated counterbalance truck. This hybrid is recommended for really narrow aisles because it is capable of offloading and onloading in 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 trucks are available in man down and man-riser models. This equipment must just be utilized on even and flat floors.