Forklifts are equipment that forklift drivers use to shuttle supplies from one location to another in warehouse and manufacturing environments. The equipment carries pallets, also referred to as skids, that are loaded with items. The lift truck is made with forks which insert into the rungs of the pallet. Every so often, forklifts are also called Lift Trucks, Pallet Trucks, High/Low, Skid Trucks, Side Loaders and Stacker Trucks.
The first forklifts were sold during the early 1900s by companies such as Clark and Yale & Towne Manufacturing. These days nearly all supplies are shipped to warehouses and stores on pallets. Forklifts are commonly found inside manufacturing plants and warehouses, where they are utilized to operate the business smoothly.
The following are among the different kinds of skid lifts or pallets: Hand pallet truck; Walkie low lift truck - with electrical motor; Rider low lift truck; Towing tractor; IC counterbalanced truck; Sideloader; Telescopic handler; Walkie stacker; Rider stacker; Slip Sheet machine; Electric counterbalanced truck; Walkie Order Picking truck; Reach truck; Rider Order Picking truck - also called "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 suggested for really narrow aisles as it can offload and onload within really 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-riser and man-down models. This machinery must be used only on floors that are even and flat.