In warehouse and manufacturing environments, the kinds of machinery that drivers utilize to shuttle materials from one place to another are referred to as forklifts. The equipment lifts pallets, also called skids, which are loaded with things. The lift truck is designed with forks which insert into the pallet rungs. Forklifts are also sometimes called Pallet Trucks, Lift Trucks, Skid Trucks, High/Low, Stacker-Trucks and Side Loaders.
The very first forklifts were sold during the early part of the 1900s by companies like Yale & Towne Manufacturing and Clark. Nowadays the majority of supplies stores on pallets and are delivered to warehouses. Forklifts are normally found in warehouses and manufacturing factories, where they are used to operate the business smoothly.
Among the different kinds of skid lifts or pallets are as follows: Walkie low lift truck - with electrical motor; Rider low lift truck; Hand pallet truck; IC counterbalanced truck; Telescopic handler; Towing tractor; Sideloader; Walkie stacker; Rider stacker; Slip Sheet machine; 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 really narrow aisles because it is capable of onloading and offloading within very tight spaces.
Capable if lifting as high as 12 meters are the Guided Vary Narrow Aisle Trucks. The "non top-tied" type could lift up to 30 meters high. These types of trucks are available in man-riser and man-down models. This equipment should be used only on floors which are even and flat.