Forklifts are equipment which forklift drivers use to shuttle supplies from one location to another in manufacturing and warehouse environments. The machine carries pallets, also referred to as skids, that are loaded with objects. The lift truck is designed with forks which insert into the rungs of the pallet. Every so often, forklifts are also referred to as Pallet Trucks, Lift Trucks, High/Low, Skid Trucks, Side Loaders and Stacker Trucks.
The first forklifts were sold in the early part of the 1900s by companies like Clark and Yale & Towne Manufacturing. Nowadays most supplies stores on pallets and are delivered to warehouses. Forklifts are commonly found within warehouses and manufacturing factories, where they are relied upon to operate the business smoothly.
The following are among the various kinds of pallet or skid lifts: Walkie low lift truck - with electrical motor; Rider low lift truck; Hand pallet 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 called "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 which is utilized for specialized applications. This hybrid is suggested for very narrow aisles because it could offload and onload within very 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" version. These trucks are available in man-riser and man-down models. This equipment must be utilized only on floors which are flat and even.