Forklifts are equipment which forklift drivers use to shuttle supplies from one location to another in manufacturing and warehouse environments. The equipment carries pallets, also known as skids, which are loaded with things. The lift truck is made with forks that insert into the pallet rungs. Forklifts are also sometimes known as as Lift Trucks, Pallet Trucks, Skid Trucks, High/Low, Stacker-Trucks and Side Loaders.
Companies like Yale & Towne manufacturing and Clark marketed the very first forklifts in the early part of the 1900s. These days most supplies stores on pallets and are shipped to warehouses. Forklifts are normally found in manufacturing plants and warehouses, where they are used for the smooth operation of business.
Amongst the various kinds of skid lifts or pallets are the following: Walkie low lift truck - with electrical motor; Rider low lift truck; Hand pallet truck; Telescopic handler; Towing tractor; IC counterbalanced truck; Sideloader; Slip Sheet machine; Walkie stacker; Rider stacker; Walkie Order Picking truck; Reach truck; Electric counterbalanced 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' - used 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 very narrow aisles because it can offload and onload in really 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" type. These kinds of trucks are available in man-riser and man-down models. This machinery must be utilized only on flat and even floors.