Forklifts are machinery which forklift drivers use to transport supplies from one location to another in manufacturing and warehouse environments. The machinery lifts pallets, also known as skids, that are loaded with items. 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, Side Loaders and Stacker Trucks.
Companies like Clark and Yale & Towne Manufacturing advertised the very first forklifts during the early 1900s. Nowadays nearly all supplies stores on pallets and are delivered to warehouses. Forklifts are usually found inside warehouses and manufacturing plants, where they are relied upon to operate the business smoothly.
Some of the various kinds of pallets or skid lifts are as follows: Walkie low lift truck - with electrical motor; Rider low lift truck; Hand pallet truck; Towing tractor; IC counterbalanced truck; Sideloader; Telescopic handler; Slip Sheet machine; Walkie stacker; Rider stacker; Walkie Order Picking truck; Reach truck; Electric counterbalanced 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' - 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 very narrow aisles as it is capable of offloading and onloading in really tight spaces.
Capable if lifting as high as 12 meters are the Guided Vary Narrow Aisle Trucks. The "non top-tied" kind could lift up to 30 meters high. These trucks are available in man-riser and man-down models. This equipment should only be used on flat and even floors.