In warehouse and manufacturing environments, the kinds of equipment that drivers use to transport materials from one location to another are known as forklifts. The equipment carries pallets, also known as skids, that are loaded with things. The lift truck is designed with forks that insert into the rungs of the pallet. Every so often, forklifts are also known as as Lift Trucks, Pallet Trucks, High/Low, Skid Trucks, Stacker-Trucks and Side Loaders.
Companies such as Clark and Yale & Towne Manufacturing sold the very first forklifts in the early part of the 1900s. These days the majority of goods stores on pallets and are delivered to warehouses. Forklifts are commonly found in warehouses and manufacturing plants, where they are used to operate the business smoothly.
Amongst the various types of pallets or skid lifts are as follows: Hand pallet truck; Walkie low lift truck - with electrical motor; Rider low lift truck; Towing tractor; IC counterbalanced truck; Sideloader; Telescopic handler; Rider stacker; Slip Sheet machine; Walkie stacker; 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 known 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
There are counterbalanced forklift trucks available for specialized uses, like for example the articulated counterbalance truck. This hybrid is recommended for very narrow aisles since it is capable of onloading and offloading in really tight spaces.
Capable if lifting as high as 12 meters are the Guided Vary Narrow Aisle Trucks. The "non top-tied" kind can lift up to 30 meters high. These trucks are available in man-riser and man-down models. This machinery must be utilized only on floors which are flat and even.