In manufacturing and warehouse environments, the types of equipment which drivers utilize to shuttle materials from one place to another are called forklifts. The equipment carries pallets, also called skids, that are loaded with items. The lift truck is designed with forks that insert into the pallet rungs. At times, forklifts are also known as as Pallet Trucks, Lift Trucks, Skid Trucks, High/Low, Side Loaders and Stacker Trucks.
Companies such as Clark and Yale & Towne Manufacturing sold the very first forklifts in the early part of the 1900s. Nowadays most goods are delivered to warehouses and stores on pallets. Forklifts are usually found in warehouses and manufacturing factories, where they are depended upon for the smooth operation of business.
Some of 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; Telescopic handler; Towing tractor; IC counterbalanced truck; Sideloader; Rider stacker; Slip Sheet machine; Walkie stacker; Reach truck; Electric counterbalanced truck; Walkie Order Picking 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' - used 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 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 kinds of trucks are available in man down and man-riser models. This equipment must be utilized only on floors that are even and flat.