In warehouse and manufacturing environments, the kinds of equipment which drivers use to shuttle materials from one place to another are referred to as forklifts. The machinery lifts pallets, also known as skids, that are loaded with things. The lift truck is made with forks that insert into the rungs of the pallet. At times, forklifts are also called Lift Trucks, Pallet Trucks, Skid Trucks, High/Low, Side Loaders and Stacker Trucks.
Companies such as Clark and Yale & Towne Manufacturing advertised the first forklifts in the early part of the 1900s. Nowadays nearly all goods stores on pallets and are delivered to warehouses. Forklifts are usually found within warehouses and manufacturing plants, where they are used to operate the business smoothly.
The following are some of the different types of pallet or skid lifts: 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; Electric counterbalanced truck; Walkie Order Picking truck; Reach truck; Rider Order Picking truck - also called "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' - 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 really 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" type. These types of trucks are available in man-riser and man-down models. This machinery must be utilized only on flat and even floors.