In manufacturing and warehouse environments, the types of machines which drivers use to transport supplies from one place to another are known as forklifts. The machine lifts pallets, also called skids, which are loaded with objects. The lift truck is designed with forks which insert into the rungs of the pallet. Every so often, forklifts are also known as as Pallet Trucks, Lift Trucks, Skid Trucks, High/Low, Side Loaders and Stacker Trucks.
The very first forklifts were marketed in the early part of the 1900s by companies such as Clark and Yale & Towne Manufacturing. Nowadays the majority of supplies stores on pallets and are shipped to warehouses. Forklifts are commonly found inside warehouses and manufacturing factories, where they are depended upon to operate the business smoothly.
Among the different kinds of pallets or skid lifts are the following: 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; Reach truck; Electric counterbalanced truck; Walkie Order Picking 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' - 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 particular hybrid is suggested for really narrow aisles because it is capable of onloading and offloading in 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 trucks are available in man-riser and man-down models. This machinery should just be used on even and flat floors.