In manufacturing and warehouse environments, the kinds of machines which operators use to transport materials from one location to another are referred to as forklifts. The machinery carries pallets, also called skids, that are loaded with things. The lift truck is designed with forks that insert into the rungs of the pallet. Sometimes, forklifts are also called Pallet Trucks, Lift Trucks, High/Low, Skid Trucks, Side Loaders and Stacker Trucks.
The first forklifts were marketed during the early part of the 1900s by companies like Clark and Yale & Towne Manufacturing. Today the majority of supplies are delivered to warehouses and stores on pallets. Forklifts are normally found within manufacturing factories and warehouses, where they are used to operate the business smoothly.
The following are amongst the various types of skid lifts or pallets: 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; Electric counterbalanced truck; Walkie Order Picking truck; Reach 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' - for narrow aisles; and 'Man Riser' Combination Order Picker/ Stacker truck
There are counterbalanced forklift trucks available for specialized uses, such as the articulated counterbalance truck. This hybrid is suggested for really narrow aisles since it can offload and onload in very 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 kinds of trucks are available in man-riser and man-down models. This machine must be used only on floors that are flat and even.