The forklift has been around ever since the early part of the 1920's. Ever since its inception, the lift truck has become an indispensable machinery for the materials handling industry.
Sometimes referred to as forklifts, amongst their initial uses was carrying and transporting luggage at airports and train stations. During the Second World War the use of these machines exploded and the warehousing industry expanded greatly. The traditional equipment was adapted to handle the need to stack inventory on higher shelves and they were designed to move faster and lift heavier cargo.
Usually, lift truck trucks are utilized for stacking inventory inside warehouses. In the majority of cases, things are packed onto pallets which make it ideal for the forks to move in between the open spaces of the pallets. The lift truck can then securely carry the cargo without it wobbling or falling onto the ground. Once the pallets are in place, they can be transported easily to a different location. Lift trucks are also utilized a lot in the shipping, docking, agriculture and mining business.
Forklifts are usually seen on construction sites. The manufacturers of these machines design them to pick up big heavy boxes and heavy pipes, concrete slabs, other equipment and ceramics. As it is quite a compact unit, this equipment is able to move from one place to a different place at a fairly good speed.
Depending upon the particular unit and its intended application, the forklifts dimensions could vary. There are narrow aisle models specially for warehouse use. These need the floor to be extremely flat and are quite a bit smaller in size. Normally, they are made with rear wheel steering. There has been a dramatic increase in these equipment within the mining and manufacturing equipment businesses. Because lift trucks often deal with flammable materials, petrochemicals and pharmaceuticals, the machinery have become stronger and more robust.
Lift trucks have a load capacity ranging from 1 to 5 tons. There are heavy-duty units that could handle up to 50 tons. These models are often utilized to load shipping equipment off of and into ships. Forklifts and their required training to operate are specifically regulated to ensure the safety of the people using this particular machine. No body is able to legally operate them without finishing the correct training and documents.