The lift truck has been around ever since the early 1920's. Since its inception, the forklift has become an indispensable machinery for the materials handling industry.
Sometimes referred to as lift trucks, among their initial uses was carrying and transporting baggage at airports and train stations. During WWII utilizing these machinery exploded and the warehousing business expanded significantly. The traditional machinery was adapted to handle the requirement to stack inventory on higher shelves and they were made to move faster and carry heavier loads.
The lift truck is usually used for stacking inventory in warehouses. Things for the most part are packed onto pallets that are designed specially to allow the forks to move under the openings of the pallets. The lift truck could then lift the cargo securely without it falling into the ground or wobbling. When the pallets are in position, they can be transported easily to a different place. Forklifts are also utilized a lot within the shipping, docking, agriculture and mining industry.
Forklifts are usually seen on construction sites. The manufacturers of these machinery design them to lift big heavy boxes and concrete slabs, heavy pipes, other equipment and ceramics. Since it is quite a compact unit, this specific equipment can move from one place to a different location at a fairly good speed.
Depending upon the particular unit and its intended use, the lift trucks dimensions could differ. There are narrow aisle models specially for warehouse use. These are quite a bit smaller in size and need the floor to be extremely flat. Usually, they are made with rear wheel steering. There has been a significant increase in these equipment within the mining and manufacturing machine businesses. Because forklifts often handle pharmaceuticals and petrochemicals and flammable supplies, the machinery have become more durable and stronger.
Forklifts have a load capacity ranging from 1 to 5 tons. There are heavy-duty models that can handle up to 50 tons. These models are normally utilized to load shipping equipment onto and off of ships. Forklifts and their required training to operate are specially regulated to ensure the safety of the people using this specific machine. No one can use them legally without finishing the correct documents and training.