The lift truck has been around since the early part of the 1920's. Ever since its inception, the lift truck has become an indispensable equipment for the materials handling industry.
Sometimes called forklifts, among their initial uses was carrying and transporting baggage at train stations and airports. Throughout WWII the use of these machines exploded and the warehousing business expanded significantly. The conventional equipment was adapted to handle the requirements of stacking inventory on higher shelves and they were designed to move faster and lift heavier cargo.
The forklift is most commonly used for stacking inventory within warehouses. Items for the most part are packed onto pallets that are made specially to allow the forks to move under the openings of the pallets. The lift truck could then lift the goods securely without it wobbling or falling onto the ground. Once the pallets are in position, they could be easily transported to a different location. Forklifts are also used a lot in the agriculture, mining, docking and shipping industry.
The lift truck is also seen on constructions locations, since numerous models have been made to pick up huge heavy boxes and concrete slabs, heavy pipes, other equipment and ceramics. As it is fairly a compact unit, this machinery is able to move from one location to another at a fairly good speed.
The dimensions of the lift truck vary depending on the unit and its specific use. For warehousing applications, there are the narrow aisle truck units. These are quite a bit smaller in size and require the floor to be extremely flat. Usually, they are made with rear wheel steering. There has been a significant increase in these equipment in the mining and manufacturing machinery industries. As lift trucks normally deal with flammable supplies, petrochemicals and pharmaceuticals, the machinery have become more robust and stronger.
Forklifts have a load capacity ranging from 1 to 5 tons. There are heavy-duty models which can handle up to 50 tons. These units are usually 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 could legally utilize them without completing the proper documents and training.