The forklift has been around since the early part of the 1920's. Since its inception, the lift truck has become an indispensable machine for the materials handling business.
Sometimes referred to as lift trucks, one of their initial uses was carrying and moving luggage at airports and train stations. Throughout WWII using these equipment exploded and the warehousing industry expanded significantly. The conventional equipment was adapted to deal with the requirements of stacking inventory on higher shelves and they were designed to carry heavier loads and move faster.
Usually, lift truck trucks are used for stacking inventory in warehouses. In most cases, objects are packed onto pallets that make it ideal for the blades to move in between the open spaces of the pallets. The forklift can then securely carry the goods without it wobbling or falling onto the ground. When the pallets are in place, they could be transported easily to a different location. Lift trucks are also utilized a lot within the docking, shipping, agriculture and mining industry.
The lift truck is also seen on constructions locations, because many models have been designed to lift huge heavy boxes and heavy pipes, concrete slabs, other equipment and ceramics. Because it is fairly a compact unit, this particular machine can move from one location to another at a fairly good speed.
Depending on the particular model and its intended use, the forklifts dimensions could vary. There are narrow aisle units specially for warehouse use. These require the floor to be extremely flat and are quite a bit smaller in size. Usually, they are designed with rear wheel steering. There has been a dramatic increase in these machines in the manufacturing and mining machine industries. As forklifts normally handle flammable supplies, petrochemicals and pharmaceuticals, the equipment have become tougher and more durable.
The forklifts may have load capacities from 1 to as many as 5 tons. Some heavy duty units have been designed to deal with as many as 50 tons. These models are normally used to load shipping equipment onto and off of ships. Forklifts and their required training to operate are particularly regulated to ensure the safety of the people utilizing this particular equipment. No body is able to legally utilize them without finishing the proper documents and training.