The forklift has been around since the early 1920's. Ever since its inception, the lift truck has become an indispensable machinery for the materials handling business.
Sometimes called lift trucks, among their initial uses was lifting and moving baggage at airports and train stations. During the Second World War utilizing these machines exploded and the warehousing industry expanded greatly. The conventional machinery was adapted to handle the requirements of stacking inventory on higher shelves and they were designed to carry heavier loads and move faster.
The lift truck is usually used for stacking inventory inside warehouses. Items for the most part are packed onto pallets that are made specially to enable the forks to move beneath the openings of the pallets. The lift truck could then lift the goods securely without it wobbling or falling onto the ground. When the pallets are in position, they can be transported easily to a different place. Forklifts are also utilized much within the mining, agricultural, docking and shipping business.
The forklift is also seen on constructions locations, since numerous models have been designed to pick up big heavy boxes and concrete slabs, heavy pipes, ceramics and other equipment. Because it is quite a compact unit, this particular machine could move from one place to another at a fairly good speed.
The dimensions of the forklift vary depending on the unit and its specific use. For warehousing applications, there are the narrow aisle truck units. These need 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 significant increase in these equipment in the manufacturing and mining equipment businesses. Because forklifts normally handle petrochemicals and pharmaceuticals and flammable supplies, the machines have become more robust 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 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 specific machine. No one could operate them legally without completing the proper training and documents.