The lift truck has been around ever since the early 1920's. Since its inception, the lift truck has become an indispensable machinery for the materials handling industry.
Sometimes called forklifts, amongst their initial uses was lifting and transporting baggage at train stations and airports. Throughout the Second World War using these equipment exploded and the warehousing business expanded greatly. The traditional equipment was adapted to deal with the need to stack inventory on higher shelves and they were made to move faster and lift heavier loads.
Normally, forklift trucks are utilized for stacking inventory within warehouses. In the majority of cases, things are packed onto pallets that make it ideal for the blades to move in between the open spaces of the pallets. The lift truck could then securely carry the cargo without it falling into the ground or wobbling. Once the pallets are in position, they can be transported easily to another location. Forklifts are also utilized a lot in the agriculture, mining, docking and shipping industry.
The forklift is also seen on constructions sites, as numerous units have been designed to pick up large heavy boxes and heavy pipes, concrete slabs, other equipment and ceramics. Since it is fairly a compact unit, this machinery is able to move from one place to a different location at a moderately good speed.
The dimensions of the forklift vary depending on the model and its specific application. For warehousing applications, there are the narrow aisle truck models. These require the floor to be extremely flat and are quite a bit smaller in size. Normally, they are designed with rear wheel steering. There has been a dramatic increase in these equipment within the manufacturing and mining machine industries. Since lift trucks often deal with flammable materials, pharmaceuticals and petrochemicals, the machinery have become stronger and more robust.
The forklifts may have load capacities from 1 to as many as 5 tons. Several heavy duty models have been made to deal with as many as 50 tons. These models are usually utilized to load shipping equipment off of and into ships. Lift trucks and their required training to operate are specially regulated to ensure the safety of the individuals using this specific equipment. No body is able to utilize them legally without completing the correct training and documents.