Pallet trucks: manual or electric
This piece of transport equipment is very simple and widely used because of its versatility. Pallet trucks can be either manual or electric.
Forklift trucks have a direct influence on storage solutions, since their use determines aisle width and, as a result, the number of racks that can be installed, as well as the storage capacity. Likewise, forklifts come into play in the maximum height of the racks, which can be higher or lower according to the situation.
Warehouse forklift trucks are responsible for the in-house movement of goods, from the docks to the racking storage slots, or from the production areas to the warehouse. The following articles briefly describe the main features of the handling equipment operators must run, since these are widely used in small and medium-sized warehouses.
The forklift trucks market offers a broad variety of equipment, which can be classified into three large groups:
This piece of transport equipment is very simple and widely used because of its versatility. Pallet trucks can be either manual or electric.
The stacker is similar to a pallet truck but has lifting capability. It is ideal for restricted movements and hoisting heights of 6 metres or less.
These are the best forklifts for working both inside and outside a warehouse, and highly recommended for loading lorries.
Reach trucks are lighter than counterbalanced forklifts and can maneuver in narrower aisles. They are the most commonly used equipment inside warehouses.
These machines are specially adapted to order picking as operators have access to the machine's control panel and direct access to the load, facilitating picking work.
Automatic guided vehicles (AGV) and laser guide vehicles (LGV) are transport equipment, similar to forklifts, which move by means of a wire-guided or a laser guided system.
These forklift trucks are excellent for working in narrow aisles and have height capacities of more than 14 metres, which allows for greater storage capacity.
Other types of pallet and box transport systems are used in warehouses, such as handcarts, overhead chain conveyors, overhead cranes or hoists etc.
Equipment on a fixed circuit include: stacker cranes, conveyors, electric monorails and automatic guided vehicles.
One option in clad-rack warehouses is to use free-moving handling equipment: reach-trucks, bilateral and trilateral turret trucks.
A table that compares the technical specifications of the different pallet handling and lifting equipment.