Lift truck attachments are specialized devices designed to be attached to a conventional lift truck in order to expand its capabilities. Numerous companies around the world manufacture a wide range of lift truck attachments aimed at making workplaces more efficient and expanding the range of materials that can be handled in warehouses and at job sites. Lift truck attachments are an excellent solution for companies that need to manipulate and move material, but cannot afford specialized equipment.
The range of lift truck attachments on the market includes booms, which turn a lift truck into a mobile crane. Usually, the boom is installed where the forks of the lift truck would normally go, and most booms swivel and rotate, allowing the operator a wide range of motions. These lift truck attachments are built to various lengths and specifications, depending upon the needs of the end user. Some are as long as 12 feet (four meters) and can lift up to 3,000 pounds (1,300 kilograms).
Lift truck attachments are also designed to extend existing forks, or to provide an individual lifting device for rugs and other materials that come in bundles with a hollow core. These devices are called coil lifting rams, and they usually take the form of a single extremely strong cylinder that attaches to the front of the lift truck, allowing operators to lift very large and heavy coils for construction work, warehouse stacking, and other applications.
Many companies also design drum grippers and rotators, lift truck attachments meant to handle large steel drums. In addition to moving steel drums, these attachments can rotate them into position, and depending on the size, they may be able to handle multiple drums. These lift truck attachments come in two forms: steel drum grippers, which grasp the body of the drum, and bean drum grippers, which attach to the rim of the drum.
A variety of fork beams, pallet lifting attachments, and slings are also designed to help make lifting trucks more useful. These lift truck attachments are aimed at helping operators manipulate goods in close quarters, where conventional use of the lift truck is not feasible. Most manufacturers of lift truck attachments also design specialized attachments for custom uses ranging from construction scaffold lifters to trailer movers. The wide range of lift truck attachments on the market helps to expand the usefulness of a conventional lift truck, allowing it to be utilized in a variety of situations and locations. They are an excellent method for increasing a company's efficiency and handling abilities, and they have been adopted by companies large and small worldwide.