It doesn’t matter if you need to move a pallet full of materials across the aisle or directly from production to semi trailer, you need a way to do it safely, efficiently and accurately. The world of moving pallets might seem simple at first glance, but with just a little digging you’ll quickly learn there’s much more nuance than you might expect.

There are rare circumstances where one size fits all is an appropriate strategy for material handling within your warehouse. At Hoj Innovations, our team of experts is ready to help your organization design and implement the optimal solution for your warehouse needs.

Pallet movers come in a variety of styles and sizes. While you are undoubtedly familiar with traditional forklifts and pallet jacks, the options are hardly limited to those two tried and true standards.

Types of Pallet Movers

Forklift

They’re big, they’re powerful and they’re absolutely essential. Forklifts are an integral part of virtually every warehouse and factory. Capable of lifting and moving very heavy loads, forklifts require training and skill to operate safely. 

While efficient, forklifts can also be hazardous in tightly packed warehouses with narrow spaces. 

Autonomous Pallet Truck

Like a forklift, but robotic. Smaller in scale and usually powered by electricity, Autonomous Pallet Trucks can eliminate human error by using warehouse management software to place, pick and transport pallets without requiring extra staff. 

Using precise directions and sensors to detect obstacles along the route, Autonomous Pallet Trucks are highly efficient  and safe.

Pallet Truck

The workhorse of warehouses small and large, Pallet Trucks (or Pallet Jacks) slide under pallets and lift them with a few tugs on the hydraulic lift handle. With a tight turning radius and the ability to carry loads as heavy as a few thousand pounds. 

Pallet Trucks have allowed one person to move product in a minute or two when it would require multiple people and a lot of time to manually move items. Perhaps the major flaw in Pallet Jacks is the inability to move anything higher than ground level. If your warehouse has shelving of two or more levels, you’ll need more than a Pallet Truck to move product.

Pallet Trucks can be fully manual or incorporate electric motors to make transporting pallets less physically demanding and faster. Motorized pallet jacks increase efficiency, reduce worker injuries and fatigue as well as 

Stackers

Warehouses have grown up - literally - over the years and vertical storage means you’ll need stackers to get those heavy pallets to the second shelf or higher. 

Stackers are part forklift, part pallet jack. They can maneuver through tighter spaces and quickly raise pallets via hydraulic or electric motorized lifts.

Scissor Lift Truck

Imagine a pallet jack that raises four feet instead of four inches. Save your workers’ backs the pain of lifting small but heavy items awkwardly from floor to shelf. 

With a scissor lift truck, you can raise a pallet with hydraulic force to speed the process. While not ideally useful for placing entire pallets on shelves, and certainly not higher than one level above the ground, Scissor Lift Trucks nonetheless have earned their place in a variety of warehouse and industrial settings.

All-Terrain Pallet Truck

A fairly recent entry to the pallet moving arena is the All-Terrain Pallet Truck. Moving loads of heavy items across uneven terrain is a challenge which traditional forklifts and pallet jacks are usually not up to. With beefed up the wheels and ground clearance, All-Terrain Pallet Trucks make quick work of lugging heavy loads through construction sites, gravel pits and more.

Conclusion

It may seem a basic part of warehouse solutions, but even the most basic of tasks require precision and efficiency to truly optimize your operations. With Hoj Innovations on your team, you’ll have the right combination of pallet moving tools to maximize your productivity.