Heavy-duty forklifts are forklift trucks with lifting capacities ranging from 10 tonnes to over 50 tonnes, designed for particularly heavy loads such as containers, steel coils, large machinery or generators. They feature reinforced masts, robust frames and are usually powered by diesel or LPG engines.
Variants include heavy-duty diesel forklifts (standard for 10–25 tonnes), reach stackers for container handling (up to 45 tonnes), port mobile cranes / forklift trucks (over 50 tonnes) and special models with clamping units for steel coils or pipes.
Common manufacturers include Kalmar, Hyster, Linde, Konecranes, Sany, Liebherr, SMV, Terberg and Taylor.
Heavy-duty forklifts are used in ports and container terminals, in steelworks (coil and slab handling), in sawmills (log handling), in rolling mills, at heavy machinery manufacturers, in heavy industry and at railway stations handling heavy goods.