What kind of trolley does your business

It's important to use the right type of trolley within your working environment for a number of reasons. In the interest of health and safety, it's vital that your employees are able to transport items carefully around the warehouse without the risk of the heavy item falling or damaging someone.

When it comes to productivity, it's similarly important to have the right trolley for the task, so that the job can be completed efficiently, as well as safely.

Not all trolleys are alike, with different types used for different purposes. We've put together a brief guide to the different types of trolleys available and why you might want to consider one type over another.

Remember - if you're interested in any of the trolleys available here, don't hesitate to contact us to find out more about how we can improve your workplace.

What to consider when purchasing a trolley

Different trolleys are used for different purposes. For instance, a turntable trolley is designed with tight navigation in mind, while a sack truck requires more space for manoeuvrability.

Other factors also need to be considered, such as the weight of the item your staff needs to lift. To avoid potential injury to your staff and damage to the item in question, you need to consider whether a crane is also required. Certain trolleys such as lifting and stacking trolleys offer a form of crane service, reducing the strain on your workforce's backs.

Additionally, when moving specific items such as food produce or gas canisters, dedicated trolley solutions should be used for the best results.

Here's a look at the many trolleys available through us.

Sack Trucks

A sack truck is one of the simplest and most commonly used trolleys in business. Odds are you've used one, even outside of a work context. A vertical trolley, you place a box on the shelf at the bottom then tip it with the handles at the top to wheel it around. It's ideal for objects that are a little too heavy or bulky for you to carry ordinarily, with the weight redistributed so it's easy to manoeuvre.

Open-ended Trolley

An open-ended trolley looks exactly like the kind of trolley you'll have used in somewhere like IKEA. Providing you can lift an item onto the trolley, you can then easily wheel it around the warehouse or other forms of workplace. It's a straight forward device, with a few tweaks and bespoke solutions available if you want something more specific in mind. Get in touch to arrange your ideal design.

Board & Sheet Material Trolleys

Aimed at providing safe transport for sheet material such as glass, or timber boards, board and sheet material trolleys offer barriers to place the sheets between. That way, you can easily move the trolley around without the boards being dislodged in any way. It also provides a safer way to lift items out, as less bending is required than if they were each placed horizontally.

Gas Bottle & Cylinder Trolleys

Need to transport gas bottles or cylinders on a regular basis? A dedicated cylinder trolley is required for the safest form of handling. It looks a lot like a sack trolley with its shelf at the bottom and handles on the top, but cylinder trolleys typically have chains or other connectors to ensure that the gas containers don't slip or slide around. It's a far safer option when dealing with potentially volatile substances.

Pallet Trucks

Pallet trucks are the trolleys that everyone pictures when imagining a warehouse environment. With long reaching teeth sticking out, you use the handle to move the pallet truck underneath a pallet of goods, before scooping it up and rolling away. They're ideal for safely dealing with heavy loads in large warehouses, and highly versatile given the array of different pallets available.

Dollies and Skates

Favoured by the baking and food industry, dollies and skates are typically used to transport crates of items, such as the crates that store food produce. It's simple to pile up crates on top of the dolly, which has a number of wheels underneath it. Once stacked, simply push the dolly around by using the crates as leverage. It's a simple and straight forward solution.

Lifting & Stacking Trolleys

Lifting and stacking based trolley such as scissor lift trolleys are part conventional trolleys and part cranes too. Designed with heavy or awkward loads in mind, you simply use a lever to move the base level of the trolley upwards so that it's easier to access the object placed on it. They're perfect for protecting employees from back problems, while still moving heavy objects around.


We've looked through the most commonly used types of trolley but if you have any further questions, please give us a call and we'll be sure to answer your query.