Robert van Herk with the large forklift forks.

A Netherlands-based forklift fork manufacturer has produced exceptionally large forks to handle 43,000kg steel plates for Corus Ijmuiden.

R van Herk Forklift Forks managing director Robert van Herk said the maximum lift capacity of a forklift fitted with the forks was 89,000kg at a 1,000mm load centre or "70,000kg on half the fork".

"You can lift about 22 elephants in one time," van Herk said. "The [forks] will be placed on a Caterpillar shovel (the Cat992 G) and used to bring 43,000kg steel plates to a storage facility."

Made from boron steel, the forks are 400mm wide, 150mm thick and 2,800mm long.

Van Herk said the forks were the biggest produced by his company, which has an output of "several thousand" forks a year.