CORTLAND, N.Y. (Dec. 9, 2013) — The Automotive Lift Institute (ALI) board of directors, historically comprised of lift manufacturers, has added Evan Calarco of Castleton, N.Y.-based Total Tool Ltd. as its first-ever representative from the lift inspection side of the business.
Beginning next year, Mr. Calarco will become the board's first member to come from its Associate Class, a designation created as part of the institute's Lift Inspector Certification program, which launched in November 2012. He was nominated to the board by other Associate Class members, and his nomination was then approved by the general membership, the ALI said.
Any North American organization with at least one ALI Certified Lift Inspector on staff may join ALI as an Associate Class member. According to ALI, Associate Class members have access to exclusive industry resources, training materials and discounts. More than 40 companies have joined as Associate Class members in the past three months.
“The addition to our board of an Associate Class member who represents ALI Certified Lift Inspectors reflects well on the growth of the organization and our vision for the future,” said ALI President R.W. “Bob” O'Gorman.
“There are more than 500 active lift inspector candidates currently in the program, representing more than 300 different organizations. As the Associate Class membership class grows, the influx of new participants will help ALI penetrate deeper into the industry to better educate lift users about equipment safety.”
The ALI's 2014 board also includes Chairman Jerome Lentz of Challenger Lifts (Louisville, Ky.); Douglas Grunnet of Stertil KONI USA (Streator, Ill.); Gary Kennon of Rotary Lift Consolidated (Madison, Ind.); Jeff Kritzer of Bendpak Inc. (Santa Paula, Calif.); Pete Liebetreu of Hunter Engineering Co. (Bridgeton, Mo.); Stet Schanze of Gray Manufacturing Co. Inc. (St. Joseph, Mo.); and Mr. O'Gorman.