NATIONAL FORKLIFT SAFETY DAY

A SPECIAL SUPPLEMENT TO DC VELOCITY 1

ON JUNE 12, THE INDUSTRIAL TRUCK ASSOCIATION (ITA) will host our fifth Annual National Forklift Safety Day in Washington, D.C. It is hard to believe that five years have passed since the inaugural event, and I would like to thank everyone who has contributed to making National Forklift Safety Day such a success.

For more than 60 years, ITA has been the leading organization of powered industrial truck (forklift) manufacturers and suppliers of component parts and accessories conducting business in the United States, Canada, and Mexico. Our membership represents over 90 percent of the powered industrial trucks sold in North America. National Forklift Safety Day serves as a focal point for manufacturers to highlight the safe use of forklifts and the importance of operator training. It has also become an important annual opportunity for industry members to come to Washington, D.C., and meet with their representatives and senators to highlight the strong safety record of the industrial truck industry and discuss the major public policy concerns facing the industry.

For many years, ITA has partnered with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), the American National Standards Institute, the Industrial Truck Standards Development Foundation, the Alliance of Industrial Truck Organizations, and the International Organization for Standardization to develop critical safety standards, harmonize those standards for the global marketplace, and compile data on global forklift markets.

Creating awareness regarding safety and the need
for operator training has been one of the fundamental
pillars of National Forklift Safety Day. In fact, the num-
ber of forklift accidents each year is about one-half of
what it was 20 years ago, even though the number of
forklifts in use has increased. Most of that decline fol-
lowed OSHA’s adoption of a vastly improved operator
training regulation in 1998. We’re working to continue
that progress.
Through our media partners,
including trade and general media
outlets, we have been able over the
years to generate approximately 90
million media impressions carrying
our message about safety through-
out the country. We expect this trend
to continue with the support of our
media sponsor this year, DC VELOCITY.
The fifth annual National Forklift
Safety Day program will be held on
June 12, from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m.,
at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel in
Washington’s Southwest Waterfront
district. Speakers will include Loren Sweatt, Acting
OSHA Administrator; Scott Johnson, ITA’s Chairman,
and Vice President of Sales and Marketing, Clark
Material Handling; Jim Mozer, ITA’s National Forklift
Safety Day Chairman, and Senior Vice President,
Crown Equipment Corp.; and Rep. Brett Guthrie of
Kentucky (invited), as well as leading safety experts.
I hope that you can join us on June 12. Thank you.