Yes it did. The independents were essentially hirers of equipment and BITA were only interested in manufacturing and selling equipment. It issued guidelines on hiring and maintenance contracts - something BITA would never touch as their membership were not interested. The FLTA used to be called the Fork Lift Truck HIRE Association (FLTHA)

Yes the apprenticeship programme has been a success. They have linked in with a college in order that the academic side is covered as well.

As regards the US I guess the biggest problem would be the size of the country. The UK is small although very densely populated. You would need to keep it regional being relevant to the markets in your area.

As mentioned previously, there is little emitting from the organisation these days as the initiatives are a continuation from decades ago. I do get frustrated that it is not run by lift truck people - more by suppliers who want to be seen as central to the industry for their own gain.