Clark Material Handling has departed US industry group The Industrial Truck Association (ITA), which claims to represent “90% of the forklift manufacturers in the United States and Canada”. 

The departure is subject to some speculation among industry players, but president ITA Brian Feehan would not reveal any details, other than to “confirm that Clark is not currently a member of the ITA”.

Clark general counsel and secretary Jeff English has also confirmed the “decision to withdraw (from) the ITA”.

“Clark, a founding member of the ITA, is grateful for the decades of association with the organisation and the relationships formed with members and individuals over the years. However, for a number of reasons and after much discussion, Clark decided to move forward in a different direction,” he tells Forkliftaction News. 

“Clark respects and does not comment on any internal procedures or deliberations of the ITA. Suffice it to say that Clark was not expelled from the ITA, nor was ITA about to expel Clark,” he says.

English describes Clark as “a company of the utmost integrity”. 

“It certainly does not condone the improper access or use of others’ confidential information. Similarly, in the event it discovered any breach of confidentiality or breach of security by anyone inside or outside its company, it would report the matter and cooperate in any investigation,” he adds. 

“We wish ITA nothing but success in the future,” he adds.

Clark traces its origins back to the 1917 merger of the Celfor Tool Company and the Buchanan Electric Steel Company. In 1917, employees built a simple shop buggy to haul materials between buildings at their Buchanan, Michigan (USA) plant. The vehicle’s ability to quickly do what had previously been done manually led to wide acceptance of what would be called the “Tructractor”, beginning a revolution in the industry and the development of the first gasoline-powered forklift, the Truclift in 1920.

In 2003, Clark was acquired by the Young An Hat Company of Korea.

Current ITA members include Toyota, Raymond, Yale, Linde, Jungheinrich, Hangcha, Kalmar and Mitsubishi. The group is best known for compiling detailed industry statistics based on information from its members and is also a leading force in the annual National Forklift Safety Day events in the United States.