Multiple-brand dealership Kansas Forklift Inc will provide operator training on 29 January in Mulvane, Kansas through a program of the Sumner County Economic Development Commission (SCEDC).

Kansas Forklift also handled classroom training for a SCEDC program in mid-2012 at K Doll Coatings in Conway Springs, Kansas.

Through a survey in early 2012, businesses identified the need for forklift training to comply with US Occupational Safety and Health Administration regulations, says Janis Hellard, director of SCEDC in Wellington, Kansas. This subject "rose to the top", and the commission determined there was "a sufficient need to offer the class".

In April, SCEDC obtained a grant through a regional economic development agency providing Rural Business Development Tax Credits.

The January program will take place in a classroom at Wyldewood Cellars in Mulvane. The winery has several staff in need of the operator training program. "We had 15 signed up and no limit (on how many the session can accommodate)", Hellard notes.

Those working in Sumner County can attend the program without charge; the fee for others is USD25.
The driving portion for obtaining a three-year certification card will be held at each employer's location.

The husband-and-wife team of Tom and Linda Large established Kansas Forklift in 1977 and continue to own and operate the business. "It will be 36 years in March," Linda Large says.

Kansas Forklift employs 15 staff, occupies 15,000 sqft. (1,394 sqm) in Wichita and represents the Nissan, Barrett, Heli, Blue Giant, Master Craft, Landoll, Pettibone Mercury and Schaeff lines of forklifts and Genie scissor and boom lifts.