 James Moran |
Industrial Truck Association (ITA) members learned about trade issues, safety initiatives and program advances and recognised service during their recent annual meeting.
ITA chairman James Moran noted that bilateral trade negotiations between the US and the European Union began in July. "We submitted official comments to the office of the United States trade representative" strongly supporting objectives of the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) negotiations to eliminate all tariffs immediately and harmonise non-tariff issues through a transparent process.
In September, ITA staff members and general counsel met in Washington to discuss the TTIP with two representatives of the German Machinery and Plant Manufacturers' Association, Ulrich Ackermann, managing director of foreign trade, and Naemi Denz, managing director of technical and environmental affairs.
"There remain several obstacles to reaching a conclusion to this trade agreement," Moran says. "However, if successful, it will be a major driver of growth for both economies."
As a next step, "the topic of free/fair trade will be discussed during our next Alliance of Industrial Truck Organizations meeting" being held in late October in Sanya in the Hainan province of China, Moran says.
Moran extended appreciation to the ITA committee chairmen and introduced each for an overview on activities in statistics, engineering, legal affairs, Canada and suppliers.
Moran presented a special industry award to Jeff Mueller, chairman of the general engineering committee (GEC).
"During his tenure, the committee conducted several forklift best practices seminars for OSHA safety personnel, provided industry positions on pedestrian safety to AIAG, continued efforts to harmonise ANSI/ITSDF B56.1 and ISO 3691 in the areas of braking, overhead guards and protection from moving parts and directed development of projects for the ITA-OSHA Alliance," Moran noted. Mueller is with Mitsubishi Caterpillar Forklift America Inc.
Another ITA special industry award was presented to John Maxa of Crown Equipment Corp, chairman of the ITA lawyers committee.
"During his most recent tenure as chairman of the committee, John has continued to be a vocal advocate of the benefits derived from powered industrial truck operator training, the value of the OSHA-ITA Alliance and continuing the OSHA compliance officer training program," Moran said. "(Maxa) strongly supported the continuation of ITA's state legislative monitoring program and fostered the enhancement of the exchange of information between industry counsel in product liability defence matters".
Others providing insights were statistics committee chairman Matt Logan of Crown; suppliers committee chairman Aurelio Carnici of GNB Industrial Battery Co; and Canada committee chairman Octavian Dragasanu of BT Canada/Johnston Equipment.
Paul Laroia of Nacco Materials Handling Group Inc received a special industry award for his service from 2007-2013 as a member of ITA's executive committee.
"Throughout his tenure, Paul has been an advocate of issues that have and will continue to make our industry better," Moran says. "Paul has been a champion of international dialogue and efforts to level the global playing field through the elimination of tariffs."
Moran added that Laroia will continue to serve on the ITA's board of directors, representing Nacco's newest brand, Utilev.
Incoming ITA chairman Brian Butler of Linde Material Handling North America Corp presented an award to Moran. Butler's term as ITA chairman begins on 1 January.
The plaque read, in part: "This special industry award is presented to James Moran of Crown Equipment Corp in grateful appreciation of his service over the course of 28 years to the Industrial Truck Association and to the worldwide industrial truck industry during his 47 years at Crown Equipment."
Moran served as ITA's top officials for three two-year terms, starting in 1993, 2002 and 2012. "He is the only member of the board of directors to serve three times and has continuously made himself and Crown personnel available for international industrial truck meetings around the world, as well as ITA's North American meetings," Butler said.
An alliance partnership of ITA and the US Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) conducted two compliance officer training (COTS) programs held in Boise, Idaho. More than 40 OSHA personnel participated. Another COTS class may held in the Chicago area soon.
"In addition to the COTS program, we also worked with OSHA on the development of several workforce safety posters and will keep you informed when they are ready for distribution," he said.
"I would like to thank Chris Merther, Gary Cross, the COTS volunteer trainers and all members of the GEC for their collective efforts to make GEC the success that it is today," Moran said.
An ITA-run statistical program provides members with market intelligence. "Protecting the infrastructure of this program remains one of our highest priorities," Moran said. "We made a proactive decision last year to allocate funds to ensure the integrity, reliability and overall performance of this program by committing to upgrading our systems." The new system is running now with regular members learning about its functionality.
"I would like to give a special thanks to Chris Buddenhagen for her hard work on this project," Moran said.
ITA is operating within budget and maintains a healthy reserve fund, Moran notes. "The association is financially sound and we expect this to continue for years to come."
The board of directors of the ITA is considering development of a National Forklift Safety Day. The concept was discussed during the ITA annual meeting along with thoughts about a statistics software upgrade, additional reporting of Class 1 trucks and a new logo and website.
Brian Feehan, ITA president, said approximately 185 people attended the 22-25 September ITA meeting at The Greenbrier luxury resort in White Sulphur Springs.
The ITA spring 2014 meeting takes place in Washington from 17-19 March. "With the continued professionalism and attention to detail that Debbie Stergar demonstrates, you can be assured that our next meeting will be great," Moran noted.
Washington-based ITA represents the manufacturers of forklifts, tow tractors, rough-terrain vehicles, hand-pallet trucks and automated guided vehicles and their component parts and accessories suppliers who do business in Canada, the US or Mexico.