Nissan Forklift Corp (NFC) is offering two college-sanctioned training classes in its Marengo plant and, separately, has reported a 31% sales gain for fiscal year ended 31 March.

The hands-on forklift training and train-the-trainer programs are available through NFC's partnership with the McHenry County College Shah Centre, based in Crystal Lake, Illinois.

The programs facilitate compliance with US Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) standard 29 CFR 1910.178, requiring employers to establish and implement a forklift training and certification program. Failure to provide adequate training and certification as required by OSHA regulations can result in fines up to USD7,000 per employee.

The one-day forklift operator class is scheduled 27 July, 24 August and 21 September. The two-and-a-half-day train-the-trainer program will be held on 10-12 July and 20-22 August.

Regarding its business results, NFC president Peter Kruse says: "We are pleased with the gains that were made in fiscal 2011. We released new products, added dealers and saw significant sales growth. . . . We also celebrated the milestone of the 200,000th Nissan forklift (manufactured in the US. NFC began production in the US in 1988)."

NFC says it added four new dealer partners, executed several dealership incentive programs and improved training with its online University of Nissan Forklift training and certification portal. It also improved dealer support with NFCdirect.com, an e-commerce parts portal consolidating online catalogue and ordering system.

"We continued to explore new methods in 2011 to drive efficiency and reduce lead times, all while maintaining a high product quality at Nissan Forklift," Kruse notes.

Jim Radous, vice president of sales and marketing, says NFC has forged relationships in new markets through identifying industries for which NFC products can offer value.

NFC has more than 100 authorised dealerships, with about 225 locations in North and South America, and is part of the recently formed UniCarriers Corp forklift joint venture of Hitachi Construction Machinery Co Ltd, Nissan Motor Co Ltd and Innovation Network Corp of Japan.