By Allison Preston
Cortland, New York — October 20, 2017 — The Automotive Lift Institute (ALI) has moved to a new multipurpose facility in Cortland, New York.
ALI members, as well as lift inspectors, suppliers and other guests from the vehicle lift and workplace safety industries, attended the grand opening celebration, where the company announced the facility was driven by the growth of ALI lift safety initiatives like the ALI Lift Inspector Certification Program.
The launch coincided with the opening of LiftLab, a resource for people who test lifts which offers them a single location they can visit to examine and learn about the various lift styles that are in the marketplace.
ALI member manufacturers have provided and installed 12 vehicle lifts in the expansive LiftLab area so far. They range from the smallest motorcycle lift to the most common two-post style, all the way up to heavy-duty in-ground and mobile column lifts.
ALI said the facility is the only one of its kind in North America that brings together such a wide range of operational lifts from various manufacturers and makes them available for hands-on industry training.
“Through the generous support of the ALI member companies that produce North America’s certified vehicle lifts, we are able to facilitate opportunities for candidate lift inspectors, product safety engineers and others to come to a single location to examine two-post, multi-post, scissors, in-ground, mobile column and low-rise lifts,” said ALI’s President R.W. O’Gorman.
“This will enable lift inspector candidates to more expediently meet the requirements of the ALI Lift Inspector Certification Program, which will help address increasing customer demand. At the same time, we can improve the technical skills and knowledge of the experts charged with testing and certifying future vehicle lifts.”
The new 8,500-square-foot headquarters at 3699 Luker Road is more than four times larger than the organization’s previous Cortland office. It includes 3,475 square feet of renovated office and conference space, as well as a modern classroom that complies with nationally recognized examination requirements for up to 20 participants.
ALI was established by nine lift manufacturers in 1945 and originally had its office in New York City until relocating to Indialantic, Florida, in 1993. ALI moved its headquarters to Cortland in 2005 and has since grown from two employees to eight as the organization has expanded its safety-focused activities.
Membership has also grown, it now has 21 member companies and six non-member firms producing ALI certified gold label lifts.
For more information, please visit autolift.org.
