We all know that 2010 has been a difficult year, but from the Association’s point of view it could have been worse. Many of our members are broad based and not dependent on the sale of new trucks. Indeed, as the users of fork lift trucks reduce their budgets and put off the purchase of new equipment, so the need for service, repair and refurbishment increases. With a careful eye on their costs the majority of FLTA members have been able to survive and provide their customers with the same high quality of service.
There were strong nominations for Awards 2010. The winners in the main product categories were:
• Environment – Cascade Corporation
• Ergonomics – Mitsubishi Forklift Trucks Ltd
• Safety – Abex Ltd
• Innovation – Ravas Europe B.V.
In addition the coveted Safe Site Award was won by Anglesey Aluminium Metal Ltd. Not only did they make significant improvements to their main site on Anglesey, but they shared some valuable resources with the public through the Association website.
The FLTA promoted safe operations throughout the year. All of the Technical Bulletins provided to our members were updated. This detailed up to date information benefits all of their customers. We also circulated details of the EU Healthy Workplaces campaign, making it clear that safe and healthy places of work for visiting service engineers was of benefit to all concerned with the maintenance of fork lift trucks.
For many users of fork lift trucks the third annual Safety Week was undoubtedly a highlight. In addition to emphasising the importance of safety across a broad range of publications, a new array of free material was also provided through the Association website (www.fork-truck.org.uk). The emphasis was on management and supervision and a free training presentation was made available. A further highlight was a Good Practice Checklist – and this is still available on the website under the Safety Week resources. A further highlight was the Safety Conference. Some 150 delegates gathered at Warwick University in September to hear at first hand from 8 different experienced practitioners, including a speaker from Canada and one from the USA.
As the year draws to a close the FLTA looks forward to an even busier 2011. We are a little more optimistic than we were this time last year, but we are fully aware that there is no room for complacency.
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