CORTLAND, N.Y. — The Automotive Lift Institute (ALI) board of directors, historically composed solely of lift manufacturers, will include a representative from the lift inspection side of the business for the first time in 2014.

Evan Calarco of Total Tool Ltd. in Castleton, N.Y., was elected to serve as the board’s first associate class member during the annual membership meeting held in Las Vegas on Nov. 4.

The new associate class of ALI membership was created as part of ALI’s Lift Inspector Certification program, which was launched in November 2012. Any North American organization with at least one ALI certified lift inspector on staff may join ALI as an associate class member.

Associate class members have access to exclusive industry resources, training materials and discounts. They also vote to put forth the associate class member board representative. More than 40 companies have joined ALI as associate class members in the past three months.

“The addition to our board of an associate class member who represents ALI certified lift inspectors reflects well on the growth of the organization and our vision for the future,” ALI President R.W. “Bob” O’Gorman said. “There are more than 500 active lift inspector candidates currently in the program, representing more than 300 different organizations. As the associate class membership class grows, the influx of new participants will help ALI penetrate deeper into the industry to better educate lift users about equipment safety."