Power Climber Launches New Organizational Structure

Power Climber, a division of SafeWorks LLC, announced a new organizational structure and improved product, designed to revitalize the brand and promote future growth. Power Climber is supporting the best dealer network in the powered access industry by restructuring its management
team.

In conjunction with the announcement, three senior leaders have been appointed to key positions:

• Mike Russell, eight-year Power Climber veteran and president-elect of the Scaffold & Access Industry Association (SAIA), now oversees the sales and business management functions responsible for increasing sale coverage and driving operational excellence throughout the United States.

• Colby Hubler, key account manager, brings more than 10 years of scaffold and access industry experience, taking on the dealership relationships.

• Teresa Kinney, regional sales manager, puts more than eight successful years of experience to use sharing sales responsibility for the dealership network.

In addition to the management restructure, Power Climber is investing in the refreshment of several of its key products. First and foremost is the revitalization of its signature PC1 traction hoist. The new and improved model marries the trusted PC1’s breech reeving capability with the proven low voltage performance of the newest models. With the deepest voltage operating range on the market and the easy-to-replace motherboard, the new PC1 manages poor power better than the competition. For more details, check out the brochure at www.powerclimber.com/pdfs/PC1_Oct_2012_Final_Web.pdf.

Liz Callahan has been a recognized leader within the suspended scaffolding industry and a great contributor to SafeWorks and to the industry as a whole through participation for a number of years. She has recently decided to leave the company in pursuit of other opportunities.

Powered Access Awards Summit Scheduled for March

The International Awards for Powered Access (IAPAs) and the IPAF Summit conference will be held on March 26, 2013, at the Hilton Miami Downtown Hotel, Florida. This unmissable event combines educational and networking opportunities as well as celebrating excellence in the access industry.

It is jointly organized by industry magazines Access International and Access Lift & Handlers, and IPAF. Put the date in your diary and be part of a host of events taking place from March 25 to 27.

This is the first time that the IPAF Summit and IAPAs are being held in the United States, and there is an excellent line-up of top speakers for the Summit conference.

The IPAF Summit will be a full day of plenary conference and seminars. The day will start at 9:00am with the IPAF Annual General Meeting (AGM) for IPAF members only. This will be followed by breakout seminars that all delegates can attend, covering topics related to AWPs and mast climbing work platforms (MCWPs), ranging from inspections and maintenance, to accident reporting and safety training.

The plenary conference in the afternoon will bring all delegates together and provide them with valuable take-home messages that contribute toward a professional and safe powered access industry. Ron DeFeo, chairman & CEO of Terex, will give the keynote address. Other confirmed speakers include Michael Kneeland, president & CEO of United Rentals, and Sérgio Kariya, managing director of the rental division of Mills Estruturas e Serviços de Engenharia SA in Brazil. The Summit is held in English, with simultaneous translation in Spanish, Portuguese and Italian. Attendance is free. Register in advance at www.iapa-summit.info.

100,000+ Complete IPAF Training in 2011

A record number of 101,457 people completed an IPAF training course in 2011. Training available from IPAF-approved centers includes operator courses for which a PAL Card (Powered Access License) is issued, and management courses for which a certificate is issued.

The International Powered Access Federation (IPAF) issued a record 97,488 PAL Cards worldwide through its approved training centers in 2011, an increase of about 13.9% more than the 85,605 PAL Cards issued in 2010.

A valid PAL Card is proof that the cardholder has been trained to operate powered access equipment safely and effectively. PAL Cards are valid for five years and can be verified online at www.ipaf.org. IPAF’s PAL Card operator training program is certified by TÜV as conforming to ISO 18878.

Slightly more than half of all IPAF-approved training centers are now outside the United Kingdom and the Federation says that there are currently close to 400,000 valid PAL Cards in circulation.

At the end of 2011, IPAF had nearly 900 members worldwide. More than half the membership is now based outside the United Kingdom, and membership continues to grow in places such as the United States, Brazil and South East Asia.

In the US, the training program is managed by IPAF’s North American subsidiary, American Work Platform Training (AWPT), and the PAL Card is known as the Powered Access Licensed-Registration.