IPAF continues push in North America

North America has plenty of room for growth when it comes to the International Powered Access Federation (IPAF) gaining ground here, but IPAF's new president, JLG's Wayne Lawson, sees the market as ripe for potential, he recently told Access Lift & Handlers.

IPAF has been established in the North American market under its American Work Platform Training (AWPT) arm, whose most-recent recruitment included the International Union of Operating Engineers Local 150 (which joined IPAF as a member and also was appointed as an AWPT training center). The Federation has a long-term strategy to gain momentum in North America with its training products and classes, as well as safety awareness, Lawson said.

"The US market is a critically important market in the access business; it's kind of like the spiritual home of access. So the idea of not having an International Federation not acting and participating in the North American market is unthinkable," Lawson said. "A long-term strategy to get momentum there is very important to IPAF."

Lawson, who was appointed as the Federation's president after Steve Shaughnessy stepped down one year into his two-year stint, also told Access Lift & Handlers that he and Tim Whiteman, IPAF's chief executive officer and managing director, have touched base on the idea of holding an international IPAF event in North America and that it's "very likely."

"I think it would be an excellent opportunity and it's encouragement for new members to join, so during my term, I'd love to see [an IPAF event held in the US]," Lawson said. "It would be a great way to raise the profile."

The IPAF Council, who has had an eye on the Federation's involvement in the US market, has asked "a lot of good questions" and had a "lot of good debates on what we're doing there," Whiteman said. "There are some things happening there, (Union involvement), in fairly recent times which are giving the encouragement to council that the strategy [to be in North America] is a good one and it's one that's worth sticking with."

Whiteman said training centers in North America continue to increase and there has been a "lot of interest" from unions across the US who are adopting IPAF's training program.

For more on IPAF's plans in North America, make sure to read the full interview with Wayne Lawson and Tim Whiteman in the July/August issue of Access, Lift & Handlers.