For updated market data on lift truck and accessory vendors, visit www.indtrk.org.

Determining who trains your operators is a key decision,. Do you go to a manufacturer? Dealer? Private trainer? Or build a custom, in-house program?

Manufacturers and dealers are excellent resources, generally, for training. They know their trucks thoroughly, teach train-the-trainer classes, and have qualified trainers who run classes for operators at dealerships and elsewhere. Or they can do so at your site. They also have training kits for your use and/or purchase.

Your local distributor may not be staffed with a fully qualified trainer, however. Your fleet of trucks may be made up of a variety of brands, complicating the training resource selection and educational process somewhat. For these reasons and others, you may wish to use the capabilities of an independent or private training firm. We'll focus on that here.

Training from this kind of resource carries with it the responsibility­as in any situation where you subcontract out for services­to check the credentials of the training provider thoroughly. Find out how long they've been in business, their trainer qualifications, and who they've trained.

Private trainers come in many forms: industrial training companies that train operators of forklifts as well as those who run construction cranes and other equipment; firms specializing only in lift truck instruction. community college programs; dealers offering multi-brand training.

We've tried to ease your search process by listing those companies (see table) which have identified their firms as training resources to the Industrial Truck Association.