The Automotive Lift Institute (ALI) officially opened its new headquarters and LiftLab on Oct. 12,  in Cortland, New York, with a grand opening celebration attended by ALI members, lift inspectors, suppliers and other guests from the vehicle lift and workplace safety industries. Growth of ALI lift safety initiatives like the ALI Lift Inspector Certification Program drove the need for a larger multipurpose facility.

The new 8,500-square-foot headquarters is more than four times larger than the organization’s previous Cortland office. It includes 3,475 square feet of renovated office and conference space, as well as a modern classroom that complies with nationally recognized examination requirements for up to 20 participants.

The company says what really differentiates the facility is its new LiftLab. ALI member manufacturers have provided and installed 12 vehicle lifts in the expansive LiftLab area. They range from the smallest motorcycle lift to the most common two-post style, all the way up to heavy-duty inground and mobile column lifts. This is one of the only facilities in North America that brings together such a wide range of operational lifts from various manufacturers and makes them available for hands-on industry training.

“Through the generous support of the ALI member companies that produce North America’s certified vehicle lifts, we are able to facilitate opportunities for candidate lift inspectors, product safety engineers and others to come to a single location to examine two-post, multi-post, scissors, inground, mobile column and low-rise lifts,” says R.W. “Bob” O’Gorman, ALI president. “This will enable lift inspector candidates to more expediently meet the requirements of the ALI Lift Inspector Certification Program, which will help address increasing customer demand. At the same time, we can improve the technical skills and knowledge of the experts charged with testing and certifying future vehicle lifts.”

The following lifts are installed in the ALI LiftLab:

• Light-duty two-post surface-mounted lift, 10,000 lbs. rated capacity
• Light-duty low-rise frame-engaging lift, 10,000 lbs. rated capacity
• Heavy-duty two-post surface-mounted lift, 16,000 lbs. rated capacity
• Set of four wireless heavy-duty wheel-engaging mobile units (mobile column lifts), 54,000 lbs. total rated capacity
• Heavy-duty inground lift, 60,000 lbs. rated capacity
• Heavy-duty scissors lift, 30,000 lbs. rated capacity, equipped with wheels-free device
• Heavy-duty two-post surface-mounted lift, 15,000 lbs. rated capacity
• Light-duty scissors lift, 9,000 lbs. rated capacity
• Heavy-duty four-post surface-mounted lift, 14,000 lbs. rated capacity, equipped with wheels-free device
• Light-duty motorcycle lift, 1,000 lbs. rated capacity
• Light-duty inground lift, 10,000 lbs. rated capacity
• Set of four wireless heavy-duty wheel-engaging mobile units (mobile column lifts), 74,000 lbs. total rated capacity, along with set of four high-reach supplementary stands

For more information about ALI, visit autolift.org or call 607-756-7775.