CORTLAND, NY – The Automotive Lift Institute (ALI) has opened new headquarters and LiftLab in Cortland, New York, responding to growing safety initiatives like its Lift Inspector Certification Program.

The 8,500-square-foot site is four times larger than the institute’s previous Cortland office, and includes 3,475 square feet of renovated office and conference space.

Highlighting the new facility is a new LiftLab that features12 vehicle lifts from member manufacturers, including everything from motorcycle and two-post lifts up to heavy-duty inground and mobile column lifts. It’s said to be the only facility in North America that brings together such a wide range of operational lifts for hands-on training.

“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,” said RW “Bob” O’Gorman, the institute’s 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 institute sponsors several national lift safety standards, including the ANSI/ALI ALCTV Standard for  Standard for Automotive Lifts – Safety Requirements for Installation and Service, and ANSI/ALI ALOIM Standard for Automotive Lifts – Safety Requirements for Operation, Inspection and Maintenance. It also offers third-party certification programs for vehicle lifts and lift inspectors.

Established in 1945, the institute has 21 member companies and six non-member firms producing ALI-certified gold label lifts.