The Automotive Lift Institute (ALI) was founded in 1945 and after
2 years became the first nationally recognized Commodity Standard
governing "Automotive Lifts". Initially, it focused on IN-GROUND lifts,
the only type of lift produced in this country until the mid-1970s. By
this time, a new concept in lifts was taking a foothold in the U.S.
marketplace with about 10% of new lift sales comprising surface-mounted
lifts. Many of these lifts came from overseas, some were being made by
ALI members and a few non-member companies were initiating production of
these "new" style lifts. By 1984, ALI had 16 member companies selling
over 38,000 units, representing over 95% of U.S. sales. The 1974
standard, went through 2 revisions (1981 and 1990), and ANSI/ALI
ALCTV-1998, "Safety Requirements for the Construction, Testing, and
Validation of Automotive Lifts" was adopted as the new nationally
recognized voluntary consensus standard for the lift industry on October
1, 1998. Lift sales escalated during the early '80s, and the number both
of lift manufacturers and of lift designs also grew, so that in 1988 ALI
had 17 members selling over 49,000 lifts representing about 80% of all
domestic sales. After many discussions during 1989 the members
authorized ALI to sign an agreement accepting Intertek Testing
Laboratories (ETL) in Cortland, NY as ALI's third-party provider for
testing of lifts. ETL is a Nationally Recognized Testing Laboratories (NRTL)
in the eyes of OSHA. The ALI/ETL Certification Program received ANSI
Accreditation in 2001 and ALI was granted permission to use the "ANSI
Accredited Certification Program" Mark. Continued conformance with
program qualification requirements is verified by ANSI through annual
on-site assessments. For lift buyers, this allows informed decisions to
be made, cutting down the risk of making decisions based on a wrong
assessment, and provides a guarantee that the product has been assessed
by an independent and competent body and inspires trust in the supplier,
your ALI lift manufacturer. In 1993, the members of the Automotive Lift
Institute supported the decision that third-party testing and product
listing in the "ALI/ETL Automotive Lift Certification Program" be made a
requirement for ALI Membership.
