FTS Trianing Team

David Hoover, President

A graduate of Miami University, David founded Forklift Training Systems (FTS) in 1998, after entering the material handling world in 1991. His experiences working for a forklift dealership in aftermarket sales, new equipment sales and major accounts helped him gain knowledge of how safety training should be accomplished and how forklift fleets should be managed.

David has trained well over 10,000 forklift operators and many hundreds of trainers for a variety of companies. He has served as an authorized trainer for the OSHA 10 & 30 hour general industry outreach classes and has attended many specialized training classes, including factory sponsored training with manufacturers such as Clark and JLG. David has conducted thousands of forklift and material handling safety audits and a large number of forklift accident investigations. He has served as an expert witness in Federal and State cases involving serious injuries and deaths on forklifts and aerial work platforms.

David loves his job and has a real passion for trying to find new and creative ways to convince people to work safe for themselves and their families. In his free time he enjoys riding ATV's, coaching the pole vault and spending time with his family and friends on their farm in Central Ohio.

Contact us today at 740-763-4978 or dhoover@forklifttrainingsystem.com

Richard Evans, Senior Safety Trainer and Regional Manager (IN, KY and Cincinnati/Dayton OH areas)

Richard (Dick) Evans joined FTS in October of 2006; he trains and manages in the territory of Indiana, Kentucky, and southwestern Ohio for us. He also conducts on site Train the Trainer classes for us in all three states. He is a graduate of Miami University in Oxford, OH and has been associated with the forklift industry for over 30 years. For thirteen of those years, he owned his own forklift dealership.

He has experience in fleet management, warehouse layout, and knows how forklifts should be safely utilized. Dick also has a lot of experience working with the paper industry and brings that experience with him when conducting attachment training. Because of his experience, he is able to communicate well with experienced operators and provide them with new, interesting information that they haven't seen before.

Dick is married to Linda, his wife of over 30 years, and they have one grown son. In his spare time, he enjoys fishing and golf.

Dick can be reached at 513-519-6947 or devans@forklifttrainingsystem.com

Dan Smith, Senior Safety Trainer

Dan started his career with Ford Motor Company in Lorain, Ohio in 1969 as a production worker and later became a plumber - pipe fitter. His safety responsibilities started in 1992, when he was asked to teach a confined space class. In 1997 Dan became a full time trainer at Ford and served as the head UAW trainer, working with both the Union and Management.

He has served as an instructor for classes such as lock/tag-out, forklift safety, lifting and rigging, confined spaces, chemical safety, fall protection and aerial work platforms. Dan also served on committees working with job safety analysis, ergonomics, and accident investigations. Dan was also in charge of the fire brigade and rescue team at Ford. In 1999, after 30 years with Ford, Dan retired and moved to Columbus with his wife to be closer to their children and grandchildren.

Dan started with FTS in August of 2005 and manages the FTS "shared" training program for forklifts and work platforms, among other things. Dan enjoys spending time with his family and driving his beautiful Chrysler Crossfire convertible.

Kim Wingler, Senior Safety Trainer

A graduate of Franklin University, Kim has over 30 years experience working in manufacturing plants; 5 years in a food plant and 25+ years in pet food plants with Mars Petcare. Kim held a number of positions over the years such as Material Services Coordinator, Expeditor, Vendor Assurance Technician, MRO Capital Buyer, Site Commercial Manager, Site Logistics Manager, and Site Training Manager. These positions gave Kim the opportunity to gain knowledge and experience in activities such as plant and system audits, contract development and negotiations, project management, and training development.

As a Training Manager, Kim worked closely with David Hoover of Forklift Training Systems (FTS), who was a supplier of safety training to his facility. Kim formally retired from Mars Petcare at the end of 2006 and went to work for FTS in January of 2007. As a Senior Trainer for FTS, Kim is a the primary instructor for our Train-The-Trainer programs and has traveled across the U.S. for FTS on various assignments. Kim also serves as a forklift expert witness on court cases involving personal injury or death.

When Kim is teaching a class you can tell two things, he loves what he is doing and he is a great instructor who believes in the messages he is teaching. His main goal is making sure people are well informed, properly trained and most importantly, SAFE! In his free time, Kim enjoys spending time with his family, listening to music, and playing guitar.

Richard Caudill, Safety Trainer

Richard joined Forklift Training Systems in June of 2010. He has over 20 years of experience in the Environmental, Health and Safety fields. He has worked for such well known companies as Nestle Purina, Kellogg's and Avon as a facility safety manager. Richard has managed many programs including OSHA and EPA compliance audits, training, risk management, and emergency response. Besides working for Forklift Training Systems, Richard also volunteers and works part-time as a professional firefighter and emergency medical technician. Before he worked for Forklift Training Systems, he was a Forklift Training Systems customer. From the time we met Richard years ago, we knew he was an outstanding trainer/manager and we are excited to have him on our staff. In his spare time, he enjoys playing golf and spending time with his wife and two children.

Jessica Hoover, Office Manager

Jessica joined Forklift Training Systems in December 2000 as a part-time Office Assistant to help her brother-in-law, David Hoover. Over the years, Jessica mastered every task given to her and was promoted to Office Manager. She currently handles our customer paperwork, accounting, internet product sales and works closely with all our trainers in the field. She is the driving force behind the high efficiency in our office. In her free time, she coaches high school track and field and middle school cross country, as well as being an avid runner. She also enjoys spending time with her family and friends.

Amanda McWilliams, Customer Service Manager

Amanda joined the Forklift Training Systems team in December of 2010. She backs up Jessica in many critical functions, including internet sales and accounting, as well as being our in-house web master. One of Amanda's most important task is following up with our customers by phone and email to ensure their training went well and to be sure we have met their needs. She also calls our customers whose training is due to be renewed in order to assist them in making it current. In her spare time, she enjoys spending time with family and friends.