Within the arena of human endeavor, forty years is a long time to
do anything. It’s a long time to hold a job, have a relationship, be
involved with a movement or cause, and it’s a long time to operate a
company successfully in a hyper-competitive market.
For a bit of perspective, the year 1981 began with Jimmy Carter in
the Whitehouse, who gave way to Ronald Reagan on January 20. Up north,
Pierre Trudeau, the father of Canada’s current Prime Minister, Justin
Trudeau, was in charge. The average annual income was around $21,000
which seems astonishingly low by today’s standards but back then, you
could get a new home and car for about $73,000 and $9,000 respectively
and get this, the gas you put that car only cost a $1.25 a gallon –
$0.26 per liter in Canada! In the news, Iran released 52 political
hostages after 444 days of confinement, the space shuttle Columbia flew
its first mission, Sandra Day O’Connor became the first woman appointed
as a Justice of the US Supreme Court and Prince Charles and Lady Dianna
Spencer were wed. In entertainment, Endless Love by Dianna Ross and
Lionel Ritchie was the biggest hit on the radio that year while theatre
audiences were enjoying the thrill ride that was Raiders of the Lost
Ark. Lastly, future entertainment megastars Britney Spears and Justin
Timberlake were born.
Unlike Britney and Justin, IVES Training was not born completely
helpless and in need of constant care and attention, in fact, it was
quite the opposite. IVES came into existence as a fully functioning and
capable training entity replete with the knowledge and wisdom of its
founder, Colin Ives, a venerable member of the industrial safety
community who by this point in his career had developed safety training
programs for police and military agencies as well as a national
motorcycle training program that is still largely in use to this day. It
is impossible to tell the story of IVES Training Group, the company,
without telling the story of Colin Ives, the man.
For years Colin saw what was happening in the world of powered
industrial trucks (PITs), specifically the mounting incident rates and
injury/fatality numbers. In response, he developed an easy to use yet
comprehensive operator training program designed for forklifts but
adaptable to almost any type of industrial mobile equipment. The program
was well regarded within the relative government agencies and overall
safety community with which Colin had been deeply involved for years.
However, to his shock and amazement, not to mention profound
disappointment, it was not adopted and used the way his motorcycle
program had been and sadly, it seemed destined to wither and die on the
vine.
Not one to shrink away from a challenge, nor to abandon his
convictions, in 1979 Colin made a momentous personal decision and left
the safety community he had served for so long to strike out
independently as the sole champion of his PIT operator safety training
program. A decision that would not only change his life but potentially
the lives of thousands of operators that his program may have literally
saved.
Colin’s passion for safety and ability to instill that passion in
others made him a brilliantly effective and unforgettable trainer while
the combination of his knowledge, charm and tireless work ethic made him
a formidable business person. Within a couple of years, industry buzz
about this super energetic, loud, forceful, incredibly knowledgeable
forklift guru with an English accent spread up and down the west coast
and in 1981, Ives and Associates was established as an official
corporate entity within the US and Canada. From that point, any
conversation on industrial mobile equipment safety west of the Rockies
couldn’t be had without the name of Colin Ives coming up.
In
the years that followed, Colin’s continuing, almost super-human efforts
along with an ability to spot and recruit great people like Brenda
Sheen, Grant Mackenzie and Ron Elliot, were instrumental in helping him
further his vision and build the company into the highly capable and
respected institution it is today.
Through several name changes, expansions in services and product
offerings, all the usual growing pains that come with ongoing success
and even some unusual ones, like a global pandemic, IVES Training Group
is still standing tall after forty years with one of the most loyal and
diverse client bases in the industry. Impressively, it has accomplished
all of this while remaining true to its roots in upholding and
continuing the vision and ideals of its founder, Colin Ives.
Sadly, Colin left us nearly four years ago. I like to think that
wherever he is, he still smiles and feels a swell of pride when he looks
down on the “little” company he started so long ago. Hopefully, he also
sees and takes comfort in the fact that those that came after him, your
humble author chief among them, continue to live by the words that were
his signature business mantra, “under-promise and over-deliver.”
Rob Vetter
General Manager/Director of Training
IVES Training Group
Free technical support for all IVES Certified Trainers!
"Excellent job covering all the MEWP updates and all the
information which has been updated on the IVES website. IVES does an
excellent job of explaining the ‘why’s' of training and adult
learning. The hands on training and learning is an effective and
efficient way to train adult learners." Steve, LSW and Associates Safety
Consulting Services LLC.
