Training firm expands after securing new funding

A COVENTRY equipment safety training company is expanding overseas in order to meet an increasing demand for its specialist services.

Train-a-Lift in Canley provides forklift training and mechanical handling equipment safety training courses for operators and instructors for companies however large or small.

The 15-strong firm, established in 1977, also designs and runs courses for operators and instructors in their place of work or at its training centre.

The company, which annually trains around 5,000 people, is now beginning to export its services to Europe after securing funding from Yorkshire Bank and its new business support initiative, Investing for Growth.

David Brown, managing director of Train-a-Lift, said the company was now looking at expanding into Cyprus.

“Health and safety is not as stringent in Cyprus as it is in the UK and there have been a lot of industrial accidents,” he said.

“We have been working with the Health and Training Safety Centre in Cyprus by sending our instructors over there to train workers at a port to safely use handling equipment.

“We have set up a lot of practices and systems in the UK which can easily be transferred to organisations such as the HTSC in Cyprus which shows the importance of businesses having a few strings to their bow.”

Train-a-Lift, which bought the freehold of its Charter Avenue premises from the city council following support from Yorkshire Bank, said it now had the confidence to look at opportunities elsewhere.

Martin Boag, business partner at Yorkshire Bank’s Financial Solutions Centre at the Ricoh Arena in Coventry, said Investing for Growth had been established for companies just like Train-a-Lift.

“Investing for Growth is our response to listening to customers’ demand for a flexible approach to investment finance,” he said.

“It aims to help trading businesses invest in quality growth opportunities to buy or expand their premises, hire new staff, launch a new product or win a new contract and in this instance has enabled Train-a-Lift to buy their premises and diversify abroad.”