David Hoover, President A graduate of Miami University, David founded FTS Safety 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 [email protected]
Tom Miller, Vice-President Tom Miller joined FTS in February 2017 and has over 30 years of experience in the forklift and material handling industry. He served as an aftermarket support manager and was involved with forklift operator training, new and used equipment sales, warehouse storage and systems procurement. Tom's responsibilities include managing and developing the Central Ohio area for safety training, safety auditing and safety product sales. Tom is married to Debbie, his wife of 25 years. When not spending time with one of his seven children or five grandchildren, he enjoys fishing and golf. Tom can be reached at (614) 902-0008 or [email protected]
Richard Evans, Senior Safety Trainer and Regional Manager (IN, KY and Cincinnati/Dayton OH areas) Richard (Dick) Evans joined FTS in October 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 [email protected]
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 FTS Safety, 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 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.
Tom Taylor, Safety Trainer Tom joined FTS as a trainer in May 2012 after running his own safety consulting business. Tom has worked for several large, well known manufacturing and construction companies over the years in a variety of positions, including site safety manager. Having worked on the shop floor for many years, Tom has a special way of connecting with people in his classes and communicating critical safety messages to them. Tom has a degree in safety from WVU and is an authorized OSHA 501 outreach instructor for 10/30 general industry classes. He is also an emergency incident commander, a competent person in fall protection and teaches popular courses such as hazard communication and confined space entry. Tom has audited hundreds of facilities over his career and has participated in a number of accident investigations, including fatalities. He has driven and trained on all seven classes of forklifts and both types of aerial work platforms. He is an avid outdoorsman, hunter and fisherman and loves spending time with his kids and wife at their campground by the river.
Mark Hollis, Safety Trainer and Regional Manager (Northeast Ohio) Mark Hollis joined FTS in January 2013. He began his career as a forklift operator at the Hoover Company in North Canton, Ohio and later moved into Industrial Engineering. Mark developed the Hoover Company's ergonomics program in 1985, and he did all the program training and coordination for 19 years. Mark also spent a number of years as a safety manager for Howden Buffalo; he was responsible for the development of a comprehensive safety program leading to OHSAS 18001 certification. As part of this effort, Mark developed and presented training in numerous safety disciplines including Hearing Protection, Hot Work Permitting, Emergency Response and powered industrial truck operation. Mark is a Lean Six/Sigma Master Black Belt. He lives with his wife Susie in Canal Fulton. They have been married 32 years, and have 6 children. Mark loves travel and enjoys many outdoor activities.
Rob McIntosh , Safety Trainer Rob joined FTS in July 2013. He is a graduate of Park University and has a Bachelor's Degree in Management/Logistics. He also has 24 years experience working in the United States Air Force as a Survival Instructor. He held a number of positions over the years such as Facility Manager, Safety Officer, HazMat Site Manager, Forklift Safety Trainer, Operational Risk Management Instructor, Unit Logistics Manager, Organizational Training Manager, and First Sergeant. These positions gave Rob the opportunity to gain knowledge and experience in activities such as facility and system audits, contract development and negotiations, project management and training development/implementation. Rob's passion for teaching is clearly demonstrated through his enthusiasm in the classroom. His main goal, like our other trainers, is to ensure people are well informed, properly trained and most importantly, SAFE! In his free time, he enjoys spending time with his family, woodworking, and playing golf.
Brian Colburn, Regional Sales Manager and Safety Trainer Brian joined the FTS family in November 2014. He was born and raised in Central Ohio. He has worked in a number of industries including GPS mapping, industrial staffing and material handling. Brian worked to help market training for our company during his tenure at a successful local forklift dealership. While in the material handling industry, Brian sold forklifts and related equipment and also dealt in aftermarket support, such as service, parts and training. In his free time, he enjoys spending time with his son, Lucas, and longtime girlfriend, Susie. He enjoys attending Lucas' sporting events, camping, hiking the outdoors and motorcycling.
Jessica Hoover, Office Manager Jessica joined FTS Safety 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.
Karen Hoover, Office Assistant Karen, David's wife, originally started with FTS Safety in 1998. However, she took some time away to raise her two children and is now back as a part-time office assistant to Jessica. She currently handles customer follow-ups, product sales and basic office duties. In her free time, she enjoys spending time with her family and friends. When time allows, she also loves to read.