The Industrial Truck Association (ITA) reports that its president, Jim Malvaso, has accepted an invitation to deliver the keynote address at the annual meeting of the China Industrial Truck Association (CITA). Although ITA presidents have often attended meetings of sister associations in Europe and Japan, this will be the first time an ITA president has been asked to address the CITA, whose members will meet in Shanghai in May.

"Many ITA members are already active in China, and many more are likely to be soon. My participation helps cement the warm relationship that ITA has developed over the years with CITA and I am pleased to be asked to keynote its meeting," says Malvaso, who is president and CEO of forklift-maker Raymond Corp.

China is a growing market for lift trucks. Its domestic sales have grown from 18,000 lift trucks in 2001 to more than 94,000 in 2006. China has now overtaken Japan to become the world's second-largest single country market.