The International Powered Access Federation (IPAF) has appointed Roberto Kim as its new representative for South Korea, boosting efforts to grow its membership in the country and foster greater engagement across the powered access industry as part of the Federation’s three-year strategic plan.

This appointment will help service membership in South Korea and wider Southeast Asia, as demand from manufacturer members and rental companies to help promote the safe and effective use of MEWPs continues to rise.

Romina Vanzi, IPAF’s head of regional development said, “South Korea is an important country for IPAF, with a total MEWP rental fleet comparable in size to that of the UK, many machines being used in manufacturing, technical and processing industries and the associated logistics chains.

“The country offers challenges and opportunities in terms of aligning best practice with globalising standards, assisting MEWP manufacturers and rental companies with technical and safety issues, and rolling out operator and manager training as widely as possible, as well as working with regulatory bodies and end users to increase recognition of safety and technical standards and IPAF training.”

Mr Kim will report to Raymond Wat, IPAF’s Southeast Asia regional manager, and will be actively engaging with IPAF’s members, industry partners and prospective members in South Korea and wider Southeast Asia over the coming months.

Mr Wat commented, “Roberto is a very experienced professional and has worked most recently in the mobile crane industry. He is a qualified instructor of operators of this type of machinery and an active member of the board of the Korean Crane Association. I am delighted to welcome Roberto to the IPAF team and very much look forward to working with him to continue to grow our presence and profile in South Korea.”