wrn_oct2012_full

October 2012www.wireropenews.com

Ready for the next centuryChicago Hardware celebrates 100 years

story on page 14

Is the economy gettingbetter or worse?

views vary from one company to the nextstory on page 20

AdvertisersIndex

Page 71

Time Tested and Work ProvenCrosby’s industry leading brands are time tested and work proven. The result is reliable products of uncompromising quality that performs to the highest standards throughout the world. Crosby is a market leader because of our unrelenting drive for excellence. For more than 120 years, a strong commitment to quality has been evident in every aspect of our business.

Customer Service - More than available product…It’s meeting customer needs, product knowledge

Complete Product Line - Most complete in the industry, off-the-shelf or custom design

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Engineering - State-of-the-art product design systems, and fully equipped metallurgy lab

With a complete line of “off-the-shelf” blocks, sheaves and fittings designed to be used with wire rope, chain or synthetic slings, and the ability to custom design products for any lifting application, no lift is too big. We are The Heavy Lift Specialist!

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In times like these, you need to make the right decisions.Lower cost, higher quality, fully American made and over

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ATTN: Rick ColvinPH: 707.748.1700 FAX: [email protected]

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511 Colonia Blvd.Colonia, New Jersey 070671-908-486-3221Ed Bluvias (Publisher)[email protected]

Client: Rick ColvinLandmann Wire Rope Products6500 Goodyear Rd.Benicia, CA 94510800-331-0794/ph707-748-1701/fax

Design: Garson Design Services239 Concord AvenueFairfield, CA 94533707 428-1743/phone707 428-3652/[email protected]

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Wire Rope News & Sling Technology October 2012 7

Heavy lifting with a small,ideal staff and strong partners ............................. 8

The owner of Associated Wire Rope & Rigging Inc. carved out a niche in the world of heavy lifting after decades in the wire rope world.

Company with a long historystands ready for the next 100 years .................... 14

The 100th continuous year of business for Chicago Hardware.

Is the economy gettingbetter or worse? ................................................... 20

Seven riggers interviewed have varied responses to this controversial topic.

Workers’ compensation:controlling your costs .......................................... 26

How employers can take effective steps to control workers’ compensation insurance premiums.

Debt collection as crime ...................................... 34Ways to protect yourself from unscrupulous lawyers and collectors who are trying to change the laws about having debts.

Cover photo:The 85 ton capstan for Bridon’s closer at Neptune Quay is being lowered for positioning in the company’s new mega-facility.See news release, page 43.

October 23, 2012

Publisher & Editorial DirectorEdward J. Bluvias

Contributing EditorBarbara McGrath Spencer

Circulation DirectorPatricia Bluvias

Graphics & LayoutDon Tywoniw - 2D Graphics

Website: www.wireropenews.com

ISSN 0740-1809Wire Rope News & Sling Technology is pub-lished by-monthly by Wire Rope News, LLC, 511 Colonia Blvd., Colonia, New Jersey 07067-2819. (908) 486-3221. Fax No. (732) 396-4215. Address all correspondence con-cerning advertising, production, editorial, and circulation to Wire Rope News, LLC, P.O. Box 871, Clark, New Jersey 07066-0871. Subscription rates: $20 per year, do-mestic: $30 per year foreign: $25 per year, Canadian. Quantity discounts of three or more subscriptions available at $15 each per year, domestic: $25 each per year, for-eign: $18 each per year, Canadian. Single copies $4 per issue, domestic: $6 per issue, foreign; $5 per issue, Canadian. Copyright © 2012 by Wire Rope News, LLC, 511 Co-lonia Blvd., Colonia, New Jersey 07067. All rights reserved. Publisher reserves the right to reject any material for any reason deemed necessary.

Printed in the USA

Published bi-monthly; Oct., Dec., Feb., April, June, Aug. Issued 3rd week of month published. Insertion orders, classified, and editorial copy must be received before the 20th of month preceding date of publication (e.g. May 20th for June issue).

Email: [email protected]

Vol. 34, No. 1

Contents

Features

Advertiser’s Index ......................................................71Steel Industry News ..................................................40The Inventor’s Corner ................................................52New Products ............................................................66People in the News ....................................................67Classified ...................................................................72

Departments

Wire Rope News & Sling Technology October 20128

continued on page 10

A ssociated is the North Ameri-can stocking distributor for the RopeBlock (www.ropeblock.

com) brand and its sister company, Van Mechelen Lifting Gear (www.vm-liftinggear.com). Associated partnered with the Netherlands firms in 2001 and continues to represent them for all North American product sales. www.ropeblock.nlwww.vmliftinggear.com.

Ropeblock is a global company that provides a full range of products for the lifting industry, including new OEM (original equipment manufacturer) crane blocks for many of the major crane manufacturers. Cranes from 20

Heavy lifting with a small, ideal staff and strong partners

By Peter HildebrandtScott Fishfader’s involvement in heavy lifting block is fairly new, just over ten years. Even newer are Scott’s handful of employees to help him run his firm, Associated Wire Rope & Rigging Inc., Playa del Rey, California. But what is not new is Fishfader’s experience and knowledge: he’s had decades in the wire rope world. Now he’s carved out a sure niche for himself in the world of heavy lifting too.

to over 1,000 ton capacities are deliv-ered worldwide with blocks supplied by RopeBlock. A 3,200 Metric Ton capac-ity RopeBlock crane block was recently produced for one of the largest crane manufacturers for their 3,200 Metric Ton land based crane. “These are very high-end products for the heavy lifting industry,” explains Fishfader. “Some of their products have the highest lifting capabilities in the world”.

Before starting Associated in 1994, Fishfader served as president of Coor-dinated Wire Rope Company, working in that rigging company since 1969. His background was in wire rope and

rigging products. Originally when he started his own business he represented another block manufacturer and dealt mainly in new surplus equipment and reconditioned crane and rigging blocks.

Fishfader first learned about Rope-Block in the late 1990s. A representa-tive from the rep firm originally hired by RopeBlock called on Associated to introduce the RopeBlock product line. Fishfader was impressed with the prod-ucts and called them months later when he was involved in a large customer project. The rep firm’s relationship with RopBlock dissolved, so Fishfader decid-ed to contact RopeBlock directly.

Eventually Fishfader and Seymour Waterman, the owner of Waterman Supply Co. Inc., Wilmington, Califor-nia, went to Europe and met with the owners of RopeBlock. “We were doing business with Waterman Supply back in 1994,” says Fishfader.

“They are a well-known company in the marine industry. When I went to Europe in 2001 to meet with Rope-Block, I asked them if they’d like to come along to learn more about Rope-Block and explore the possibility of forming a partnership.” The trip was a success and the partnership between these companies was formed.Partnerships Makes it Work

Waterman Supply is a direct distrib-utor of marine and industrial equip-ment that has served their customers for more than 50 years. Located near the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, Waterman Supply has the pro-fessional staff and facilities necessary to manage the daily movement of Rope-Block products.

The reason things work with Asso-ciated’s small staff is that Waterman Supply performs all of the logistics sup-port. They have the manpower to move the products and make it happen. Full containers with over 50,000 lbs of Rope-Block items are regularly delivered to Waterman Supply, where they are un-loaded, inspected and prepped for sale.

!

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Multi-directional warning light indicates to others that the swager is on.

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New & Innovative Products & Processes for the Lifting, Rigging & Load Securement Industryª

Covered electronic foot pedal allows the operator full manual control of the swaging action.

Die pocket rotates 360û for easy access and ergonomic positioning.

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continued from page 8


Special orders plus items for inventory are included on each container.

“Waterman Supply is a great part-ner because of their ability to handle the non-stop flow of items in and out of their facility. We are proud and thank-ful to work with them,” says Bob Levy, Associated vice president of operations. “Associated supplies the sales engine behind Ropeblock to a large extent, though Waterman is not precluded from selling Ropeblock products. But they are also a significantly larger busi-ness than us and are busy selling their other products. RopeBlock represents a large portion of Associated’s revenue. ”

Ropeblock sells their products to com-panies worldwide, from crane manu-facturers, suppliers to oil platforms for use in extreme conditions, distributors of rigging products, and other distribu-tion channels. Associated is unique in being one of the few companies that buys across the entire product line of Ropeblock; they are probably the larg-est buyer of the full product line from Ropeblock, according to Levy.

Ropeblock has more than 75 employ-ees at their own state-of-the-art pro-duction facility and global distribution center in Oldenzaal, The Netherlands. Their more than 30 years of familiarity and activity in all major related indus-tries, from mobile cranes to offshore ap-plications, keeps them in demand glob-ally. Their products find uses in such significant machines as port cranes, ship cranes, offshore cranes and plat-forms, dredging equipment, pendant structures, mooring systems and in other heavy industries.

Associated’s relationship with Rope-block is very close; they talk often dur-ing the course of a business day. “We rely on them a lot for their answers to our daily questions and their product support,” says Levy. “Their engineering staff is talented and open to new ideas and suggestions. Many requested design changes and new features are a result of suggestions from our customers. Scott (Fishfader) and one customer worked with the RopeBlock engineers to develop a new successful product years ago.

“We work with the rigging shops, put-ting together lifting solutions for their customers. But we also work with the companies that own the cranes, basi-cally sitting down and designing stan-dard blocks and a lot of custom-made blocks. Some of these are designed for wind towers, some for heavy lifts and we also design blocks that have mul-tiple uses.

“RopeBlock had a forecast of where

we should be in sales with them in five years and we did that in the first year. This showed RopeBlock the tremen-dous amount of commitment we had to them and their products. Having a large inventory is a huge investment and a valuable asset. This is not an in and out inventory. We have more crane blocks in stock than anybody in North America, with over 400 crane blocks. If you include our rigging blocks it rep-resents more than 500 blocks in stock and ready to ship.”Adding More Products to the Mix

Associated has also set up an agree-ment with GN Rope Fittings (www.gn-web.com), a Netherlands company that makes a full range of forged products - heavy-lifting shackles, eye and ROV hooks, master links, plus other special-ty products, all complementary to what Ropeblock offers. Associated is now the North American stocking distributor for GN. All products are proof tested at the factory and come with manufac-turer’s certificates. Third party testing (DNV, ABS, etc.) is also available.

Associated and Waterman Supply also have a line of products marketed under the Sea-Link brand that include wood and steel shell marine blocks, cargo hoist blocks, construction blocks, wire rope hawser thimbles and riggers’ vises. Most of these items are manufac-tured in partnership with a company in Lima, Peru that’s been producing blocks since 1967.

“We took the Peruvian’s basic design, worked with them over the years to im-prove them so they are more suitable to the North American market in both quality and configurations and had them brand it in the Sea-Link name,” says Levy. “These products are then sold in North America by both us and Waterman Supply.”

“We’ve gone in and invested in new equipment and steel that needed to be forged, not welded, in order for it to be accepted by the U.S. Government,” says Fishfader. “We’re producing blocks that

are being sold to new ship construction for the U.S. Government, military and Navy. We’ve gone in and given the fed specs on a lot of products, as many of them go back many, many years. The ships are still using the same types of products, dating back to World War II and no one is making them anymore.”

Basically, Associated has taken what their own company has spec’d out and developed really high-end, well-engineered, high quality prod-ucts at a time when some of their com-petitors were starting to make more simplified products that were not as robust, according to Levy.

“Associated is going the other way, striving for a really high end, high quality product. We’re not looking for the cheapest and best price. We are fill-ing the gap, making them to specifica-tions that are harder to find these days. We’re investing in infrastructure with our partners, spending the money so that we can have a long-term growth model and sell high quality products through that relationship,” says Levy.The Four Person Team

Last year Associated hired Brett Woodland as vice president of sales who travels throughout the country. Woodland visits their dealers regularly and many times when they’re holding training classes he will do informa-tion sessions to build brand awareness, training them on what’s available to them and how they can sell them. He also does presentations for the custom-er seminars to educate them on all of the products available from Associated.

“Before Brett came along, we did trade shows and didn’t travel exten-sively,” says Levy. “We were more what could be called a passive sales organiza-tion. Brett has increased brand aware-ness and worked the eastern U.S. Scott and I still cover the western United States. Brett has a solid engineering background. He’s adept at using both his sales skills and his background

Associated handles a large, diversified, line of RopeBlock products.

March, May, July, Sept, Nov 2008 Jan 2009 Crane

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Associated handles a large, diversified, line of RopeBlock products.

New Screw Pin design for the “original” Wide Body Shackle

Crosby’s “Wide Body” Shackles provide the following benefits:

• Significantly improves the life of wire rope slings.

• Can be used to connect HIGH STRENGTH Round Slings, Synthetic Round Slings or Wire Rope Slings.

• Increase in shackle bow radius provides minimum 58% gain in sling bearing surface.

• Increases usable sling strength a minimum of 15%.

• Capacities of 7, 12.5 and 18 metric tonnes.

• Forged Alloy Steel, Quenched and Tempered for maximum strength.

• Individually proof tested and magnetic particle inspected.

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G2169_island_const.indd 1 11/29/2010 2:12:20 PM


from college as an engineer, providing a really nice look to our products for our customers.

Levy has been with Associated for four years. He is responsible for most of the infrastructure elements of the company as well as some sales. Levy’s background has been in sales for most of his career, with a little bit of opera-tions management too.

“What I do is manage our inventory, the order processing and the flow of ev-

erything through all of our suppliers, including our Peruvian suppliers,” ex-plains Levy. “I just try to manage the process with that so we always know where we’re at and try to be as good as we can be”.

“Robin Adams, our office manager, is the glue that holds it all together at As-sociated. She basically fields calls, does our billing, provides occasional sales quotes, and performs many other orga-nizational pieces within the company and makes things happen.”

Fully Tested Equipment and ServiceFishfader believes that an impor-

tant feature that sets their products apart from the competition is the issue of testing. Most of the products which come from RopeBlock, Van Mechelen and GN Rope Fittings, rather than simply being randomly-tested, are fac-tory proof-tested before they roll out the door – that includes every single block and all of the GN Rope Fittings’ forged products too. The testing is not-ed on the factory certificate that comes with every single item. Occasionally there might be a customer requirement that is above and beyond the norm or requires additional testing. They will send it out to be tested by an indepen-dent, third party to insure objective evaluation results.

Associated manages a database of practically every item they’ve ever sold. Serial numbers or what are known as heat-treat numbers are all documented so that if someone has an issue regard-ing a product purchased years ago, that number can be pulled up and things can be remedied quickly either locally or by the factory. There is a pedigree for everything, largely driven by industry standards and greater scrutiny at the jobsite. “This is one way we maintain the high level of quality and what our products are all about,” says Fishfader.

Associated started small and spe-cialized but has grown by adding more products to their line to handle differ-ent aspects of customers’ needs. In-stead of coming to Associated for just one product, customers can come to them for more products to help craft the best solution. Levy sees this as an essential key to the growth and success of the company.

“Scott Fishfader has a deep back-ground of understanding wire rope and rigging,” adds Levy. “His experience running a company that sold wire rope and rigging hardware, plus his curios-ity about blocks and other heavy lift products led him to start his own busi-ness that dabbled in everything and didn’t represent any one manufacturer. Scott became the guy who people went to when they were looking for hard-to-find items.

“He knows how to find things and people in the business sought him out. He used that to build a solid customer base and it got to a point where everyone knew who Scott was. When he started to represent a manufacturer it was then easy to call all these people he knows and mention the Ropeblock, GN and Sea-Link products. Next thing you know, people are calling and asking for it.” WRN


The StarPoint® offers the highest level of safety available with it’s multiple lifting points and swivel capability that adjusts to the load

direction to ensure Working Load Limit (WLL) is never diminished.

It’s More Than Just Looks

•Availableinsizes1/4”to2”andmetricsizesofM8throughM48.

•Markedworkingloadlimits(WLL)areratedat90°fromthread.

•Capacitiesfrom.4to12metrictonsat90°and1to32metrictonsat0°.

•Clearindicationofworkingloadlimitinmetrictonsandlbs.forsideloadingapplications.

•Forgedmaterial(1.6541)alloyquenchedandtempered.

•Bodyandbolt,100%electromagneticalloycracktestedinaccordancewithspecificationEN1677.

•DistinctFlorescentpinkpowder-coatingchangesitscolorindicatingthatithasbeenover-heated,invaluableinheat-relatedindustries.

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Patented StarPoint® only available from RUD. Your safety depends on it. Call now for your lifting and lashing solutions from RUD.

5859 RUD STARPOINT AD - 7 x 10.indd 1 11/1/10 4:21:15 PM

The StarPoint® offers the highest level of safety available with it’s multiple lifting points and swivel capability that adjusts to the load

direction to ensure Working Load Limit (WLL) is never diminished.

It’s More Than Just Looks

•Availableinsizes1/4”to2”andmetricsizesofM8throughM48.

•Markedworkingloadlimits(WLL)areratedat90°fromthread.

•Capacitiesfrom.4to12metrictonsat90°and1to32metrictonsat0°.

•Clearindicationofworkingloadlimitinmetrictonsandlbs.forsideloadingapplications.

•Forgedmaterial(1.6541)alloyquenchedandtempered.

•Bodyandbolt,100%electromagneticalloycracktestedinaccordancewithspecificationEN1677.

•DistinctFlorescentpinkpowder-coatingchangesitscolorindicatingthatithasbeenover-heated,invaluableinheat-relatedindustries.

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5859 RUD STARPOINT AD - 7 x 10.indd 1 11/1/10 4:21:15 PM


The Forge Shop in Batavia, IL.


Now the firm is at one hundred years and still counting. In America today, that’s a busi-

ness accomplishment that is very

By Peter Hildebrandt

Those looking back on the year 1912 may be surprised at how eventful a time this was. In addition to adding two more states, Arizona and New Mexico, into the Union, the R.M.S. Titanic would scrape the ice berg and sink on her first transatlantic voyage and Fenway Park in Boston and Tiger Stadium in Detroit opened.

rare, according to Brian Herbstritt, Chicago Hardware vice president. However, in Franklin Park, Illinois, just outside of Chicago, 2012 will be

the 100th continuous year of busi-ness for Chicago Hardware & Fixture Company.

In 1912, in a small building locat-ed only a few blocks from the center of downtown Chicago, a young man named John Herbstritt founded a company named Chicago Warehouse and Silo Fixture Company. John started the business to fulfill a need for basic hardware components mar-keted to the farming and railroad industries. Beginning with wire rope clips used to support grain silos being supported by cable, he began develop-ing other wire rope accessories to ex-pand the product offering.

“My great-grandfather used to sell wire rope clips to farmers for the guy wires that held up their silos. There were 4 cables per silo running from the ground up to the top of the silo to steady the structure. As time went on, he started buying the saddles, u-bolts and nuts separately, assembling them and selling them under his own brand, ‘Chicago Warehouse and Silo

Original location at 2056 Walnut Street, 1912-1946.

Company with a long history stands ready for the next 100 years

Company with a long history stands ready for the next 100 years

Van Beest USA, L.L.C.Tel. : + 1 800 489 75 08Fax : + 1 713 674 82 24E-mail : [email protected]

www.vanbeest.com

Van Beest B.V. Manufacturer and Supplier of wire rope- and

chain fittings. Registered trade marks: Green Pin® and Excel®.

Van Beest B.V., The NetherlandsTel. : + 31 184 41 33 00Fax : + 31 184 41 49 59E-mail : [email protected]

BEES_11196_ADV_GP_EXCEL_7x10 inch.indd 1 09-05-12 10:10

ISO

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NOT ALL SLINGS ARE CREATED EQUAL!

If you’re thinking that the Brand “X” Bridle is missing something, you’re absolutely correct.There’s much more to properly making slings than just selecting hardware that is adequately strong. Lift-It® Bridles feature fi ttings that are larger than our competitors for a proper spatial relationship.The little things make such a difference!To recieve our NEW 500 page Resource Guide, contact us.

BRAND “X” BRIDLE1-1/2 in. Masterlink2” Eye Width (2 ply thick)No Protection

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Lift-It® fabrication expertshave combined experiencethat must be expressedin centuries!

WireRope_HalfPage_LiftItBrandX.indd 1 9/14/12 9:52 AMWire Rope News & Sling Technology October 201216

cilities located in the areas of Hous-ton, Atlanta and Los Angeles, Chicago Hardware has the capability to offer its distributor partners high quality,



Chicago Hardware has been the rigging and industrial hardware specialists for 100 years.

Fixture Company’.” explains Brian Herbstritt, vice president.

That was the beginning of what would become Chicago Hardware & Fixture Company. Since the guy wires were basically wire rope that got them into the wire rope accessory industry. Pretty soon Chicago Hard-ware started making the parts them-selves.

Today, Chicago Hardware & Fix-ture Company has evolved into a world class, USA manufacturer of steel forgings and wire forms. Con-tinuing on with this heritage are the 3rd and 4th generation owners, Tom Herbstritt, and his son Brian Herb-stritt. They have made a commitment to manufacture items to supply vari-ous other distribution channels that serve a wide variety of industries be-yond agriculture and the railroads. Today, the over 6,000 products of-fered by Chicago Hardware are used in a variety of industries including rigging, construction, energy, au-tomotive, mining, steel mills, aero-space, communications, marine, en-tertainment, and many more.

With three Chicago area manufac-turing facilities, and distribution fa-

American made products in an effi-cient, cost effective manner. The com-mitment to quality, service and new products has allowed the Herbstritt family to grow the company and be-come a leader in the industry.

Conditions involved with the cur-rent economy have raised aware-ness of the value and importance of American-made products for qual-ity, dependability as well as keeping jobs here for American workers. An-other point of pride for the company comes with the fact that they’ve built a reputation as an industry leader in both quality and customer service. “Our customers have been able to place their trust in us for 100 years. This in turn has led us to look ahead and to plan some exciting expansion arrangements in store for 2012”, ex-plains Herbstritt.

In 1952 the family purchased a forging plant in downtown Batavia, Illinois, located on the Fox River. Due to the wish of Batavia to devel-op the riverside lot for residential buildings, a new building was con-structed and the plant was moved to an industrial section of town in 1966, where it is located today. Cur-



Chicago Hardware has been consistently competitive decade after decade.

rently, the plant is being expanded by 10,000 square feet to house new forging equipment that will be dedi-cated to new Chicago Hardware items. All the steel used to forge Chicago Hardware products is made in the USA, and Chicago Hardware only manufactures in the USA.

Domestic wire forming is also im-portant to Chicago Hardware. In order to keep up with wire products demand, a wire drawing facility was built in 1980 within 3 miles of

the main Franklin Park plant. This plant draws wire for threaded rod, u-bolts, eyebolts and various other wire forms, including special products re-quested by customers. All the wire drawing/forming is done here using exclusively USA made steel.

Chicago Hardware has a mix of very longtime employees and newer hires. Because of the retirement of long-time employees, they have an up and coming group. “Our employees are a key part of the company,” adds Herbstritt. “It’s a challenge to get

the right person in the right place. It comes down to training and skill sets. Quality employees are a resource we are constantly developing and keep-ing our eyes open for.”

Safety classes are held for their distributors in order for them to be-come familiar with their products and their uses. They also run safety seminars which are put on for end us-ers demonstrating the proper use of their products and what to look for as far as taking the products out of use. “These sessions bring up various safe-ty guidelines that most end users are familiar with, but it’s always nice to get a refresher meeting to keep those concepts in the forefront,” adds Herb-stritt. “The sessions are always given at no charge so it’s a nice perk for our distributors and end users.”

As with other firms as well, Chicago Hardware has noted that while postal delivery costs go up, service levels in turn have tended to decline. There-fore, in another supportive change, the company has started a program to send invoices in a more timely and efficient manner directly to client’s e-mail addresses. The customer sim-ply requests this service and Chicago Hardware will initiate it for them.

Chicago Hardware & Fixture Com-pany is proud of its strong heritage and commitment to be an industry leader in the forging and wire form-ing industries. We look forward to our celebration, and invite our industry partners, and their end-user custom-ers, to join us for the next 100 years and are happy to say, “proud to be made in the USA.” WRN

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It often seems that the experts who gaze into the crystal ball to forecast what’s going to happen to the economy - are each using a different crystal ball. It turns out that the seven riggers we interviewed for this article have responses just as varied.

Is the economy gettingbetter or worse?

Or is the only thing that can besaid for certain -uncertainty?

By Michael J. Major

For some time now, whatever me-dia you turn to on any given day, you will be told by various pun-

dits that the economy is making slow, halting, but steady steps toward recov-ery; or we are slipping into a financial global meltdown worse than the Great Depression of the 1930s.

What occasioned this article was re-ports from recreational vehicle (RV) dealers speaking of their industry shows around the country and report-ing booming sales. Since RVs appear to represent more of a luxury than a hard core necessity, it might be an indi-cation that the economy is indeed on its way to recovery. Or, as one dealer put it, “My experience is that recreational vehicles are generally the first to enter a recession, but then the first to lead the way out. So this is a good sign.”

However, the consensus of the seven riggers interviewed for this article is far more mixed and uncertain. If there is any trickle-down effect from the RV to the wire rope industry it hasn’t happened yet. Many of the riggers in-terviewed alluded to the political sit-uation, but most of them withdrew their remarks, not wanting their political remarks to be published in this maga-zine. But, generally, their thoughts mirror the public at large. They either view Obama as being anti-business and big government, and so the cause of the economic stagnation. Or, they view the Republicans as the embodiment of the Groucho Marx joke in which he stood on a chair and shouted, “I don’t know

what you’re for, but whatever it is, I’m against it!” Either way, the riggers tend to think that the election will take away some of the uncertainty and set a cer-tain tone, but that, in either case, the recovery, if it occurs, will be slow.

So, here are the responses from the seven riggers, starting with the most opti-mistic, and working downward with rela-tively in creasing degrees of pessimism.

Selina Conrad, president, Rigging Box, Inc., Lorton, VA, reports, % sur-prisingly, a steadily increasing success since she opened the business in 2007, as if the general recession which has gripped the country as a whole, sim-ply passed her by. In one sense it has, for she says, “We’re in a good area, for the construction market has remained strong and we’ve had quite a few large construction jobs.” Conrad had 15 years experience working in the busi-ness, specifically for a company just five miles away. Though she doesn’t, as one might expect, have anything nega-tive to say about her former employer in terms of either products or service, she does say that she was confident that, when she did strike out on her own, she would have the full support of her suppliers and have an already loyal customer base follow her.

“When people develop a trust in you, it goes a long way,” Conrad says. “We pro-vide quality products and service, and provide our custo mers what they need when they need it. We don’t make any false prom ises. Most importantly, we de-velop friendships with them. When we go home at night we see our night fam-ily. But during the day our customers are our day family. Each year since we’ve opened we’ve achieved all our goals and have done nothing but succeed.”

Mary Brett, general manager, Na-tional Industrial Supply Company, Troy, MI, says that, despite the official prognosis, not only her company but also the other riggers she’s spoken to are doing well. “Here in Michigan ev-erything you hear is bad news,” Brett says. “And at the last AWRF confer-ence, the economist from Washington, DC, was saying everything was bad.

But everybody there I talked to said they were having a good year.”

One factor that gave National Indus-trial Supply a good boost, Brett says, “is that we are an Hispanic and wom-an-owned company, who applied for and received a training grant. It really helped us in training, especially upper level management, for we were able to come up with better strategies.”

Overall, Brett says, “Last year we had our best year ever. This year it’s balanced out, with a slow but steady growth. It’s turning out to be a good year, not great. But there are signs that the economy is improving. There was a period- of two to three years when peo-ple had to cut off buying things. Now there’s a lot of pent-up demand. My forecast is that we’re going to continue on this upward trend.”

Brooks Paul Jones, owner, Sailing Services, Inc., Miami, FL, has a differ-ent, somewhat unusual perspective. “We took a hit in 2008, but the reces-sion has now ended for us.” Yet, on the other hand, Jones adds, things might get worse. In business for over 40 years about a half of Jones’ revenues comes from sailboat rigging and a half from hardware. It’s the rigging aspect which is doing well, but the hardware part which might be taking a dip.

Jones explains that in his very spe-cialized area, “there are high tempera-tures and high salinity. If the rigging is not made of a high alloy steel, it tends

Selina Conrad

Brooks Paul Jones

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to dissolve. We’ve based our business on using the higher alloy steel.”

Jones acknowledges that he is not an engineer or an expert in the technical as-pects of stainless steel, but his observa-tion is that the newer, more precise ways of measuring the ingredients which go into the steel, may, paradoxically, some-how weaken it. “I’m wondering if by en-gineering the process so they have just enough elements such as chromium and nickel to meet the legal requirements, the overall strength and longevity of the steel might be weakened. Before you had to put in a little more than required to make sure you had enough. Now, by having just enough, you might be within your legal boundaries, but still end up with a steel more likely to deter iorate in this climate.”

Since Jones has traditionally used a higher grade, more durable stainless steel for his rigging, he believes the boats needing replace ment rigging will continue to grow, thus strengthening that half of his business.

On the aftermarket hardware side, however, there is a different situation, Jones explains. “Builders are not sell-ing their boats, which means OEMs aren’t gearing up to sell, say, hundreds of winches. This means there will be shorter production runs, which will make it harder for us, because prices

will go up.”“I think the economy is trying to get

better, but there are a lot of unknowns which keep it from getting there,” says Peter L. Kazunas, president/CEO, DCL Mooring & Rigging, New Orleans, LA. “I see the biggest issue is that the rules of the game are not being clearly de-fined by the current Administration. The decisions being made are not con-ducive for the health of the economy.

“There is a certain amount of pent-up demand, for there are projects out there ready to go forward, but the pres-ent uncertainty prevents people from taking a step forward and investing capital in these projects.

“The election will set the tone for the pace of the recovery. Whether that tone will be accelerated or very slow de-pends on the outcome.

“Specifically, with regard to our re-gion, the Gulf Coast and the oil and

gas industry, the policies now are not favorable toward boosting domestic production. Right now the government lacks any cohesive energy policy. This also is a drag on the economy.”

Vince Yanes, inside sales manager, Ver Sales, Inc., Burbank, CA, also views the economy in a state of stasis. “Some months are better than others,” Yanes says. “For a time it looks like it’s going to get better, then it gets bad again. A bit like a roller coaster.”

What’s particularly hurting Ver Sales, Yanes says, is that much of its work is geared toward the film indus-try. But now, he explains, “Tax incen-tives in other states are causing people to make movies elsewhere. Instead of having a client 12 blocks away, he’s now some where else. And, in this over-all economic climate, people are buying less. What we’re doing is always keep-ing our eyes open to look for another kind of market.”

In Aberdeen, WA, Skip Perry, presi-dent, Grace Harbor Equipment Com-pany, doesn’t see much in the way of ups and downs, or even just false starts, only a flat economy. “We’ve had a slow winter, and the last 18 months have been slow,” Perry says. “I think one of the main dynamics going on in our business is the change in customer buying patterns. When, before, they



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continued from page 22would tend to buy, now they’re fixing things themselves and trying to get by as best they can. And we continually see more and more imports which drive both prices and margins down.

“Our wire rope riggings, fittings, and pipe sales are nowhere close to what they once were. There’s still some logging going on, but not as much as there once was. So there’s less clearing of land for new houses. And housing is not growing as it once was. People are re modeling their old homes rather than buying new ones.”

Perry does not see the media predict-ing unwarranted doom and gloom. In fact, he sees just the opposite. “Busi-nesses keep telling us things are get-ting better, so buy new TVs and furni-ture. But I don’t think people spending will get us out of the recession.”

On the plus side, Perry does look for-ward to the election. “I think the elec-tion will make a big difference, and will have a lot to do with the economy becoming more positive or negative,” he says. Perry believes Obama is a shrewder politician than many people give him credit for, and that he is be-ing careful not to get in the way of the many extremist Republicans self-de-structing that party.

Perry believes that Obama has a better chance to win and is a much better bet

for the economy than the Republicans, but also believes that, even with Obama continuing in office, recovery will take some time. “I know a lot of people who bought houses, and had them foreclosed on them. Now there’s a whole new slew of fore closures coming. Not many of the state’s banks are willing to write them down. When I talk to my bankers, they tell me that the interest rates will not change for two years and foreclosures will still go 18 months ahead of that. So it will be another few years before Obama can get us out of this.”

But Alice Jull, president, Van Port Rigging, Vancouver, WA, doesn’t look to the election to change the economy, no matter what side wins. “In talking to customers, they think things will

change after the election. They’re hop-ing one side or the other will win. I don’t see any solid evidence that either side can really change things.

“We had a fairly good year last year, this year not so good. This February’s sales were the worst in five years. I don’t see any improvement in the works. The price of gas is killing us.”

So what does Jull intend to do?“Just cut back on buying, trying to

keep on the shelf the bare necessities, especially with gas prices. We’ll just go into a survival mode again, as we’ve had to do in the past. This is our tenth year. We’ve been in the survival mode before, and hung on, so we intend to do it again.”

But what about those recreational ve-hicles which are doing so well? Aren’t they leading the drive out of the recession?

“It’s nice to hear they’re doing well,” Jull replies, “but I don’t see any indi-cation of an improvement in my line of business.”

Perry also doesn’t see any trickle-down effect from the rebounding of the RV industry. His speculation is, “There are a lot of baby boomers who are getting ready to retire, so maybe they want to retire into a motorhome or trailer.”

Vanes’ response is a bit more caustic, “Sure the RV market is growing. Peo-ple have lost their homes so are forced to move into a trai1er.” WRN

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Workers’ compensation:controlling your costs

By Phillip M. Perry

Workers compensation insurance premiums continue to be a problem for employers. While the demands of state law cannot be circumvented, employers can take effective steps to control their costs. Just how to do so is covered in the following story.

After years of virtually level costs, employers are grappling with a spike in workers’ com-

pensation premiums. Increasing ac-cident rates and higher medical costs are contributing to the problem. Busi-ness owners can help temper the dam-age by improving safety programs and informing employees about the shared costs of accidents.

Workers’ compensation insurance, long a burr under the employer’s saddle, is gaining new prominence in the drive to protect profits. Business owners are getting hit with premium increases for the first time after years of virtually level costs for the nation’s oldest social program.

“We are entering a new environment of rising workers’ compensation costs,” says Peter Burton, Senior Division Executive for State Relations at the National Council on Compensation Insurance, Boca Raton, FL (ncci.com). “It is estimated that employers are seeing premium increases in the two to five percent range as their renewals come up.”

Why the increase? More workers are having accidents and it’s costing more to return them to health. “Most states have experienced ‘loss cost’ in-creases over the past year,” says Bur-ton. “That’s a change from the virtu-ally flat or decreasing environment of previous years.” The term “loss cost”

refers to the average state-wide cost of lost wages and medical payments re-sulting from injured workers. Higher loss costs translate into higher insur-ance premiums.Premiums rise

A rising accident rate may seem surprising, given the many safety programs instituted by employers in recent years. “Workplaces are safer than they were 50 years ago,” admits Daniel C. Free, President and General Counsel of Insurance Audit & Inspec-tion, Indianapolis, IN. (insuranceau-dit.com). And that’s good because—at least until recently—controlling the number of accidents has gone a long




continued from page 26way toward capping premiums.

Unfortunately, a number of factors have come together to reverse the fa-vorable trend. Among them is a popu-lation that’s getting older, heavier, and thus subject to more injury. “Peo-ple used to retire in their 50s or 60s,” says Free. “Now they often stay in the workforce longer. Studies show that people who are older and overweight are more prone to slips and falls and lifting accidents, and take longer to heal.”

Other cost drivers abound: Injured workers today are treated with more so-phisticated medical procedures and more costly prescription drugs. And as the economy emerged slowly from the reces-sion employers began hiring new work-ers who were not as cognizant of security procedures, and whose lower experience levels led to more job injuries.

Finally, states are bringing more conditions under the workers’ comp umbrella. “Some procedures, such as knee replacements, might not have been covered a few years ago but are now common,” says Free. “And a grow-ing number of states are covering nonphysical injuries such as mental stress.”

It’s all coming together to boost the doctor’s share of the workers’ comp bill. “Historically the indemnity por-tion of workers’ comp costs [the re-placement of a portion of lost wages] was higher than the medical portion,” says Free. “Now the reverse is true: Rising medical costs are driving the increase in workers’ compensation premiums.” Get Safe

Rising insurance costs are unwel-come to employers already under pressure to produce more with less. Workplace injuries affect far more than insurance premiums. An absent worker, after all, no longer contrib-utes to profitable operations. “Your employees are your most important business asset,” says Free. “You can replace computers if you have to. But your employees are hand picked.”

What’s the best way to help cap workers’ comp costs? The safety pro-grams that have played such a vital role in past years remain the most promising resource today. “The best thing you can do is take steps that will improve safety,” says Free. “That means training people in procedures that can reduce injuries, such as how to lift heavy boxes or utilize a comput-

er keyboard safely. It may also mean purchasing safer equipment.”

A big component is getting your workforce engaged. “Get people think-ing about safety,” says Free. “It has to come from the top down. Make the employees feels you care about them. Every time there is an accident, enlist the help of your employees in figuring out what caused it and see if it can be fixed.” Pay special attention to new workers who may not have absorbed all of the safety instructions they were given, or who have not honed the skills requisite to injury-free activity.

Establish safety groups that bring employees and managers together so they will become more cognizant of good practices. And explain how a safe work record contributes to an em-ployer’s lower workers’ compensation premium.

Incentive programs can also help. Establish financial rewards for em-ployees any time you go through a set period of time without injuries. A safe workplace is good for employees because it contributes to job retention.

Need help? “Most insurance carriers have trained safety and loss preven-tion professionals who will visit your

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continued from page 28workplace and make suggestions,” says Free. “They can help a lot.” Back to work

It’s important to get injured employ-ees back to work as soon as you can. “Experience shows that for every dol-lar you spend on benefits for an in-jured worker you will be charged 3.5 dollars in premiums over the years,” says Norman A. Peterson, President of Norman Peterson & Associates, an Ashland, Oregon-based consulting firm that specializes in back to work issues (www.returntowork.com).

Injuries lead to increased premiums because medical expenses affect your experience modification rating, or “x-mod” for short. If you experience high-er than average claims your premiums will increase; the converse is also true.

Generally speaking, smaller em-ployers who pay less than $5,000 in annual premiums for three years run-ning are exempted from x-mod calcu-lations. But the threshold and rules vary by state. And even exempted em-ployers will benefit from low accident rates because more employees will be productive participants in the work-place rather than spending time at home recovering from accidents.

While the accident victim is off work, be sure to call and ask about the recovery process. “Keep very close con-tact with the injured employee,” sug-gests Burton. “Check in often. Show you are concerned and see what you can do to keep the person’s spirits up. Make sure the right medical care is being offered. The worst thing that can happen is a disconnect between the employer and an injured employee that does not lend itself to a prompt rehabilitation and return to work.” Make the employees feel that someone is worried and they are needed.

Your business will benefit even if a returned employee can only perform light duty. “Employees who come back to work early go to their doctors less and take fewer prescription drugs,” says Peterson. “Their minds becomes fully engaged at their work when they are not sitting at home thinking about their injuries.” Develop and imple-ment a light duty program designed to blend injured workers back into the workforce as early as possible.

Consider appointing an injured worker as a safety coordinator. “Have him write a report on how the injury occurred and how it can be avoided in the future for all workers,” suggests

Peterson. “Then have him bird dog the solution.” This will heighten the profile of security, which is all to the good. The more employees think about safety the fewer accidents you will in-cur. Says Peterson: “Start to think of an injured worker as a resource.”Combat fraud

Fraud can be expensive in terms of rising workers’ compensation premi-ums, the court time required for appeals and the time and expense required for hiring replacement employees.

“The great majority of claims are le-gitimate,” says Burton. “Most are com-pensable and correctly filed. But there are occasional outliers and they can be costly to the employer. In a time when everyone is competing in a global econ-omy the costs of fraudulent claims can make an employer less competitive.”

How can you prevent such claims? “One of the best things you can do is use good interviewing techniques when hiring new employees,” says Burton. Interviews should assess the work background and history of the applicant and the person’s attitude to-ward work.

“Also, educate managers to be mind-ful for things that might be suspi-


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cious,” adds Burton. “And educate your employees and managers on these topics. Make sure they under-stand that any time you add more costs to a business it makes the busi-ness less competitive and may result in an employer eliminating positions due to increased expenses.”

Should you fight a fraudulent claim in court? “If the employer has substan-tial evidence either through investiga-tion or surveillance, certainly it would be beneficial to challenge a claim,” says Burton. “Hopefully the workers’ compensation commission will make the right determination. Bear in mind that most claims are nonetheless le-gitimate.”What’s ahead?

Workers’ compensation fills a vital need for employers who are protected from lawsuits by injured workers. At the same time, the system makes sure employees receive compensation for a portion of lost wages and medical costs resulting from workplace injuries.

The workers’ compensation system is not subject to the same cost controls as the health insurance industry. Nor do injured workers pay deductibles. For these reasons and many more,

continued from page 30 premiums are likely to go up further in the years ahead.

“No one knows what will happen once health care reform takes hold,” says Free. “One might think that the legis-lation will cause claim costs to go down because everyone will be insured. But there is a lot of uncertainty out there. Whatever happens, we can expect work-ers’ compensation costs to become an even greater concern in the future.”

How do you report workplace inju-ries and file claims? How do you decide what doctors the injured workers may see? What are the requirements for notifying workers of their rights and responsibilities? What size employer is exempt from x-mod calculations?

The answers will vary by state. You can obtain information about your own state’s laws from the Internet. Go to the website for the U.S. Department of Labor at www.dol.gov. Under “Browse by Topic” click on “Workers’ Compen-sation.” Then click on “State Workers’ Compensation Boards.” Finally, click on the link for your state.

Additionally, the Insurance informa-tion Institute has posted helpful arti-cles at www.iii.org. Click on “Workers’ Compensation” under Business Topics at the bottom of the page. WRN


Here is what to watch out for from giant collectors who would strip you of your assets and put you in jail, and resort to any means, no matter how illegal.

Debt collection as crimeA new breed of white-collar thugs are

primed to steal your moneyBy Michael J. Major

And for all this time you’ve been thinking that here in the good old U.S.A. there is no such thing

as a debtors’ prisons - that you can’t have all your assets stripped from you and be sent to jail just because you owe someone - like a credit card company - some money. Well, you may think that this is one of the bedrock principles upon which our country was founded, and it is. But the situation is changing. It’s not that you can have your life de-stroyed per se simply for either owing money or having some huge business allege you owe it money. But there’s a group of lawyers who routinely set in motion a number of unscrupulous if not downright illegal machinations which accomplish the same thing.

This article was galvanized by an article which appeared in the July 26, 2012 issue of the Spokane, WA-based newspaper, “Inlander.” The article, titled “THE MEAT GRINDER, When the Debt-Collection Machine Comes for its Pound of Flesh.” The article was written by Daniel Walters and treated this phenomenon as a species of con-sumer fraud. I wondered if the same thing might be going on with regard to small businesses. As shown below, I interviewed two of the lawyers who are defending consumers against the predatory actions, having first asked if the same things applied to small busi-nesses. Although there are some legal and technical differences, the main an-swer is yes.

So this article has a business focus. However, although I interviewed the two lawyers extensively, a lot of the general information used as back-ground I utilized from the Walters’ piece, which I herein acknowledge. There is also some specific nuggets of information which came from Walters’ original reporting, which will be cred-ited to Walters’ when this information appears.

The two lawyers I interviewed are Kirk D. Miller, whose office of Kirk D. Miller, PS, is in Spokane. Miller is a consumer and small business advo-

cate. The second lawyer, Henry Mad-sen, whose Madsen Law Office, PC is located in Coeur d’Alene, ID, is both a consumer/small business advocate and a legitimate debt collector. His two re-lated businesses are Advance Accounts Recovery, LLC and Premier Account Services.

The big problems “started in 2008 and 2009 when the economic bubble started to burst,” says Miller. “People went into debt, especially credit card debt.” He points out that, in some respects, businesses are even more vulnerable than consumers. For the federal debt collections act of 1977 was designed to protect consumers, not businesses. Though crooked lawyers find their way around this act in terms of consumers, the busi-ness owner cannot even evoke it in court.

“How it works is someone doesn’t actually go to jail because he owes money, but rather because he gets a judgment against him, and then violates court orders,” Miller says. In some ways this is analogous to what happens in divorce courts. Getting a divorce is not a crime, but domestic violence is. If a man’s spouse swears, “under penalty of perjury” that he has enacted domestic violence against her and/or their children, the court clerk automatically issues a restraint order, and the man is ordered to appear in court to “show cause” why he should not be treated as a violent felon.

Catch-22, when he appears in court he will never, in that court, or any subsequent one, be allowed to testify as to his innocence. In fact a man who has sufficient evidence against him to show he has enacted violence, wheth-er that being beating, maiming, or murdering one of his family, he will be accorded a fair trial before a jury. This is denied to the upstanding citi-zen who’s only “crime” is being a fa-ther and getting a divorce. What will send him to prison, however, is if he protests against this injus tice and re-fuses to submit to the extortion levied

through “child support” and a wide variety of other monetary fines, and attempts to see his children when not allowed. In other words, he can end up in jail for not the original charge of a violent felony, for which he’s never received a judgment, but rather for breaking the court orders.

Here’s how it works with illicit debt collections.

This process got its start in the 1980s, when, Walters writes, “financial minds in the private sector dreamed up a new business model: Buy huge bundles of debt from banks at vastly discounted rates -often as cheap as two or three cents on the dollar - rake in the easy-to-collect debts and then sell the rest.” As Walters also succinctly writes, “Debts are bundled and sold, again and again, between huge companies, while vital information is lost, records are destroyed or manufactured, and legal documents are blindly signed. At every level - from the banks to the debt buy-ers to the law firms and the courts - the system is rife with errors that often go unnoticed, even as they upturn the lives of thousands of Americans.”

An even further problem, Madsen points out, is that when a person en-ters into an agreement with a credit card company, there has to be a provi-sion in the contract in which he makes an assign ment, that is, states he allows the credit card/bank to sell the person’s interest in the contract. “Without this written assignment, the collector to whom the debt is sold has no right to collect,” says Madsen. “Typically, most of that ongoing bundling of debt should not be collected. I’ve seen debt go back as far as six collectors.”

Another problem, Madsen continues, has to do with the statute of limita-tions, which, in Idaho, for an oral con-tract is four years, and for a written one five. He adds that each state is differ-ent so you should check out your state’s regulations in this regard. “What a lot of people don’t understand,” Madsen says, “is that if a collector talks you into making just a small pay ment, the

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time period starts all over again.”So, how do these big collectors get

around such niceties of law?They make it all “legal” by taking

the person to court, getting a judg-ment, and then a contempt order which allows them to garnish wages, seize assets, gut banking accounts and even social security, as well as, if deemed necessary, sending the per-son to jail.

Here are some of the ploys used. Madsen says that a collection lawyer will typically sign an affidavit stating he’s seen the person’s signature on his computer screen. But what the lawyer won’t see is the signature of an assign-ment, allowing the first collector to sell the debt to someone else. In other words, he simply perjures himself. The cost of doing business.

But it gets even worse than that. As originally reported by Walters, Miller deposed a woman in Minneapolis, MN employed by the Midland Credit Man-agement, an arm of Encore Capital. “Every year,” Walters writes, “Encore buys billions of dollars in credit-card debts and then sets out to collect - fil-ing hundreds of thou sands of lawsuits against the debtor”

The woman Miller deposed is called

a “robo-signer.” For she signs, for $12.50 an hour, up to 300 affidavits per day, for lawsuits designed to pro-vide veracity for Encore’s lawsuits on alleged debts and used to garnish wages, empty bank accounts, and re-possess property.

When Miller asked the woman if she even read the affidavits she was sign-ing “under penalty of perjury, “the woman answered, simply, “No.”

If this isn’t bad enough, Madsen points out that someone about to be sued has to be officially served with the notice. Madsen says that the well-known expression for this scam is “sew-er service” which means the low-paid server simply tosses the notice along with the accompanying suit into the sewer, with the intended person never receiving it.

The following is directly quoted from Walters: “ABC Legal Services, based in Seattle, is one of the largest process server companies in the nation. CEO Stephen Carrigan says his company uses mobile GPS apps as well as route-and-travel time analysis to thwart unethical servers. Yet ABC currently faces 14 different lawsuits in Califor-nia, filed by a single attorney, Fred Schwinn.

“Schwinn says records show some ABC process servers claiming to be at two places at once. Another claimed to have served a woman who had actually been dead for months.

“ABC’s $16-per-serve payments, Sch-winn says, encourage these subcon-tractors to lie. ‘They pay on a complet-ed serve or after nine failed attempts,’ Schwinn says. ‘Who’s going to go out nine times for 16 bucks?’”

Even if the person is properly served, there’s a good chance he won’t show up in court. Why? Miller lists a number of reasons, which are common to both the consumer and business owners, and the two are often the same. For busi-ness owners often use their private credit cards for business uses and vice versa. These reasons include not know-ing what the debt is for, maybe having paid it, or that if the debt is there it’s wildly inaccurate, he can’t afford to take time off from work, or hire a law-yer, and so on.

The result? The collector gets a de-fault judgment. That does it. No mat-ter how weak its case, the judgment is in. The collector then gets garnishment and other permissions to legally de-stroy your life.

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continued from previous pageFor, as says Madsen the current

high-tech “brave new world” tools at the collectors’ disposal, allow them to everything they want to know about you, your social security number, bank accounts, assets, vehicles, equipment and serial numbers, and so on. It’s all about the money, of course. The collec-tors can bleed you dry, but then write off anything remaining, no matter how fic titious, on their income tax returns.

Walters reports that last year, in just one court, the Spokane County District Court* there were some 7,000 debt-col-lection cases - about 27 for every work-ing day. Nearly two-thirds of these debt cases were default judgments. In some communities, the rate is over 95 percent.

Here it would be good to have a law-yer, at least one like Miller or Madsen. For their position in court is usually that there may have been some debt owed at some time, but now there are so many inaccuracies and lack of evi-dence that the case should be thrown out. This, at the very least, prevents a default judgment, and the horrific train of events that can come from that. Lawyers of the rare moral caliber of Miller and Madsen often do pro bono

work for impoverished citizens, often showing up in court to provide free ser-vices on the spot for those who show up for the hearing, though too many don’t. Lawyers like these charge reasonable rates to small business owners. But, as says Madsen, “I don’t think the United States has enough attorneys doing col-lection defense.”

Is anything being done?Walters reports that, on the national

level, both the Federal Trade Commis-sion and the Securities and Exchange Commissions have both moved to pun-ish abuses from the larger firms. The issue is emerging into the public spot-light since complaints to the FTC about debt collectors have more than doubled since 2006.

Meanwhile, try to stay out of debt, and, if taken to court, try to find a good lawyer. At the very least, show up in court yourself, make your argument, and avoid a default judgment.True confessions of an unrepen-tent debtor

Up to about three years ago I never had any trouble with debt collectors. I had, through most of my life, avoided debt, but, in recent years, in my battles with the government and attempts to protect my six adopted multiracial

kids, I had accumulated about $28,000 in debt, from several credit cards. No problem, since I paid those, plus all my debts, in full every month.

My credit card problems started when an inheritance allowed me to pay off these debts in full. That’s when my debt problems really started. Just a few examples. One credit card, which I stopped using, began to charge me a monthly “maintenance fee,” for doing nothing, except escalating the vari-ous interest and fees when I refused to pay. Another, perhaps more than one, had a limit of, say, $5,000. I generally minimized my use of credit cards dur-ing this period. But one month I had some emergencies, which necessitated I went up to about $4,000, fully in-tending to pay it all off the following month. Instead, what the bank did is arbitrarily lower my rate (as a reward for paying off the previous debt), to about $3,500, without telling me, thus putting me over the new limit, and starting a new round of punitive fees. On another I protested against a third party charging my credit card for a ser-vice long cancelled. I actually had the latter company on the phone with me to back my position to the bank. The bank refused to budge. And on and on.

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My solution?Since I had accumulated quite a bit

of credit from all these cards, I simply cashed it all in. Quite a bundle. Any letters they’ve sent I’ve simply written on the envelope “return to sender” and any 800 or 888 phone calls I simply lift the receiver and hang up. I think that’s fair, don’t you? My credit rating? Who cares? I don’t read it. And I don’t use credit or debit cards.

I still pay all of my legitimate bills, on time, in cash. I don’t borrow against the future. For who knows what that will bring? But banks/credit cards are not the only culprits. Greed, especially among giant corporations, has grown rampant. Here is one more personal example.

This started with a TV service, called Direct TV, which has now been taken over by the giant phone company, Cen-turyLink.

My first experience was with Direct TV, about two years ago. I had been liv-ing with my oldest son and grandchil-dren, but he moved to one location and I another. I signed off on his Direct TV. He didn’t like it, and repeatedly tried to cancel the service. He didn’t use it, but the bills, and phone calls to me kept esca lating. Then they put a hold on some $480 on my bank. How did they get inside my bank? When they installed it, I had paid the fee through my debit card. I thought maybe what I signed was like a UPS pad of lots of pages of small print. I complained to my bank. Direct TV said I had signed a contract. I demanded to see it. It turned out to be standard advertising borchure, with no mention of termina-tion policy, and no signature from me. I unleased my riot act with my bank, got my $440, and moved to another bank, the fourth in about three years.

Direct TV was still operating in my home, and used by my two sons, who have lived here because of the reces-sion, when Century-Link bought it out.

A few weeks ago, my fax machine in the other room, went down.

The fax vendor repairman came out and said the problem was with the outside phone lines. We called Centu-ryLink, who tried to argue that the wir-ing was internal, that if the repairman came out the charge would be about $80. Fortunately, the equip ment re-pairman knew the technical details. So the CenturyLink repairman came out and fixed the outside line.

A couple of days later my phone went dead. I went next door to use a neigh-bor’s phone, spent, without exaggera-tion, over an hour on the phone, wading

through interminable menus, whenev-er getting a live voice being told they had no record of my using their system, or being directed somewhere where I was cut off with the message, “If you’d like to make a call, hang up, etc.” When I finally got a person and demanded to speak to a person and not a machine I was first sent to someone who could not help me because she represented the national service, and I needed the local. When I demanded to be sent to the right person, 1 was told that she represented international service, and I had to go to, etc. etc. etc.

Finally, I got through to someone who said he would help. I asked if he had my records on the computer in front of him. He did. Then he said he needed my account number - which is my phone number with three letters. He couldn’t do anything without it. So, it was raining, I went back in the rain to find my receipt and give the number. Another interminable wait before I got through to someone who said it would take a repairman two days to get out. I said it was an emergency (my busi-ness consists on being on the phone). Nothing could be done, she said. Fortu-nately, my 22-year old son, who knows nothing about phone lines, went out

and, miraculously, fixed the wiring so my phone went back on. Later that af-ternoon, as the rain continued, all of the neighbors’ phones went down. All except mine.

Since my two sons living with me have recently got good jobs and are resuming their education/careers, I’ve decided to move to Iowa, about a half hour away. At age 74, I’ve been a full-time dad long enough. But I’ll still be close by to stay in contact with my three sons and grandkids in Spokane.

When I tried to switch to a smaller phone company which also operates in Iowa, CenturyLink wouldn’t let me quit. First they came up with the bogus claim that my place had siding put up which made it impossible for them to allow for a switch of phone carriers. My landlord said new siding had last been put on this house several months be-fore I moved in. CenturyLink then said they had no way of getting to the ca-bling, though the new phone company’s technician said it was easily accessible.

So, I did not pay last month’s phone bill, for the very simple reason that they refused to allow me to terminate services. I then got a notice that un-less the full bill, plus interest, fees, was



July preliminary data show large import increases continuing in several key productsImport market share in 2012 at 24 percent

Based on preliminary Census Bureau data, the American Iron and Steel In-stitute (AISI) reported that the U.S. im-ported a total of 2,582,000 net tons (NT) of steel in July, including 2,028,000 NT of finished steel (down 8% each, respec-tively, from June final data). Year-to-date (YTD) finished steel imports, however, are up 19% vs. the same period in 2011. Annualized total and finished steel im-ports in 2012 would be 34.7 and 26.8 million NT, respectively, up 22 and 23%, each, respectively vs. 2011. Finished steel import market share in July was an esti-mated 23% and is estimated at 24% YTD.

Key finished steel products with a significant import increase in July 2012 compared to June are plates in coils (up 23%), line pipe (up 22%) and cold fin-ished bars (up 12%). Major products with significant YTD import increases vs. the same period last year include reinforcing bar (up 54%), line pipe (up 45%), plates – cut lengths (up 42%), oil country goods (up 36%) and sheets & strip galvanized hot dipped (up 32%).

In July, the largest volumes of fin-ished steel imports from offshore were all from Asia and Europe. They were South Korea (285,000 NT, down 9%), Japan (169,000 NT, up 12%), China (116,000 NT, down 41%), Italy (95,000 NT, up 56%) and Germany (87,000 NT, down 30%). For the first 7 months of 2012, the largest offshore suppliers were South Korea (2,171,000 NT, up 20%), Japan (1,171,000 NT, up 31%), Turkey (939,000 NT, up 94%), China (923,000 NT, up 29%) and Germany (724,000 NT, up 27%). Below are charts on estimated steel import market share in recent months and on finished steel imports from offshore by country.

June steel shipments down 5.0 percent from May2nd quarter shipments down 3% vs. 1st quarter

The American Iron and Steel Insti-tute (AISI) reported that for the month of June 2012, U.S. steel mills shipped 8,016,834 net tons, a 5.0 percent de-crease from the 8,436,831 net tons shipped in the previous month, May 2012, and a 4.9 percent increase from the 7,639,108 net tons shipped in June 2011. Shipments year-to-date in 2012

Source: U.S. Department of Commerce

are 50,117,104 an 11.9 percent increase vs. 2011 shipments of 44,779,857 for six months.

Shipments in 2Q 2012 (April thru June) were 24,699,004 net tons, a 2.8 percent decrease vs. the 1Q (January thru March) shipments of 25,418,100 net tons. Similarly, the capacity utili-zation rate for raw steel production has also been trending downward with the week ending August 11, 2012 at 76.9 percent utilization compared to the 1Q utilization rate of 79.3 and the 2Q utili-zation rate of 78.3.

A month-to-month comparison of shipments shows the following chang-es: hot rolled sheet, up 2 percent, cold rolled sheet, down 6 percent and hot dipped galvanized sheets and strip, down 13 percent.

July steel shipments down 1.3 percent from JuneLowest monthly shipment figure in 2012

The American Iron and Steel

Institute (AISI) reported that for the month of July 2012, U.S. steel mills shipped 7,910,486 net tons, a 1.3 percent decrease from the 8,016,834 net tons shipped in the previous month, June 2012, and a 6.8 percent increase from the 7,409,450 net tons shipped in July 2011. Shipments year-to-date in 2012 are 58,027,590, an 11.2 percent increase vs. 2011 shipments of 52,189,307 for seven months.

Shipments in July were the low-est monthly amount in 2012. The July tonnage of 7,910,486 was 7.1 percent lower than the peak 2012 monthly shipments of 8,512,825 tons in March. Raw Steel Production re-cently experienced its 2012 low in weekly production with production for the week of September 8, 2012 at 73.3 percent, the first 2012 weekly utilization figure below 74%.

A month-to-month comparison of shipments shows the following chang-es: hot rolled sheet, up 5 percent, cold rolled sheet, down 2 percent and hot

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standard rails (up 43%), hot rolled sheets (up 16%) and cold finished bars (up 14%). Major products with signifi-cant year-to-date (YTD) increases vs. the same period in 2011 include re-inforcing bars (up 54%), line pipe (up 45%), cut lengths plates (up 40%), oil country goods (up 36%), sheets and strip hot dipped galvanized (up 31%) and sheets and strip all other metallic coatings (up 27%).

In July, the largest finished steel import permit applications for off-shore countries were for South Korea (332,000 NT, up 13% from June), Japan (169,000 NT, up 29%), China (119,000 NT, down 32%), Italy (88,000 NT, up 81%) and India (84,000 NT, up 187%). Through the first 7 months of 2012, the largest offshore suppliers were South Korea (2,198,000 NT, up 21% from the same period in 2011), Japan (1,151,000 NT, up 28%) and China (903,000 NT, up 26%).

“Even with the slowing of our econ-omy, we continue to see large import increases in key steel products from certain offshore countries,” Thomas J. Gibson, AISI president and CEO, said in commenting on the July 2012 SIMA data. “Given the low domestic steel uti-lization rate, there are concerns that

dipped galvanized sheets and strip, down 5 percent.

July SIMA data indicate large import increases continuing in certain key products

Based on the Commerce Depart-ment’s most recent Steel Import Moni-toring and Analysis (SIMA) data, the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI) reported that steel import per-mit applications for the month of July totaled 2,627,000 net tons (NT). This was an 8% decrease from the 2,855,000 permit tons recorded in June, but a 1% increase from the June preliminary imports total of 2,593,000 NT. Im-port permit tonnage for finished steel in July was 2,067,000 NT, down 2% from the preliminary imports total of 2,098,000 NT in June. July 2012 total and finished steel import permit tons would annualize at 34,339,000 NT and 26,683,000 NT, up 20% and 22%, re-spectively, vs. the 28,515,000 NT and 21,835,000 NT imported in 2011. The estimated finished steel import market share in July was 23%, and it is 24% through 7 months of 2012.

Finished steel imports with large increases in July permits vs. the June preliminary include line pipe (up 50%),

dumped and subsidized steel imports may be causing additional harm to America’s steel industry.”

August SIMA import permits record significant increases in several key products; AISI remains concerned about YTD 24% finished steel import market share

Based on the Commerce Depart-ment’s most recent Steel Import Moni-toring and Analysis (SIMA) data, the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI) reported that steel import per-mit applications for the month of Au-gust totaled 2,591,000 net tons (NT). This was an 8% decrease from the 2,824,000 permit tons recorded in July, but only a 0.3% increase from the July preliminary imports total of 2,582,000 NT. Import permit tonnage for finished steel in August was 2,004,000 NT, down 1% from the preliminary imports total of 2,028,000 NT in July. August 2012 total and finished steel import permit tons would annualize at 34,207,000 NT and 26,456,000 NT, up 20% and 21%, respectively, vs. the 28,515,000 NT and 21,835,000 NT imported in 2011. The estimated finished steel import market


the port city of Nantong, China. Tulsa based Gunnebo Johnson is responsible for the custom design and manufactur-ing of the heavy lifting components, which will soon begin shipping to Chi-na for installation on the giant ship-mounted crane.

“Gunnebo Johnson is a well-estab-lished leader in the global rigging and heavy lifting industries, and we are honored to bring our world-class exper-tise to the Asian Hercules III project” said Craig Aszkler, president and CEO of Gunnebo Johnson. “As we begin shipping components to China, I com-mend our employees’ dedication in pro-viding a high quality product, custom engineering expertise and outstanding customer service”.

Spanning a twenty four month proj-ect timeframe, Gunnebo Johnson has designed and is manufacturing the com-plete lifting tackle, including sheaves, blocks and lifting beam sets. When completed, the 5000 Metric Ton rated

share in August was 22%, and it is 24% through 8 months of 2012.

Finished steel imports with large in-creases in August permits vs. the July preliminary include heavy structural shapes (up 66%), reinforcing bars (up 64%), cut lengths plates (up 28%), tin plate (up 27%), hot rolled bars (up 22%) and cold rolled sheets (up 18%). Major products with significant year-to-date (YTD) increases vs. the same period in 2011 include reinforcing bars (up 49%), line pipe (up 42%), cut lengths plates (up 38%), oil country goods (up 33%), sheets & strip galvanized hot dipped (up 31%), sheets and strip all other me-tallic coatings (up 29%) and hot rolled bars (up 17%).

“While U.S. mills are operating at only a 75% utilization rate, offshore producers are sending cheap, subsi-dized finished steel imports into our market, which year-to-date, represent 24% market share,”

AISI President and CEO Thomas J. Gibson said, “On top of this, a slow-down in Chinese steel demand and global manufacturing activity gener-ally is a cause of great concern here in the U.S. where we have the most open market in the world, as this could result in even larger increases in import tonnage in the months to come. We urge the U.S. government to be ever vigilant for evidence of foreign unfair trade practices that could result in harm to America’s steel industry.”

In August, the largest finished steel import permit applications for off-shore countries were for South Korea (279,000 NT, down 2% from July), China (158,000 NT, up 36%), Japan (138,000 NT, down 18%), Turkey (116,000 NT, up 240%) and Germany (93,000 NT, up 7%). Through the first 8 months of 2012, the largest offshore suppliers were South Korea (2,450,000 NT, up 22% from the same period in 2011), Japan (1,309,000 NT, up 32%) and China (1,081,000 NT, up 29%).

Gunnebo Johnson reaching key milestone in Asian Hercules III Project

On July 27, Gunnebo Johnson Cor-poration welcomed U. S. Congressman John Sullivan to its facility to com-memorate the ongoing production of key components for the Asian Hercu-les III Project. This floating sheerleg crane will be one of the largest in the Far East, and is being constructed in

continued from previous page

(11,020,000 Lbs.) Asian Hercules III will be able to reach up and out over 500 feet for making marine offshore lifts.

The Asian Hercules III, owned and operated by Asian Lift Pte., of Sin-gapore, will initially be employed for

offshore lifting duties in the Far East. The smaller Asian Hercules II, rated at 3200 Metric tons and completed in 1997, also utilizes the unique tackle and beam lifting system designed and built by Gunnebo Johnson.

Over the last decade, Gunnebo John-son has leveraged its engineering and manufacturing experience on a wide variety of heavy lifting and material handling applications. Deep sea moor-ing swivels, offshore BOP handling tackle and special hooks to lift the space shuttle solid fuel rocket boost-ers are, but a few specialized products made in the Tulsa, Oklahoma facility.About Gunnebo Johnson

Utilizing over a half century of ex-

Craig Aszkler President & CEO of Gunnebo Johnson Corporation (left) and Congressman John Sullivan (right) hold a Steel Sheave paperweight that was chrome plated and had company information engraved on it that Gunnebo Johnson gave him.

Congressman John Sullivan Giving his speech at Gunnebo Johnson Corporation July 27, 2012.

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perience in both North America and around the globe, Gunnebo Johnson Corporation custom designs and man-ufactures products used in the global rigging, heavy lifting and material handling markets. The Tulsa, Oklaho-ma manufacturing facility is home to approximately two hundred full-time employees.

Gunnebo Johnson cooperates with the Southwest Trade Adjustment Assis-tance center to ensure that the company remains competitive on a global basis.

Bridon installs world’s biggest rope machine

International ropemaker, Bridon, has begun installing the world’s big-gest machine for the manufacture of steel wire ropes. The ropes will support the offshore sector in particular due to the increasingly challenging applica-tions the industry requires.

The closer machine at the company’s new Neptune Quay facility, which is used to form dozens of strands of wire into a single finished rope, is being installed at the factory’s site in New-castle, UK.

Enabling the company to manu-facture the world’s largest and most complex ropes in package weights of up to 650 tons, the £10 million closer was scheduled to be installed at the fa-cility the week of August 2, has been produced by German engineering com-pany SKET.

Bridon’s closer, the 8-basket section of which will be the first element in-stalled at the plant, will allow the com-pany to produce far more complex ropes than had ever previously been possible with such weights. The machine will allow Bridon to make offshore ropes that are specifically engineered to deal with the challenges of deepwater de-ployment under tough environmental conditions.

Bridon has cited the need to keep pace with the ambitions of the oil & gas industry as a principal motivation for the Neptune Quay site’s construction. While the historical challenge of deep water deployment has been to deploy 300 tons in 3000 metres of water, the industry is increasingly demanding lifting systems that can deploy weights significantly in excess of 300 tons and as great as 600 tons at depths of up to 4000 metres – requiring multistrand ropes that boast massive breaking loads, optimised bend fatigue perfor-mance, effective lubrication, and mini-mal rotation under load.

Supporting the operation of Bridon

Neptune Quay’s superlative closing machine, the facility also boasts a new stranding machine. This piece of equip-ment, which winds dozens of wires to-gether into individual strands that can be spun together by the closer machine, was also manufactured by SKET.

To ease the load out of 650 ton rope reels onto vessels moored at the fac-tory’s deepwater quayside, Bridon has commissioned Newcastle-based engi-neering firm Pipe Coil Technology to deliver an innovative take-up stand; a machine which is used to move new ropes on the final reels from the closer to the Quay side without any assis-tance. This enables a variety of meth-ods to get reels of all sizes onto vessels moored alongside the plant.

Bridon Group Chief Executive, Jon Templeman said:

“In constructing a state of the art factory that will lead the world in the production of large, complex ropes, we knew we could settle for nothing less than the biggest and best ropemaking machinery ever produced. The closer, strander, and takeup stand at Bridon Neptune Quay are not only the larg-est rope making machines in existence; they also have the capacity to make the most complex and highly engineered ropes ever conceived.

“Close collaboration with our cus-tomers has developed our understand-ing of the complex tasks they face in the world’s toughest environments. Thanks to this collaborative approach, and to the ingenuity of our key suppli-ers SKET and Pipe Coil Technology, this machinery will surpass all previ-ous ropemaking equipment in manu-facturing ropes tailored to 21st century offshore challenges.”

Barnhart Expands operations with project office in Phoenix

Barnhart, one of the nation’s larg-est heavy lifting and transportation companies, opened a new operations office in Phoenix, Arizona on August 1. According to a company release, the branch focuses on heavy rigging, engi-neered rigging and heavy haul trans-portation and services power, mining and heavy industrial customers.

The company’s breadth of experience in the power industry includes renew-able energy (wind, hydro and solar), nuclear, natural gas and coal. In ad-dition to its heavy rigging experience, Barnhart is also known for transport systems that utilize state-of-the-art equipment for moving large components over vast distances. Recently, Barnhart

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continued from previous pageannounced the addition of the WesTrac Transportation System to its extensive and innovative equipment inventory. The Barnhart designed system incorpo-rates the features of a modular platform trailer. However, the axle spacing and footprint are designed specifically to meet DOT requirements for roads and highways of the western states.

“The Barnhart team thrives on a challenge and the ability to provide innovative solutions to a problem,” says Barnhart Western Region Vice President Jim Harris. “Our new lo-cation in Arizona puts us in a great position to serve our customers throughout the Southwest. This is a natural extension to our current loca-tion in Long Beach, California.”

Barnhart was established in 1969 and is a leading national supplier of heavy lifting and transportation solu-tions. The company, with over 20 lo-cations across the United States, also provides logistics, machinery mov-ing and plant relocations. Barnhart’s Quality Management System is certi-fied to the ISO 9001:2008 international standard and has been registered since 2000. For more information, visit www.barnhartcrane.com.

NCCCO launches Digger Derrick Operator Certification Program

The National Commission for the Certification of Crane Operators (NCC-CO) announced the availability of a new CCO certification program for dig-ger derrick operators. Digger derricks are multi-purpose machines primarily designed to dig holes, set poles, and po-sition materials and apparatus.

Due to digger derricks’ unique con-figuration and versatility, users and manufacturers requested that NCCCO create specific operator tests for this specialized equipment. This latest ad-dition to CCO’s range of operator cer-tification programs represents the first program NCCCO has developed spe-cifically for the utility industry.

Although digger derrick operators are excluded from OSHA’s operator certifi-cation requirements for utility work un-der 29 CFR 1926 Subpart CC (Cranes and Derricks in Construction), digger derrick operators are required to be cer-tified for work such as erecting signs, lights, and telecommunication lines, as well as other construction work.

Co-chaired by safety experts from the two major digger derrick manufactur-

ers—Altec and Terex Utilities—a task force of 20 subject matter experts rep-resenting end users, utility companies, trainers, and contractors developed the new program over the past 14 months. During that time NCCCO facilitated six in-person task force meetings as well as numerous virtual meetings to determine the most appropriate con-tents for the written and practical ex-ams that candidates must pass to earn certification.

In addition to hosting task force meetings, Terex Utilities and Altec donated trucks and materials for pro-gram development; Crane Tech, Geor-gia Power, and the Southeast Lineman Training Center also hosted task force meetings. Psychometric consultants from International Assessment Insti-tute (IAI), the testing services company that has provided exam development and administration services to NCCCO since 1999, also played a key role in guiding the program development to make sure that the tests are fair, valid, reliable, and legally defensible.

The resulting CCO digger derrick op-erator written exam tests candidates’ knowledge of applicable standards, safe operating procedures, and load chart usage, while the practical exam

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includes tasks to demonstrate opera-tors’ ability to control a load, dig a hole, and place a pole.

“The request for this new program re-flects a general trend among employers from many different industries seek-ing a means of ensuring operators are qualified to operate equipment safely,” said Joel Oliva, NCCCO Program Man-ager for Test Development. “It’s par-ticularly noteworthy in this instance given the absence of a federal require-ment for the utility industry.”

It’s a position supported from with-in the industry. “Regardless of the regulatory requirements, we see the same safety benefits accruing for our digger derrick operators as CCO cer-tification has provided for our crane operators over the years,” said Wil-son Yancey, vice president of Safety at Quanta Services, a leading provid-er of specialized contracting services for the electric power, natural gas and pipeline, and telecommunication industries.

The new digger derrick operator writ-ten exam may be taken at any CCO written exam administration. As with other CCO operator certification pro-grams, practical exam sites must meet specific requirements and be approved

in advance by NCCCO. Details about the exam contents and how to apply for and/or host exams can be found on NCCCO’s website at www.nccco.org/certification/diggerderrick.html.

The National Commission for the Certification of Crane Operators (NCCCO) is an independent, non-prof-it organization established in 1995 by industry to develop and administer a nationwide program for the certifica-tion of crane operators and related personnel. Since then, NCCCO has administered over 625,000 nationally accredited written and practical ex-aminations to more than 170,000 op-erators in all 50 states.

Van Beest launches new website and customer portal

The new website has been designed to be fast, simple and user-friendly. The update introduces new content and navigation features intended to help customers find what they are look-ing for easier.

New content includes information about the company and manufacturing process. “Customers know our products and our quality already, now they can

learn a bit more about how we achieve such a high standard.” In addition, the website now incorporates a customer portal. This provides our customers ac-cess to all of their certificates. Register-ing can be done directly through the website, but if you have questions, please contact us at [email protected].

The new website is now online in English only @ www.vanbeest.com. In the near future we will offer content in 4 languages: Dutch, German, French and Spanish.

The site also links through the Van Beest Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and YouTube accounts where we regularly post news and interesting developments.

Equipment lease finance industry confidence ticks up in September

The Equipment Leasing & Finance Foundation (the Foundation) re-

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leased the September 2012 Monthly Confidence Index for the Equipment Finance Industry (MCI-EFI) on Sep-tember 24. Designed to collect leader-ship data, the index reports a qualita-tive assessment of both the prevailing business conditions and expectations for the future as reported by key ex-ecutives from the $628 billion equip-ment finance sector. Overall, con-fidence in the equipment finance market is 53.0, up from the August index of 50.2, reflecting increased optimism despite concerns over com-panies’ willingness to expand their businesses in the face of economic and political uncertainty.

When asked about the outlook for the future, MCI survey respondent

Anthony Cracchiolo, president and chief executive officer, Vendor Ser-vices, U.S. Bank Equipment Finance, said, “The industry is performing well and new businesses are entering the segment to join the positive experi-ence our asset class enjoys. However, the growth of our industry is tightly aligned with the overall U.S. econo-my and our industry’s future will be determined by the broader actions of the U.S. economy.” September 2012 survey results:

The overall MCI-EFI is 53.0, up from the August index of 50.2.

• When asked to assess their busi-ness conditions over the next four months, 8.8% of executives respond-ing said they believe business condi-tions will improve over the next four

months, up from 6.3% in August. 73.5% of respondents believe business condi-tions will remain the same over the next four months, down from 78.1% in August. 17.6% believe business condi-tions will worsen, up from 15.6% the previous month.

• 11.8% of survey respondents be-lieve demand for leases and loans to fund capital expenditures (capex) will increase over the next four months, an increase from 6.3% in August. 76.5% believe demand will “remain the same” during the same four-month time pe-riod, up from 75% the previous month. 11.8% believe demand will decline, down from 18.8% in August.

• 14.7% of executives expect more access to capital to fund equipment ac-quisitions over the next four months, down from 15.6% in August. 85.3% of survey respondents indicate they expect the “same” access to capital to fund business, an increase from 84.4% the previous month. No survey respon-dents expect “less” access to capital, unchanged from August.

• When asked, 29.4% of the execu-tives reported they expect to hire more employees over the next four months, down from 31.3% in August. 67.6% ex-pect no change in headcount over the next four months, up from 65.6% last month. 2.9% expect fewer employees, down from 3.1% of respondents who ex-pected fewer employees in August.

• 76.5% of the leadership evaluates the current U.S. economy as “fair,” up from 68.8% last month. 23.5% rate it as “poor,” down from 31.3% in August.

• 5.9% of survey respondents believe that U.S. economic conditions will get “better” over the next six months, down from 6.3% in August. 79.4% of survey respondents indicate they believe the U.S. economy will “stay the same” over the next six months, up from 78.1% in August. 14.7% believe economic condi-tions in the U.S. will worsen over the next six months, a decrease from 15.6% who believed so last month.

• In September, 29.4% of respon-dents indicate they believe their com-pany will increase spending on busi-ness development activities during the next six months, up from 15.6% in August. 70.6% believe there will be “no change” in business development spending, down from 81.3% last month, and no one believes there will be a de-crease in spending, down from 3.1% last month. September 2012 MCI Survey com-ments from Industry executive leadership:

Depending on the market segment


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they represent, executives have differ-ing points of view on the current and future outlook for the industry.

Independent, Small Ticket“The industry continues to post

strong results in terms of low delin-quency levels and overall credit qual-ity of current and prospective trans-actions. The issue continues to be the vicious circle of political and regulatory uncertainty and its effect on the men-tality of businesses of all sizes. Growth occurs when these factors become more quantifiable.” Valerie Hayes Jester, president, Brandywine Capital Associ-ates, Inc.

Independent, Middle Ticket“Stagnant. Customers [are] delay-

ing decisions due to uncertainty about healthcare, taxes, unclear and onerous regulations, and the general economic climate.” George K. Booth, chief execu-tive officer, Black Rock Capital LLC

Bank, Middle Ticket“Continued low interest rates, im-

proving credit quality, growing de-mand for new/replacement equipment, and new leasing product development will drive continued industry expan-sion into 2013 and beyond. Uncertainty in the economy, Europe, employment, and upcoming U.S. elections will im-pact the level of growth recorded dur-ing the remainder of 2012.” Russell Nelson, president, Farm Credit Leas-ing Services CorporationWhy an MCI-EFI?

Confidence in the U.S. economy and the capital markets is a critical driv-er to the equipment finance industry. Throughout history, when confidence increases, consumers and businesses are more apt to acquire more consum-er goods, equipment and durables, and invest at prevailing prices. When confidence decreases, spending and risk-taking tend to fall. Investors are said to be confident when the news about the future is good and stock prices are rising. Who participates in the MCI-EFI?

The respondents are comprised of a wide cross section of industry execu-tives, including large-ticket, middle-market and small-ticket banks, in-dependents and captive equipment finance companies. The MCI-EFI uses the same pool of 50 organization leaders to respond monthly to ensure the survey’s integrity. Since the same organizations provide the data from month to month, the results consti-tute a consistent barometer of the in-dustry’s confidence. How is the MCI-EFI designed?

The survey consists of seven ques-

tions and an area for comments, ask-ing the respondents’ opinions about the following:

1. Current business conditions2. Expected product demand over the

next four months3. Access to capital over the next four

months4. Future employment conditions 5. Evaluation of the current U.S.

economy6. U.S. economic conditions over the

next six months7. Business development spending

expectations8. Open-ended question for comment The Equipment Leasing & Finance

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Work crews reach million-hour safety milestone at Wolf Creek Dam

By Lee Roberts Nashville District Public Affairs Construction crews at the Wolf Creek

Dam Foundation Remediation Project reached a lofty safety milestone today when the men and women installing a concrete barrier wall deep into the dam’s embankment reached 550 days and one million work-hours on the job without a lost-time accident.

During this period, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Nashville Dis-trict and its contractor, Treviicos-Soletanche J.V., worked very hard to avoid accidents that could potentially cause delays. They teamed up, held frequent safety meetings, reviewed procedures, and kept up a continual presence of safety inspectors on the work platform.

“Emphasizing job safety and focus-ing full attention on all the details of the safety program are the drivers of this amazing safety record, and that is so important when there are so many moving pieces such as vehicles, equip-ment, and people moving around day

and night on the work platform,” said Lt. Col. James A. DeLapp, Nashville District commander.

The overall barrier installation to stop seepage in the karst geology with-in the dam’s foundation is 80 percent finished and on course for completion in December 2013.

John Schnebelen, Nashville Dis-trict’s safety manager at Wolf Creek Dam, said safety policies were put in place early on that enabled the project to move forward with a million hours without a lost-time injury. He added that training needs were identified, the Corps and contractor partnered to revise the accident prevention plan, and a safety culture thrived that al-lowed both safety and productivity to increase simultaneously.

“Both safety and productivity go hand in hand,” Schnebelen said. “You cannot be successful in one area and not the other.”

There is a real sense of pride by the contractor, which has focused on the health and wellbeing of its employees.

Fabio Santillan, project manager for Treviicos-Soletanche J.V., said his work crews have been working around the clock, accumulating more than 11,000 man hours every week.

“Thirteen drilling rigs, and several other ancillary equipment work in a very congested area day and night with no interruption,” Santillan said. “We perform on average more than 385 crane lifts every day and 110,000 per year. Each lift is a critical opera-tion that requires our personnel to understand the risks and to follow the procedures in a methodic and safe manner.”

Santillan said he believes that safety and quality are integral and funda-mental parts of production, and that’s why it’s been so important for everyone on the job to work safely.

“I am very proud of being part of this team of people who are ultimately and truly responsible for this exceptional achievement,” Santillan said.

Nashville District Project Officer 1st Lt. Allen Stansbury said constant re-finement of the construction process to keep equipment movement and drill-ing sequences on schedule made safety very important not only on the work platform, but also in the maintenance shop, staging areas, desanding plant and slurry ponds.

The contractor also performed daily and weekly toolbox safety meetings that encouraged input from the lowest



levels. Schnebelen worked constantly with the contractor to identify safety weaknesses and to make improvements to the safety program, Stansbury said.

The project reached the 500,000 hour milestone in November 2011 and 750,000 in February 2012.

The public can obtain news, updates and information from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Nashville District on the district’s website at www.lrn.usace.army.mil, on Facebook at www.facebook.com/nashvillecorps and on Twitter at www.twitter.com/nashvil-lecorps. The public can also visit Lake Cumberland’s Facebook page at www.facebook.com/lakecumberland.

Lift-It Manufacturing Co., Inc. announces the opening of a multi-media, state of the art, Learning Center

Lift-It Manufacturing, a worldwide leader in the supply of quality rigging and training, is proud to announce the opening of a new Learning Center at company headquarters in Pomona, CA. The state of the art facility features the latest in technology to provide for multi-media presentations and webinars. The 40 seat, 2000 sq. ft., facility has hundreds of samples which were generously donated by the quality leaders in the rigging industry.

Mike Gelskey, Sr., Chief Executive Officer, Lift-It Manufacturing com-ments, “The new facility and par-ticularly the new training center is a dream come true. Our presenters can’t believe the world class setting they enjoy as instructors and our stu-dents, many of whom have been in-volved in training for decades remark that they have never seen anything that could compare.”

Lift-It® is the Western Regional Cen-ter for Rigging Institute with campuses established in all major western cities. Gelskey remarks,” Our association with Rigging Institute is a mutually

beneficial one and our training clients benefit with instant access to quality training. We offer a full spectrum of training and will develop custom pro-grams to suit our clients’ needs.”

Designated Hardware and Sling In-spection, Competent Rigger I and Com-petent Rigger II training programs will be offered October 29-November 1, 2012, in Pomona, CA. For further infor-mation on this event and our 2012-2013 schedules, contact Michelle Brown, conference coordinator at 800.377-5438 x 715 or [email protected].

Lift-It Manufacturing celebrates 33 years of service to the rigging industry, this September by providing quality rigging and training. M.J. Gelskey Sr.

remarks, “We provided training long, long before it was fashionable. It is nice to see that training has become in vogue. Riggers need to go home to their loved ones and effective training is one of the many ingredients which makes it possible.”

wire Southeast Asia 2013 exhibitor applications available

Exhibitor applications for wire Southeast ASIA 2013, 10th Interna-tional Wire & Cable Trade Fair for Southeast Asia, are now available on-line at www.wire-southeastasia.com. A


chinery and equipment and new tech-nology and manufacturing solutions to a trade audience from the wire, cable, automotive, construction, computer manufacturing and electrical engineer-ing sectors.

“With a history of 15 years and over 9 editions, wire Southeast ASIA has established a track record of attracting about 3,000 manufacturers, processors and engineers from some of the world’s leading brand names to a one-stop gathering in Southeast Asia at this trade fair,” stated Beattrice Ho, Project Manager of wire Southeast ASIA. “We are happy to see that the exhibition is continuously growing with world-lead-ing brand names repeatedly choosing wire Southeast ASIA to engage face-to-face with wire and cable manufactur-ers and processors from Thailand and its neighboring countries”.

Over the past years, the ASEAN economy has recorded impressive growth and wire Southeast ASIA will be the perfect gateway for exhibitors to tap into that lucrative market. In Vietnam, infrastructure developments worth about $ 160 billion over the next 10 years are planned. Likewise, Malaysia expects a drastic increase in demand for wire and cable products as a result of major infrastructure projects. By 2015, Indonesia is antici-pated to produce 1.2 million cars and 8.1 million motorcycles annually. In addition, the country is among the 7 nations worldwide that will together account for a 65% growth in global construction and its economic plans

consider steel manufacturing among its top priorities.

When wire Southeast ASIA was last held in 2011 in conjunction with Tube Southeast ASIA, the two exhibitions impressively confirmed their status as the region’s leading business platform by attracting a record 392 exhibitors and more than 5,300 quality trade visi-tors from 60 countries (40% of which came from outside of Thailand). This marked a 30% increase in exhibitor participation and a 20% rise in visi-tor attendance compared to the 2009 events. The strong visitor attendance, particularly from Indonesia, Malay-sia, Singapore and India further high-lighted the increasing significance of ASEAN as a dynamic common market moving towards a single economic com-munity by 2015.

Tube Southeast ASIA, 9th Inter-national Tube & Pipe Trade Fair for Southeast Asia, will again be held con-currently with wire Southeast ASIA 2013. For further information on vis-iting or exhibiting at wire or Tube Southeast ASIA 2013, contact Messe Düsseldorf North America, 150 North Michigan Avenue, Suite 2920, Chicago, IL 60601. Telephone: (312) 781-5180; Fax: (312) 781-5188; E-mail: [email protected]; Visit our web site www.mdna.com; Subscribe to our blog at http://blog.mdna.com; Follow us on twitter at http://twitter.com/Wire-Tube_MDNA.

Lift-It® Manufacturing launches new website

Lift-It® Manufacturing Co., Inc. an-nounces the debut of the new website www.lift-it.com.

Providing valuable information has always been a priority for Lift-It Manufacturing. The Lift-It® website delivers extensive product, safety information and also features im-proved navigation.

The new, expanded site is designed to provide instant, easy access to the com-plete line of: slings, rigging hardware, load securement, nets, dynamometers, blocks, plate clamps, cordage, fall prevention equipment, hoists, mate-rial handling and RFID technology for sling inspection.

In addition to the wealth of product knowledge, visitors can download the newly released Rigging Products Re-source Guide and access Articles of In-terest, the Lift-It Newsletter, FAQ and Instructional Videos.

The newly revised website also fea-tures E-commerce for easy ordering and will soon facilitate registration at

special feature at the event will be the U.S. group exhibit, organized by Messe Düsseldorf North American and sup-ported by the Wire & Cable Industry Suppliers Association (WCISA). Please contact Messe Düsseldorf North Amer-ica at (312) 781-5180 to reserve exhibit space within this national pavilion. With the theme “VISION | INNOVA-TION | TECHNOLOGY – Bridging you to dynamic Southeast Asia”, wire Southeast ASIA will be held from Sep-tember 17 – 19, 2013 at the Bangkok Trade & Exhibition Centre (BITEC) in Thailand.

The trade fair will be organized by Messe Düsseldorf Asia, the subsid-iary of Messe Düsseldorf in Germany - with the support of the Interna-tional Wire & Machinery Association (IWMA), the Italian Wire Machinery Manufacturers Association (ACI-MAF), the International Wire & Ca-ble Exhibitors Association (IWCEA), the Austrian Wire and Cable Machin-ery Manufacturers Association (VÖD-KM-AWCMA), the International Wire and Cable Exhibitors Association - France (IWCEA-France), the German Wire and Cable Machine Manufactur-ers Association (VDKM) and the Wire and Cable Industry Suppliers Asso-ciation (WCISA).

Driven by wire Düsseldorf, the indus-try’s leading international trade fair organized by Messe Düsseldorf, wire Southeast ASIA 2013 will provide a platform for companies presenting the latest wire and cable processing ma-



the many Western Learning Centers offering training for riggers, signalper-sons and inspectors.

Company founder, Michael J. Gel-skey, stated, “The new site provides access to a general information and product specifications that is second to none. We have expanded the product and safety sections to provide useful information for our visitors. Catalogs are obsolete in some instances before the ink is dry and we have made a sub-stantial investment to provide instant access to current information, new technology, changing regulations and product specifications.”

Founded in 1979, Lift-It® Manufac-turing is headquartered in Pomona, California and supplies quality rigging and training internationally. Register now for Competent Sling and Rigging Hardware Inspector Training in Pomo-na, CA on October 29 and 30. Details available at www.lift-it.com.

For more information, visit the web-site at www.lift-it.com or feel free to contact us: Phone 909.469-2251, Fax 909.469-2252. Email [email protected].

Chain company with 500 years expertise in the business to make Pueblo their new home

pewag, one of the leading chain man-ufacturers worldwide will be opening their first North American manufac-turing center in Pueblo, Colorado.

The announcement was made in conjunction with the Pueblo Economic Development Corporation (PEDCO). At full operation, the company will pro-vide 55 new jobs to the Pueblo market.

pewag is an Austrian company and one of the world’s leading chain manu-facturers. The company proudly boasts its manufacturing tradition that dates back to 1479 – over 500 years!

Today, pewag is the innovator in the chain business and leads the in-dustry with innovations such as the Grade 120 Chain – the world’s stron-gest chain. They manufacture three main product lines – traction or snow chains, industrial chains and tire pro-tection chains.

pewag has been in the United States

since 1975 and has built a strong foot-hold in the North American market. A Nationwide search was held to deter-mine the location of their first chain production plant in North America. Pueblo came in 1st in the competition and will be home to the plant which will encompass 55,000 square feet and create 55 new manufacturing jobs in the area.

Mike Uhrenbacher, pewag USA President, discussed their tough de-cision in where to locate. “Why did pewag choose Pueblo? There are many reasons, but here are a few,” he said, “access to the supply chain, skilled and qualified workforce, training capabili-ties with Pueblo Community College, tireless support from Pueblo Economic Development Corporation (PEDCO) and economic incentives from the City of Pueblo.”

paid by August 30, they would turn off my service. I wrote them I would pay the full amount due on October 1 (at which time I would be moved). I was very distressed until my son, who had a friend working in a phone company, reported this situation, and the friend simply laughed, saying that phone ser-vice was never turned off until at least six months of nonpayment usually, or at least much longer than one or two months. He said CenturyLink was sim-ply using “a scare tactic.”

Well, it scared me all right. So this is what I am going to do. It’s now, at this writing, early September. On Oc-tober 1, when I am securely settled in my new home, I will, as promised, send them the bill due - to me - per-haps $1.5 million in damages for con-sumer fraud, emotional distress, etc., but that I’m willing to settle for a reasonable amount within 10 days. I will also send them this information already mailed in a complaint to the FTC, and announce that I have al-ready published the first of the many articles I intend to write on this fraud (this article), as well as using the so-cial networks to bring a class action suit against CenturyLink.

The only way to fight these thieves is in a language they understand, money.

The way I look at it is that if a thug mugs me in an alley, and, when he runs away and drops his wallet crammed thick with big bills, am I under any ob-ligation to return it?

What do you think? WRN

Debt collection as crimecontinued from page 37


Methods of displacing movable partitions including a lateral restraintPat. 8,235,085 U.S. class 160/84.04 Int. class E06B 9/06Inventor: Michael W. Coleman, Salt Lake City, UT, Michael D. George, Kaysville, UT.Assignee: Won-Door Corporation, Salt Lake City, UT.

Methods and apparatuses are disclosed for laterally restrain-ing a movable partition. In one embodiment, a movable par-tition includes two laterally spaced structures wherein each structure includes a plurality of hingedly coupled panels. A lat-eral restraint mechanism is located and configured to prevent lateral displacement of one or both of the two structures. In one embodiment, a cable is disposed between and extends from along a lower edge of the two structures. The cable is main-tained in tension, at least while the partition is in a deployed condition, to prevent or minimize the lateral displacement of one or both of the structures such as when a draft or other ex-ternal force acts on the two laterally spaced structures. In one embodiment, the cable may be operatively associated with one or more drive components used to displace the movable parti-tion. In another embodiment, the cable may be coupled to a take-up mechanism.

Referring to figures 1 through 3, an elevation view, a plan view and a perspective view are shown, respectively, of a mov-able partition 100. It is noted that, in figure 3, various portions of certain structures or components are partially sectioned for sake of clarity and simplicity in showing various aspects of the described embodiment. In the example shown in figures 1 and 2, the partition 100 may be in the form of a folding door. In cer-tain embodiments, the partition 100 may be used, for example, as a security door, a fire door or as both. In other embodiments, the partition need not be utilized as a fire or security door, but may be used simply for the subdividing of a larger space into smaller rooms or areas.

The partition 100 may be formed with a plurality of panels B that are connected to one another with hinges or other hinge-like structures 104 in an alternating pattern of panel 102/hinge structure 104. The hinged connection of the individual panels 102 enables the panels to fold relative to each other in an accordion or a plicated manner such that the partition 100 may be compactly stored, such as in a pocket 106 formed in a wall 108A of a building when the partition is in a retracted or folded state.

When in a deployed state, the partition 100 may extend from one wall 108A to a second wall 108B to act as a barrier (e.g., a fire or security barrier) or to divide one area or room into multiple rooms 110A and 110B. When it is desired to deploy the partition 100 from a stowed condition to an extended posi-tion, for example, to secure an area during a fire, the partition 100 may be motivated along an overhead track 112 (see figure 3) across the space to provide an appropriate barrier. When in a deployed or an extended state, a leading edge of the parti-tion 100, shown as a male lead post 114, may complementarily or matingly engage with a jamb or door post 116 that may be formed in a wall 108B of a building.

As best seen in figure 2, the partition 100 may include a first barrier or structure 118A and a second barrier or structure 118B, each including a plurality of panels 102 coupled with one another by way of hinges or hinge-like structures 104. The second structure 118B is laterally spaced from the first struc-ture 118A. Such a configuration may be utilized as a fire door wherein one structure (e.g., structure 118A) acts as a primary fire and smoke barrier, the space 120 between the two struc-tures 118A and 118B acts as an insulator or a buffer zone, and the another structure (e.g., structure 118B) acts as a secondary fire and smoke barrier. Such a configuration may also be use-ful in providing an acoustical barrier when the partition 100 is used to subdivide a larger space into multiple, smaller rooms.

Various means may be used to displace the partition 100 from a stowed condition to a deployed condition and vice versa.

Inventor’sCorner

By William Fischer

Figure 1: Elevation view of a movable partition.

Figure 2: Plan view of the movable partition shown in figure 1.

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For example, depending on the intended use of the partition 100, it may be displaced manually (i.e., by an individual push-ing or pulling it along the track 112). In another embodiment, an appropriate actuator may be used to displace the partition 100. For example, a drive may include a motor 122 coupled to a

pulley or gear 123 configured to drive a transmission member such as a belt or chain 124. In one embodiment of the present invention, a wire cable 126 may be coupled to the drive belt or chain 124 as a component of a lateral restraint mechanism.

A portion of the belt or chain 124 may be coupled to a trolley 125 that is configured to ride along the track 112. The trolley 125 may be coupled to a component of the partition 100 such as, for example, the lead post 114. Thus, actuation of the motor 122 and belt or chain 124 in a first direction results in displacement of the trolley 125 and lead post 114 so that the partition 100 may be deployed. Actuation of the motor 122 and belt or chain 124 in a second direction results in displacement of the trolley 125 and lead post 114 so that the partition 100 may be retracted.

Additionally, while not specifically shown, various sensors and switches may be employed in association with such a drive to assist in the control of the partition 100. For example, as shown in figure 1, when used as a fire door, the partition 100 may in-clude a switch or actuator 128, commonly referred to as “panic hardware.” Actuation of the panic hardware 128 allows a person located on one side of the partition 100 (e.g., in room 110A) to cause the partition 100 to open if it is closed, or to stop while it is closing, so as to provide access through the barrier formed by the partition 100 for a predetermined amount of time.

Still referring to figures 1 through 3, a lateral restraint mech-anism 130 is operatively associated with the partition 100 to minimize or prevent lateral displacement of a lower edge 132 of the first structure 118A, the second structure 118B or both. In one embodiment, the lateral restraint mechanism 130 may include a cable 126, as previously mentioned, having one end thereof coupled to the lead post 114 and another end thereof coupled to a portion of the drive belt or drive chain 124.

The wire cable 126 extends between the lead post 114 and a

continued on next pageFigure 3: Perspective view of the movable partition shown in figures 1 and 2.

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first redirect structure or mechanism 134 such as, for example, a pulley or a static guide, located at a longitudinal end of the partition 100 opposite that of the lead post 114 (e.g., in or adja-cent the door pocket 106, if a door pocket is being used). In one embodiment, the portion of the cable 126 extending between the door post 114 and the first redirect mechanism 134 may also be disposed between, and extend substantially parallel to, the first and second structures 118A and 118B such that it is substantially concealed from a user after installation and dur-ing conventional operation of the partition 100.

Another portion of the cable 126 extends from the first re-direct mechanism 134 to a second redirect mechanism 136, which may be located near the overhead track 112 such as, for example, near the motor 122. Again, the first redirect mecha-nism 136 may include a dynamic mechanism, such as a pulley, or a static mechanism, such as an eyelet, a bent channel or some other similar structure. Yet another portion of the cable 126 extends from the second redirect mechanism 136 in a di-rection substantially parallel with the drive belt or drive chain 124 and has a portion thereof, such as at or near its end, cou-pled to a portion of the drive belt or drive chain 124.

Method and apparatus for deep water deployment op-erationsPat. 8,235,228 U.S. class 212/256 Int. class B66C 23/10Inventor: Newt Vaastrand, Blommenholm, NO.Assignee: Aker Marine Contractors AS, Oslo, NO.

A method of deploying an object onto the seabed in very deep water from a vessel having a heave compensated deck crane, comprises lowering the object a distance into the sea while be-ing suspended in the crane wire. In an initial step, a first fibre rope section of a first length is connected to the object via a

first connector on the object before the lowering is started and is freely run out supporting from a storage reel during the de-scent. Subsequently, the first rope section is the object via a second connector located at the upper end of the first rope sec-tion, the second connector being supported by a support mecha-nism on the vessel deck, followed by off-loading the crane wire and disconnecting it from the object and heaving it up said first length for connection to the second connector at the vessel deck and taking over the load of the object.

Next, the object is lowered a second length into the water by the crane while a second rope section connected to the second connector is freely run out from a storage reel until a third con-nector located at the upper end of the second rope supports the load of the object in the support mechanism, whereupon the crane hook can be released and be brought up for re-connection to the third connector for the subsequent deployment, and any further deployment by addition to the string of ropes, thereby allowing the object to reach a depth of up to 3,000 meter, or even more.

Figure 4 is showing the support mechanism 1 made up by a hang-off cradle 2 supporting the roundel plate 3 that is con-necting the 1,000 meter rope sections 4. The roundel 3 has a number of holes in the circumference for rope and crane hook connections via rope thimbles 5 and shackles 7. The hang-off cradle has a vertical cut in the side plate, allowing the rope 4 to enter sideways into the hang-off cradle 2 and the roundel 3 to be lowered into the cradle for support. The ropes 4 are con-nected to the roundel 3 by a thimble 5, and the crane hook 11 is connected to the same by a grommet 6 and shackle 7. The hang-off cradle 2 is supported on the edge of the vessel deck 8 by a structural grillage 9 cantilevered on the vessel side 10.

Figure 5 is showing the execution of the first sequence of de-ployment operation, with the object 14 with slings 15 and as-



sociated first roundel 3a being lowered down the first 1,000 me-ter of the water depth on the crane wire 16 with the crane hook 11 and the crane boom 12, while the first 1,000 meter of rope section 4a connected to the first roundel 3a is freely run out from the storage reel 13 located on the vessel deck 8. The object 14, being a structure or process unit, is suspended from the roundel 3a by slings with shackles 15. The rope storage reel

Figure 4: Front and side elevations and a section through the support mechanism comprising a hang-off cradle capable to support roundel plates that are connecting 1000 meter rope section.

Figure 5: Transverse section of the vessel, showing the start of the first sequence of the deployment operation, with the crane launching the object from deck of the vessel.



13 is capable of storing typically two 1,000 meter rope sections.The execution of the first sequence of the deployment opera-

tion is shown completed in figure 6, where lowering of the first 1,000 meter of rope section 4a has ended and been supported in the cradle 2 by landing the second roundel 3b, which has been connected to the first rope section, into it. The crane hook 11 and grommet 6 are disconnected from the first roundel 3a and heaved up and located beneath the crane boom 12. The second rope section 4b remains on the storage reel 13, ready to be pulled out and connected via the second roundel 3b to the

first rope section 4a.Figure 7 is showing the execution of the second sequence of

the deployment operation, with the crane hook 11 connected to the second roundel 3b on top of the first rope section 4a, by low-ering the object 14 the next 1,000 meter while the second rope section 4b is connected to the same roundel 3b and is freely unreeled from the deck storage reel 13. The object 14 will then reach a depth of 2,000 meter.

Figure 8 is showing the second sequence of the deployment when completed, with the object 14 suspended in the two first 1,000 meter rope sections 4a and 4b from the support mecha-nism on the edge of the vessel deck 8, and with the crane hook 11 disconnected from the object 14 and heaved up. Deck stor-age reel 13 is now empty.

Water-ballasted protection barrierPat. 8,235,625 U.S. class 404/6 Int. class E01F 13/00Inventor: Jack H. Kulp, Dana Point, CA., Felipe Almanza, Perris, CA.Assignee: Traffix Devices, Inc., San Clemente, CA.

A water-ballasted barrier system incorporates a concave reflective design, wherein outer walls of the barrier segment are configured in a concave manner. The concave section is de-signed to prevent the tire of a vehicle, impacting the barrier, from climbing up the side of the barrier segment, by pocketing the tire in the curved center portion of the barrier wall. Ad-jacent barrier segments are attached together using an inter-locking knuckle design, having a lug pin connection system. In some embodiments, wire rope cable is internally molded into each barrier segment to strengthen the barrier system.

Referring now more particularly to the drawings, there is shown in figures 9-11, a water-ballasted barrier segment 10 con-structed in accordance with one embodiment of the present in-vention. The illustrated barrier segment preferably has dimen-sions of 18 in. Wx32 in. Hx78 in. L, with a material thickness of 1/4 in. The material used to fabricate the segment 10 may be a linear medium density polyethylene, and is preferably rotation-ally molded, although it may also be molded using other meth-ods, such as injection molding or blow molding. The segment 10

Figure 6: Transverse section of the vessel, showing the first se-quence completed.

Figure 7: Transverse section of the vessel, showing the second se-quence of the deployment operation.

Figure 8: Transverse section of the vessel, showing the second se-quence completed


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preferably has an empty weight of 75-80 lb., and a filled weight (when filled with water ballast) of approximately 1,100 lb.

Particularly with respect to figures 9 and 10, the barrier seg-ment 10 has been constructed using a unique concave reflec-tive design, wherein outer walls 12 of the barrier segment 10 are configured in a concave manner, as shown. In a preferred configuration, the concave section is approximately 71 inches long, and runs the entire length of the barrier segment. The concave section is designed to prevent the tire of a vehicle, im-pacting the barrier along the direction of arrow 14, from climb-ing up the side of the barrier segment, by pocketing the tire in the curved center portion of the barrier wall 12. When the vehicle tire is captured and pocketed inside the curved portion,

the reaction force of the impact then diverges the vehicle in a downward direction, as shown by arrow 16 in figure 9. The concave diverging design will thus force the vehicle back to-ward the ground rather than up the side of the water barrier segment 10. In a preferred configuration, the concave center portion of the outer wall 12 has a curve radius of 243/4 in., and is 23 inches in height.

The TL-3 barrier system described herein in connection with figures 12 and 13 absorbs energy by plastic deformation, wire rope cable fencing tensioning, water dissipation, and overall displacement of the water barrier itself. Since it is known that plastic alone cannot withstand the vehicular impact, internally molded into the barrier segment 110 is a wire rope cable 46, which is used to create a submerged fence inside the water bar-


Figure 10: Perspective view of a portion of the barrier segment of figure 9.

Figure 9: Plan view showing a configuration of a water barrier segment.

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rier segment 110. Before the barrier segment 110 is molded, the wire rope cables 46 are placed inside the mold tool. The cables are made with an eyelet or loop at each end, and are placed in the mold so that the cable loops wrap around the t-pin hole 124 outside diameter as shown in figure 13. Preferably, the wire rope cables 46 are each comprised of stainless steel, to resist corrosion due to their contact with the water ballast, and are formed of 1’’x19’’ strands. By placing the cables 46 around the t-pin holes 124, dual fence posts are created on each side of the barrier seg-

ment 110, with five cable lines 46 disposed in between, thereby forming a cable fence in addition to the water ballast. It is noted that the wire cable is completely covered in plastic during the rotational molding process, to prevent water leakage.

By placing the wire rope cable 46 to wrap around the t-pin hole 124, a high strength area in the interlocking knuckles is created. When the t-pin is dropped into the hole 124, to con-nect a series of barrier segments 110, it automatically becomes a steel post by default, since the wire rope cable segments 46 are already molded into the barrier segments. Since the loop of each cable end wraps around the t-pin in each knuckle, the im-pacting vehicle will have to break the wire rope cable 46, t-pin, and knuckle in order to penetrate the barrier.

The wire rope cables 46 are part of each barrier segment 110,

Figure 11: Perspective view of the barrier segment of figures 9 and 10.

Figure 12: perspective view of the barrier segment, showing inter-nal constructional features of the barrier segment, and in particular a unique cable reinforcement system.

Figure 13: Detail view of the front portion of the barrier segment.


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and cannot be removed once the part has been manufactured. The current design uses up to five wire rope cables 46 per bar-rier segment 110, as illustrated. This creates a ten piece in-terlocking knuckle section. More or fewer knuckles and wire rope cables may be utilized, depending upon whether a lower or taller barrier is desired. The wire rope fence construction disclosed in connection with this second TL-3 embodiment can also be incorporated into the lower height barrier. When large numbers of barrier segments are used to create a longitudinal barrier, a wire rope cable fence is formed, with a t-pin post, with the whole assembly being ballasted by water without see-ing the cable fencing. As the barrier is impacted by a vehicle, the plastic begins to deform and break, water ballast is dis-placed, and the wire rope cables 46 begin to absorb energy by pulling along the knuckles and pulling the wire rope cables in tension. The entire area of impact immediately becomes a wire rope cable fence in tension, holding the impacting vehicle on one side of the water ballasted barrier.

Cable guardrail system and hangerPat. 8,246,013 U.S. class 256/48 Int. class E04H 17/02Inventor: Fredrick Mauer, Greenland, NH., Dallas James, Auckland, NZ., Steven J. Conway, Marion, OH.Assignee: Nucor Corporation, Charlotte, NC.

A hanger for a cable guardrail system is disclosed including a first portion with first and second seats on opposite sides of a post, each seat capable of supporting a cable, and a second por-tion capable of engaging the end of the post. Also disclosed is a cable guardrail system including a plurality of posts, a plural-ity of hangers attached to at least a portion of the plurality of posts, and at least two cables supported by the seats on oppo-site sides of the post. The cable guardrail system may redirect an impacting vehicle and dissipate a portion of the impacting

vehicle’s energy.As shown in figure 14, a hanger 20 is disclosed for a cable

guardrail system 10 operable to dissipate a portion of an im-pacting vehicle’s energy and redirect the vehicle. The cable guardrail system 10 may be installed adjacent a roadway along median strips, roadway shoulders, or at other locations likely to encounter vehicular traffic. The cable guardrail system 10 may comprise a plurality of posts 30, a plurality of hangers 20 attached to at least a portion of the plurality of posts 30, and at least two cables 11 on opposite sides of the posts. As shown in figure 15, each hanger 20 may have a first portion 21 having first and second retaining seats 22 each capable of supporting a cable. Each hanger may also have a second portion 25 capable of engaging the end 31 of the post.


Figure 14: Side elevation view of a cable guardrail system.

Pat. 8,246,013


When the cable guardrail system 10 is installed along the side of a roadway, the system is capable of dissipating a portion of an impacting vehicle’s energy and redirecting the impacting vehicle along the general direction of the roadway. As the ve-hicle impacts the cable guardrail system 10, the cables 11 and support posts 30 may deflect from the installed position. The deflection of the cables 11 and the support posts 30 may dissi-pate a portion of the vehicle’s impact energy. Additionally, forc-

es from the vehicle impacting against the cables may cause the hanger 20 to move relative to the support post 30. As a result, the cables 11 may maintain contact with the impacting vehicle dampening yaw, pitch, and roll of the impacting vehicle.

The cables 11 may be a 3x7 wire rope, as shown in figure 16. The wire rope may consist of three cords each consisting of seven strands wound together to form the cable. The diameter of each strand may be approximately three millimeters, and the diameter of the cable may be approximately nineteen mil-limeters. Alternately, other types of cable designs may be used. The cable 11 may also be pre-stressed.

The hanger 20 shown in figure 15 has the first portion 21 and the second portion 25. The first portion has first and second seats 22 each capable of supporting a cable adjacent a post 30. When installed on the post 30 the first and second seats are provided on opposite sides of the post 30 capable of engaging

cables. The seats 22 may be formed as a rounded loop. Alter-natively, the seats 22 may be formed as hooks, rings, or other appropriate shapes capable of supporting a cable. The seats 22 may fully or partially encircle the cable 11. The seats 22 may also comprise features to secure the cable to the seat such as a latch, clasp, or similar mechanism. As shown in figure 15, the first portion may include a lead-in 23 having a shape for receiv-ing the cable 11. The lead-in 23 may include a friction area 24 providing resistance to the cable 11 backing out of the seat 22.

The seats 22 may be formed in multiple ways. The seats 22 may be formed as an integral part of the first portion 21. Al-ternatively, the seats 22 may be formed as separate pieces and attached to the first portion 21, such as, but not limited to, by welding, crimping, fastening, interlocking, or another suitable attachment technique.

The second portion 25 of the hanger is capable of engaging the end of the post 30. The second portion 25 may be gener-ally U-shaped as shown in figure 15, so that the second por-tion 25 may slideably engage the end of the post 30 in a top-down installation. The U-shaped second portion 25 may have

Figure 15: Side view of a hanger for a cable guardrail system.

Figure 16: Cross-section view of a cable.

Figure 17: Side view of a second portion of an alternative hanger.

Figure 18: Another side view of a second portion of an alternative hanger.



opposing sides or legs 26, connected by an arcuate connecting portion. Other forms of the second portion 25 are also contem-plated. For example, the second portion 25 may have straight or tapered sides 26 that are substantially parallel or angular. The sides 26 may taper toward each other such that the sides provide a clamping force on the end of the post. In another ex-ample, the second portion 25 may be shaped such that one side is substantially straight while the other side is bent, curved, or angular such as shown in figure 17.

Various configurations of the second portion 25 are contem-plated to adapt to various post configurations such as U-chan-nel, I-beam, box, and other post geometries. Additionally, the length of the sides 26 may be selected to position the cables at the proper height relative to the top of the post 30. The second portion 25 may include friction enhancing surface characteris-tics in at least a portion of the area contacting the post 30 such as shown in figure 18. Such surface characteristics may also enhance the system’s ability to dissipate energy and redirect an impacting vehicle. The friction enhancing surface character-istics may include virtually all types of surface patterns, such as but not limited to a grit blast texture, scored surface, ser-rated surface, grit-carrying coating, or other friction enhancing surface or coating.

The first portion 21 and the second portion 25 may be formed together out of one piece of material, such as shown in figure 15. Alternately, the first portion 21 and the second portion 25 may be separate pieces joined together, such as, but not lim-ited to, by welding, crimping, fastening, interlocking, or other techniques. As separate pieces, the first portion 21 and second portion 25 may be of different materials as desired.

The hanger 20 may be formed from steel, in the form of sheet, bar stock, tube stock, or wire stock. Alternatively, the hanger 20 may be formed from other metal or non-metal materials of suitable strength. The hanger may be formed from steel of spring and/or other suitable specifications. Additionally, the hanger 20 may have a coating to provide durability and protec-tion against rusting in addition to engagement enhancement. The hanger 20 may be hot-dip coated with zinc, aluminum, zinc-aluminum alloy or other coating to provide protection against the elements. Alternately, the hanger 20 may be coated with a polymer or other paint coating for a protection against the environment.

Offshore buoyant drilling, production, storage and offloading structurePat. 8,251,003 U.S. class 114/230.2 Int. class B63B 21/00Inventor: Nicolaas J. Vandenworm, Houston, TX.Assignee: SSP Technologies, Inc., Grand Cayman, KY.

This patent presents an offshore structure having a vertical-ly symmetric hull, an upper vertical wall, an upper inwardly-tapered wall disposed below the upper vertical wall, a lower outwardly-tapered wall disposed below the upper sloped wall, and a lower vertical wall disposed below the lower sloped wall. The upper and lower sloped walls produce significant heave damping in response to heavy wave action. A heavy slurry of hematite and water ballast is added to the lower and outermost portions of the hull to lower the center of gravity below the cen-ter of buoyancy. The offshore structure provides one or more movable wire rope hawser connections that allow a tanker ves-sel to moor directly to the offshore structure during offloading rather than mooring to a separate buoy at some distance from the offshore storage structure. The movable hawser connection includes an arcuate rail with a movable trolley that provides a hawser connection point that allows vessel weathervaning.

Figure 19 illustrates a buoyant offshore structure 10 for pro-duction and/or storage of hydrocarbons from subsea wells ac-cording to a preferred embodiment of the invention. Offshore structure 10 includes a buoyant hull 12, which may carry a

superstructure 13 thereon. Superstructure 13 may include a diverse collection of equipment and structures, such as living quarters for a crew, equipment storage, and a myriad of other structures, systems, and equipment, depending on the type of offshore operation to be performed. For example, a superstruc-ture 13 for drilling a well includes a derrick 15 for drilling, run-ning pipe and casing, and related operations.

Hull 12 is moored to the seafloor by a number of anchor lines 16. Catenary risers 90 may radially extend between structure 10 and subsea wells. Alternatively or additionally, vertical risers 91 may extend between the seafloor and hull 12. At keel level, a


Figure 19: Perspective view of a buoyant offshore storage structure moored to the seabed.


multifunctional center frame 86 may be provided to laterally and or vertically support one or more catenary or vertical risers 90, 91. The multifunctional center frame 86 may be integrated with hull 12 during construction of the hull, or it may be integrated in the center well of moon pool 26 (figure 20) and deployed after structure 10 is located at the installation site. The axial length of multifunctional center frame 86 is application dependant. The lower end of multifunctional center frame 86 is ideally flared outwardly for use as a riser landing porch. Multifunctional cen-ter frame 86 may be used in combination with center well moon pool 26, but a center well is not required. Multifunctional center frame 86 may be modified with minimal effect on the design of hull 12 and allows for flexibility in topsides layout.

A tanker vessel T is moored to floating structure 10 at a mov-able hawser connection assembly 40 via a wire rope hawser 18. Movable hawser connection assembly 40 includes an arcu-ate rail that carries a trolley thereon thus providing a mov-able hard point to which hawser 18 connects. Movable hawser connection assembly 40 allows vessel T to freely weathervane about at least a circumferential portion of offshore structure 10. A product transfer hose 20 connects offshore structure 10 to tanker vessel T for transferring hydrocarbon products.

In a preferred embodiment, hull 12 of offshore structure 10 has a circular main deck 12a, an upper cylindrical side por-tion 12b extending downwardly from deck 12a, an upper frus-toconical side section 12c extending downwardly from upper cylindrical portion 12b and tapering inwardly, a lower frusto-conical side section 12d extending downwardly and flaring out-wardly, a lower cylindrical side section 12e extending down-wardly from lower frustoconical section 12d, and a flat circular keel 12f. Preferably, upper frustoconical side section 12c has a substantially greater vertical height than lower frustoconical section 12d, and upper cylindrical section 12b has a slightly greater vertical height than lower cylindrical section 12e.

Circular main deck 12a, upper cylindrical side section 12b, upper frustoconical side section 12c, lower frustoconical side section 12d, lower cylindrical section 12e, and circular keel 12f are all co-axial with a common vertical axis 100 (figure 21). Accordingly, hull 12 is characterized by a circular cross section when taken perpendicular to the axis 100 at any elevation.

Due to its circular planform, the dynamic response of hull 12 is independent of wave direction (when neglecting any asym-metries in the mooring system, risers, and underwater append-ages). Additionally, the conical form of hull 12 is structurally efficient, offering a high payload and storage volume per ton of steel when compared to traditional ship-shaped offshore struc-tures. Hull 12 preferably has round walls which are circular in radial cross-section, but such shape may be approximated using a large number of flat metal plates rather than bending plates into a desired curvature.

Figure 21 is a simplified view of the vertical profile of hull 12 according to a preferred embodiment of the invention. Such profile applies to both circular or polygonal hull planforms. The specific design of upper and lower sloped hull walls 12c, 12d generates a significant amount of radiation damping resulting in almost no heave amplification for any wave period.

Inward tapering wall section 12c is located in the wave zone. At design draft, the waterline is located on upper frustoconical section 12c just below the intersection with upper cylindrical side section 12b. Upper inward-tapering section 12c preferably slopes at an angle a with respect to the vessel vertical axis 100 between 10 and 15 degrees. The inward flare before reaching the waterline significantly dampens downward heave, because a downward motion of hull 12 increases the waterplane area. In other words, the hull area normal to the vertical axis 100 that breaks the water’s surface will increase with downward hull motion, and such increased area is subject to the opposing resistance of the air/water interface. It has been found that 10-15 degrees of flare provides a desirable amount of damping of downward heave without sacrificing too much storage volume for the vessel.

Similarly, lower tapering surface 12d dampens upward heave. The lower sloping wall section 12d is located below the wave zone (about 30 meters below the waterline). Because the entire lower outward-sloping wall surface 12d is below the wa-ter surface, a greater area (normal to the vertical axis 100) is desired to achieve upward damping. Accordingly, the diameter D1 of the lower hull section is preferably greater than the diam-eter D2 the upper hull section. The lower outward-sloping wall section 12d preferably slopes at an angle g with respect to the vessel vertical axis 100 between 55 and 65 degrees. The lower section flares outwardly at an angle greater than or equal to 55 degrees to provide greater inertia for heave roll and pitch motions. The increased mass contributes to natural periods for heave pitch and roll above the expected wave energy. The up-per bound of 65 degrees is based on avoiding abrupt changes in stability during initial ballasting on installation. That is, wall surface 12d could be perpendicular to the vertical axis 100 and achieve a desired amount of upward heave damping, but such a hull profile would result in an undesirable step-change in sta-bility during initial ballasting on installation.

Thimble with element retaining featurePat. 8,256,981 U.S. class 403/210 Int. class F16G 11/00Inventor: Mike Lindsey, Lafayette, LA.Assignee: Delta Rigging & Tools, Inc., Lake Jackson, TX.

A captivated wire rope assembly can comprise a wire rope, shackle, ferrule, and wire rope thimble having an element re-taining feature. The element retaining feature can ensure that all of the assembly components remain together for the life of the assembly by rendering it impossible to remove or replace the shackle or other rigging element without apparent dam-


Figure 20: View of the hull of the offshore storage structure of figure 19 in vertical cross-section along its longitudinal axis.

Figure 21: Axial cross-sectional drawing of the hull profile of the buoyant offshore storage structure.


age to the system. The element retaining feature can be, for example, a substantially triangular gusset welded to one thim-ble leg, but not the other. Disclosed methods for making such a captivated wire rope assembly require no welding after the wire rope has been placed in the thimble, thus preventing dam-age to the wire rope or other assembly components.

Figures 22-24 illustrate one embodiment of a wire rope thimble 100 having an element retaining feature according to the present disclosure. Figure 22 illustrates a top plan view of one embodiment of a wire rope thimble 100 according to the present disclosure. Thimble 100 can be formed of a u-shaped member configured to provide a first leg portion 102, a second leg portion 104, and an arch portion 106, which curves to con-nect the first leg portion 102 to the second leg portion 104. A thimble eye 108 can be defined by an inner surface 110 of the thimble. Thimble eye 108 allows for attachment of other rig-ging components to the thimble 100. An outer peripheral sur-face 112 can be configured to receive a wire rope.

Thimble 100 can also include an element retaining feature 114. Element retaining feature 114 can include a first edge, or side, 116 substantially parallel to the first leg portion 102 of thimble 100. Similarly, element retaining feature 114 can include a second edge, or side, 118 substantially parallel to the second leg portion 104 of thimble 100. In some embodiments, first side 116 is permanently connected to the inner surface 110 of thimble 100 along the first leg portion 102. In some embodi-ments, second side 118 is permanently connected to the inner surface 110 of thimble 100 along the second leg portion 104. Only one of the first and second sides 116, 118 is permanently connected to the inner surface 110 of thimble 100. Any side of the element retaining feature 114 that is permanently con-nected to the thimble 100 can be so connected in any way that is not easily detachable. For example, a permanently connected element retaining feature usually cannot be broken off of the thimble without some damage to the integrity of the thimble. In some embodiments, one or more sides of the element re-taining feature are welded to the thimble 100. Thus, a torch or cutting would be required to remove the element retaining feature. In alternate embodiments, the element retaining fea-ture 114 can be secured to the thimble 100 in a non-permanent manner. For example, the element retaining feature 114 can be releasably secured to the thimble 100, such as by an adhe-sive, pins, screws, magnets, or any other releasable connection.

The second side 118, which, in figure 22, is not permanently connected to the thimble, can terminate at least in close proximi-ty to thimble leg 104. In some embodiments, there can be a space or gap 120 between the free side (e.g., second side 118) of the ele-ment retaining feature 114 and the inner surface 110 of thimble 100. The second side 118 can be said to be in close proximity to thimble leg 104 if the gap 120 is small relative to the diameter of the wire rope. Gap 120 may be visible with the unaided eye in some embodiments, or so small in other embodiments that it ap-

pears that there is no gap. In some embodiments, the free side of element retaining feature 114 in fact contacts the inner surface 110 of thimble 100, but nonetheless is not secured or otherwise adhered or coupled to the inner surface 110.

Element retaining feature 114 can be substantially trian-gular in some embodiments and can include a third edge, or side, 122 facing and adjacent to the thimble eye 108. In other embodiments, element retaining feature 114 can be substan-tially trapezoidal and can include a third side 122 facing and adjacent to the thimble eye 108, as well as a fourth side 124 substantially parallel to the third side 122. In these and other embodiments, and as shown in figure 22, the third side 122 can extend between the first and second leg portions 102, 104 of thimble 100. Regardless of the shape of the element retaining feature 114, the third side 122 of the element retaining feature 114 can help define the thimble eye 108, along with the inner surface 110 of the thimble 100.

The element retaining feature 114 terminates at its fourth side 124, which is displaced from a thimble vertex 126. The thimble vertex 126 is located at the termination of the thimble leg portions 102, 104, opposite the arch portion 106. In other embodiments, the element retaining feature 114 can extend to or substantially meet the thimble vertex 126. As seen in figure 22, the element retaining feature 114 can substantially fill a space between the thimble eye 108 and the vertex 126. In some embodiments, the element retaining feature 114 can fill the majority (e.g., greater than 50%) of a space between the first and second leg portions 102, 104.

Element retaining feature 114 can be sized relative to the thimble 100 such that the length of the widest part of the thimble eye 108 is greater than the distance from any point on the third side 122 of the element retaining feature 114 to any point on the inner surface 110 of thimble 100. For example, the diameter 128 of the imaginary circle which forms the arch por-tion 106 can be designed to be greater than any distance 130, 132 from the side 122 to the inner surface 110. In some em-bodiments, this can ensure that any elements placed through the thimble eye 108, such as a shackle, cannot be removed or separated from the thimble 100 without damage or destruction to one or more of the assembly components.

Element retaining feature 114 can be provided with any suitable coatings, platings, engravings, pigments, or the like, to meet any requirements of the users. In some embodiments, the element retaining feature can include a bumper layer, such as a rubber bumper on some or all surfaces of the element re-taining feature. For example, in one embodiment, the element retaining feature can include a rubber bumper along its top edge (e.g., third side 122), adjacent the thimble eye 108.

While the element retaining feature 114 shown in figure 22 includes one triangular gusset or flange, other embodiments of a thimble 100 according to the present disclosure may be provided with element retaining features of different shapes. For example, element retaining features can be substantially square, rectangular, circular, oval, trapezoidal, or diamond shaped. Furthermore, a thimble can be provided with more than one element retaining feature. For example, in one em-bodiment, the element retaining feature can be split into two triangular pieces, each with one side welded to one leg of the

Figure 22: Top plan view of one embodiment of a wire rope thimble.

Figure 23: Elevation view of the wire rope thimble of figure 22.



thimble. The thimble can still be bent open for placement of the shackle, and once closed together, the two triangular pieces can be welded together, or simply remain close to or in contact with one another.

Figure 23 shows an elevation view of the wire rope thimble of figure 22. Figure 24 is a section view taken along line 3-3 in figure 22. As seen in figures 23 and 24, an outer peripheral groove 134 is provided around the length of thimble 100 and is defined by the outer peripheral surface 112. Peripheral groove 134 serves as a wire rope receiving surface that contacts a loop of wire rope at one end of the rope. In this way, the thimble 100 can be secured to the rope such that the wire rope conforms to the shape of the thimble. Thimble 100 can thus limit the de-gree to which the wire rope will be bent or pinched when force is applied to the rope loop (e.g., when tension is applied to the rope). Thimble 100 adds protection and reinforcement to the inner surface of the rope, preventing fraying and abrasions of the wire rope.

The thimble 100 can include any suitable material or com-bination of materials. For example, in some embodiments, the thimble can include stainless steel, galvanized steel, extra im-proved plow steel, AISI 1008 steel, or any other suitable ma-terial or combination of materials. In some embodiments, the thimble can be plated with zinc or other material.

The thimble 100 can also be provided in a range of differ-ent sizes, to accommodate different sizes of wire rope. For example, thimble 100 can be sized to accommodate wire rope with a diameter of from about 3/8 inches or smaller to about 3.5 inches or larger. Specific embodiments of a captivated wire rope assembly can be designed for wire rope having a diameter of about 3/8, 7/16, 1/2, 9/16, 5/8, 3/4, 7/8, 1, 11/8, 11/4, 13/8, 1.5 inches, or larger. Specific wire rope diameters not mentioned can be designed for as well by simply modifying the dimensions of the thimble and other assembly components, as necessary. In some embodiments, the diameter of the outer peripheral groove can be slightly larger than the diameter of rope to be placed in the thimble. Specific embodiments of suitable wire rope thimbles can range in length from about 2.5 inches to about 10 inches, and can range in width from about 2 inches to about 7.25 inches. Of course, smaller and larger thimbles are also suitable in some embodiments.

Elevator car brakePat. 8,256,579 U.S. class 187/350 Int. class B66B 5/24Inventor: Yanhua Jia, Langfang, CN.Assignee: Yanhua Jia, Langfang, CN.

The present invention relates to a braking apparatus and an elevator system comprising the braking apparatus for grasping or gripping a hoisting rope of the elevator. The system com-prises a pair of brake shoes, a motorized rotatable camshaft with at least one cam surface for pressing against a push plate to compress a spring means and keep the shoes apart or when the motor is disengaged causing the cam shaft to not push on the push plate such that the springs expand causing the brake

shoes to come together and grip the hoisting rope.Now referring to the drawings, figure 25 is a perspective view

of the brake of the present invention. The brake 1 is shown in operational perspective and as such an exploded view which follows will more particularly explain the invention. The brake 1 consists of housing 2 with cam shaft motor 5 sitting on top of housing 2. The outside brake 6 and brake pad 7 are shown. El-evator mounting holes 12 in mounting feet 13 are designed to attach the brake, where desired, in an entire elevator system. A disengagement lever tool 15 is shown, which can be removed from brake 1 and used to disengage the cam shaft from the mo-tor 5 for the purposes of engaging the brake 6 manually with-out turning off electricity to the motor 5.

Figure 26 is an exploded view of an embodiment of the brake of the present invention. Outer brake shoe 7 is attached to out-er movable brake 6. This can be accomplished by bolts or rivets or the like. The outer brake shoe 7 is movable during operation of brake device 1. Inner brake shoe 8 is fixed against housing 2 on the outer housing wall 20, once again by bolts, rivets or the like. The brake gripping surface 7a and corresponding 8a, when coming together during operation of the brake device 1, grip a cable of an elevator running between the 7a and 8a grip-ping surfaces.

Compression assembly 22 consists of several elements of the present invention and operates to move movable shoe 7 during operation. End plate 24 is mounted on housing 2 on the side opposite the outer housing wall along rear edges 25. Its func-tion is to prevent anything from getting caught in the mecha-nism of the present invention and is not necessary, but merely an embodiment. The guide or alignment rods 26 are depicted, which are threaded through end plate 24, through inner hous-ing wall 21 and out outer housing wall 20 and attach to brake 6. The guide rods 26 each have threaded ends 28 which attach to brake plate 6 by use of nuts 29. Stops 27 prevent the rods 26 from passing all the way through end plate 24, thus allowing the guide rods 26 to keep brake shoe 7 aligned with brake shoe 8 during movement of brake shoe 7.

Push plate assembly 30 consists of push plate 31 having faces 31a and 31b, spring alignment tubes 32 and housing stop plate 33. Push plate assembly 30 is attached to the guide rods 26, and thus, when the assembly moves so does the movable brake shoe 7. The cam surface of a cam pushes on the push plate sur-face 31a. When the cam pushes on push plate 31, it causes the brake 6 to move away from the stationary brake shoe 8, and thus, release any grip on an elevator cable passing between


Figure 24: Section view taken along line 3-3 in figure 22.

Figure 25: Perspective view of a brake presented in the invention.

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the brake shoes 7a and 8a. When push plate is pushed it com-presses springs 34, which are positioned between wall 21 and side 31b of the push plate and running inside tube 32 keeping each spring 34 aligned. Stop plate 33 prevents the springs 34 from being compressed passed the point when stop plate 33 hits wall 21. When the stop plate 33 hits wall 21, the springs are as compressed as they can go, and thus, the brake 6 is as far from the stationary brake 8 as possible. While a stop plate is not necessary, it prevents over compression of the springs and prevents separating the brake pads too far.

Figure 27 depicts a side view of the cam 17 operating to open the brakes. In this view, the cam 17 has rotated a little bit to press on push plate 31. By pushing on push plate 31, the spring 34 is compressed against wall 21 (passing through stop plate 33) and leaves the brakes 7 and 8 open to not grab elevator ca-ble 62. The stop plate 33 in this view has come up against wall 21, and thus, cannot open the brakes 7 and 8 any farther. WRN

Figure 26: Exploded perspective view of an embodiment of the brake.Figure 27: Side view of the braking mechanism with the cam surface engaged with the push plate.


formance rope, is introducing two new lines to its portfolio of high tech sail rigging; Smooth Ice and Control-DPX™. These products were developed with input and testing of high end rig-gers and competitive racers, according to a company release.

Control-DPX™ combines Dyneema® fiber and Samson’s patented DPX™ technology into a strong, lightweight line designed to offer the grip and easy handling needed in running rigging applications. DPX™ adds the grip and soft ‘hand’ of spun polyester to the light-weight strength of Dyneema® fiber. The combination creates a line that per-forms well where winches are required without an added cover, while retaining the feel needed in a mainsheet or guy.

Smooth Ice is the newest member of Samson’s Flavored Ice family of run-ning rigging protection system. Like the rest of the Ice family, Smooth Ice provides protection from heat build-up, but this cover-only construction combines Dyneema®, Technora®, and polyester fibers for exceptional protec-tion from abrasion inherent of running rigging; especially around jammers and winches and through cleats. Smooth Ice is color-coded and designed to be used with Samson’s high-performance, single braided ropes.

Samson’s newest recreational ma-rine products continue to set the stan-dard for high performance and can be trusted as a safe and secure application around the boat.

Lincoln Hoist introduces mechanical tension meters

Lincoln Hoist, the originator of the le-ver ratchet winch hoist or “come-along”, is pleased to introduce a new line of me-chanical tension meters. The analog de-sign (no batteries or LCD) offers improved performance in harsh conditions. LCD’s often fail in cold climates, can be diffi-

cult to read in bright sunlight, and suffer from constant load reading fluctuations. According to a company release, Lincoln meters solve those issues, and are much smaller than competing mechanical de-signs. Standard units come with installed fittings ready to hook up to hoist and load. The 2 ton model A-20S shown weighs only 4.2 pounds with fittings attached.

To learn more about Lincoln Hoist prod-ucts, please visit www.lincolnhoist.com.

ameter lines are required to handle the extreme loads placed on halyards and sheets, according to a company re-lease. Made with a 100% Dyneema® SK78 fiber core, Xceed-78 combines high strength, low weight, and im-proved creep performance for better stability under static loads. The all polyester cover is designed to protect the core from abrasion and provide grip for winches where necessary. The core incorporates Samson’s proprietary Samthane coating, allowing the cover to be stripped to reduce weight.

Samson’s newest recreational marine products continue to set the standard for high performance and can be trusted as a safe and secure application around the boat.

Van Beest expands range of sizes of their Green Pin® shackles

After the recent introduction of the Green Pin® Sling shackle WLL 30 tons, Van Beest has expanded its range of these shackles again with a smaller size. These shackles now cover a range from WLL 18 tons up to 1500 tons!

Compared to the standard Green Pin® shackles they have an increased

bow radius for saving your slings and improving resistance to wear and tear, according to a company release. These shackles are ideal for use with wire rope and synthetic sling applications.

• Material: bow and pin alloy steel, Grade 8, quenched and tempered.

• Safety Factor: MBL equals 5 x WLL.• Finish: shackle bow painted silver,

pin painted green.• Temperature Range : -20 °C up to

+200 °C. • Certification: at no extra charge this

product can be supplied with a works certificate, material certificate, manu-facturer test certificate, EC declaration of Conformity and all shackles from 75 t are supplied with a Lloyd’s Register of Shipping Certificate on proof load. An MPI and/or US inspection certificate can be supplied on request.

For more information please contact us: [email protected].

New running rigging lines meet high tech demands

Samson, a worldwide leader in per-

PCT deliver 30t under-roller rebatch line

PCT has recently supplied a 30t under-roller rebatch line to one of the world’s major umbilical manufactur-ers located in the UK. The Under-roll-er rebatch line is able to rewind hose between two reels, allowing the user to either supply a specific length from one drum to another or to recoil a badly wound drum. According to a company release, the line consists of two take-up / pay off units facing each other where

a single traverse unit controls the prod-uct lay on the take-up drum. The lines can also be run in either direction.

A clever feature of the under-rollers is the ability to swap the traverse unit from one machine to the other so that either machine can be the take-up. The traverse unit also includes a dancer arm which provides feedback to trim the speed of the pay-off unit. The units are designed to take drums up to 4 m in diameter by 2.6 m wide and a weight of up to 30,000Kg.

The rebatch line is fully compliant with EU health & safety standards and has been fitted with a number of safety features. These include safety fencing which completely encloses the line and sensors fitted to entrance points which automatically reduces the speed of the winding to safely allow operators to work within the area.

PCT Ltd is a privately owned com-pany based in Newcastle UK with sub-sidiaries in the USA and China. The company designs and supplies coiling, handling and packaging solutions for flexible products such as plastic pipe, sub-sea umbilical, power cables, flow-lines and steel wire rope.

Xceed-78 meets demand for mega yacht rigging

Samson, a worldwide leader in per-formance rope, is introducing a new line to its portfolio of high tech sail rigging; Xceed-78. Xceed-78 was devel-oped with input and testing of high end riggers and competitive racers.

Xceed-78 is specifically designed for use on mega yachts where large di-

working file 2/2/06 8:59 PM Page 14


Personnel changes at Wirerope Works, Inc.

Williamsport, Pennsylvania based Wirerope Works, Inc. announced that Virgil Probasco is retiring after more than 20 years with the company and its predecessor. He led the former compa-ny, Williamsport Wirerope Works, Inc. as President from 1996 through 2004 and was appointed Executive Vice President of Wirerope Works, Inc. at its formation in 2004. Responsible for all operational and sales functions, Vir-gil has guided Bethlehem Wire Rope® and Paulsen Wire Rope® to positions of quality and customer service leader-

ship in the wire rope industry.Lamar Richards will assume the du-

ties of Executive Vice President effec-tive September 1, 2012, and Mr. Pro-basco will remain as a consultant for special projects and to ensure a smooth transition. Mr. Richards has been with Wirerope Works, Inc. since its incep-tion and has worked with all of the previous companies of Bethlehem Wire Rope for the past thirty eight years. He is currently Director of Engineering and Technical Services for Wirerope

Works, Inc.Mr. Richards earned his bachelor’s

degree from Lafayette College in Easton, Pennsylvania. Mr. Probasco stated, “Lamar has spent his entire career with this company and work-ing with wire rope. He has worked well with the broad base of our customers over the years solving and helping to resolve complex wire rope applications. He has helped develop and maintain the highest standards of wire rope en-gineering along with the customer ser-vice expected of our company”.

Wirerope Works, Inc. is the manu-facturer of Bethlehem Wire Rope® and Paulsen Wire Rope® and is a leading provider of wire rope, strand, and other lifting products and services. Wirerope Works, Inc. is a privately held company based in Williamsport, Pennsylvania.

Southern Wire welcomes Ragland to Olive Branch.

Southern Wire, a division of Houston Wire & Cable Company, is very excit-ed to announce the addition of Logan Ragland to their corporate inside sales team. Ragland will be responsible for development and cultivation of new customers as well as offering his cus-tomer service expertise to our existing accounts.

Ragland graduated Tennessee Tech-nological University in 2012 with a BA of Science in Agriculture, Concentra-tion in Agricultural Engineering. His background in farm management and

sales brings unique knowledge and skill to his new role. Ragland is excit-ed about his recent move to the Olive

Branch area and his new position with the Southern Wire family.

About the Company For 40 years, Southern Wire, a divi-

sion of Houston Wire and Cable Com-pany, has earned a reputation for understanding the unique buying re-quirements of their customers and de-livering exceptional customer service and support.

With quality and safety as our guide, it is the mission of Southern Wire to deliver superior foreign and domestic

Lamar Richards

Virgil Probasco

Logan Ragland



in Pennsylvania and is a graduate of Pennsylvania State University with a BS degree in Marketing. She enjoys talking with customers on the phone and assisting customers with their needs, orders and any question they might have.

Since February 2012 Paula White has been working in our inside sales department. Paula grew up in Pennsyl-vania. She is quickly becoming familiar with the customer base and she enjoys her interactions with everyone in the industry.

Joe Trimble has been our mechanical engineer since January 2012. He en-joys working on process improvement, design engineering, and the trouble-shooting/repair of various machines. He was born in Seatle, WA and served in the US Army after graduating high school. He retired from service in 2004 and attended the University of Mary-land, Baltimore County where he ob-tained his BS in mechanical engineer-ing. He is an avid golfer and also enjoys competitive billiards and shooting.

Yale Cordage appoints Bill Putnam as the new president

Yale Cordage, a custom and specialty rope manufacturer, announced that Bill Putnam has been named president of Yale Cordage. Putnam was previous-ly executive vice president, responsible for strategic planning and execution of the company’s operating network, pro-cess design, analysis and implementa-tion, and production efficiency.

The announcement was made by Tom Yale, Yale Cordage chief executive officer (CEO), who has served as CEO since 1970, and president since 1992. Tom will continue as CEO, managing

wire rope, chain, and other related rig-ging products and fabricated assem-blies with exceptional service. By pur-chasing in large volumes from qualified vendors, stocking at strategically lo-cated nationwide distribution centers, and utilizing proprietary state of the art technologies, we are able to provide same day shipping of stock items at outstanding value. The Southern Wire family strives to build strong relation-ships with our customers, employees, vendors, and community by exceeding expectations and providing long term competitive advantages.

Houston Wire & Cable Company is one of the largest providers of wire and cable in the U.S. end user mar-ket. Headquartered in Houston, Texas, HWC has sales and distribution facili-ties strategically located throughout the nation.

Spider hires Abel Fernandez as district sales representative – Orlando

Spider, a division of SafeWorks, LLC, welcomes Abel Fernandez as district sales representative of its Or-lando team. In this role, Fernandez is responsible for solving the suspended

access and safety challenges of contrac-tors and facility owners with emphasis in the south Florida market.

Fernandez brings over 16 years of ac-cess experience to the table. Most re-cently, he served as branch manager for Contractors Access Equipment in Miami, supervising daily project op-erations and focusing on scaffold safety awareness. Previously, he spent four years as a service manager with South Florida Swing Stage, Inc. and eight years between Spider’s Miami and Or-lando operation centers, most recently in the role of service manager. Fernan-dez holds Scaffolding & Access Indus-try Association (SAIA) suspended scaf-

continued from previous page fold certification.“It is a pleasure to welcome Abel back

to the Spider team,” comments John Sotiroff, vice president Spider Sales and Distribution. “Abel’s familiarity with the access industry and the safety requirements that accompany it will give him an edge in providing contrac-tors and facility owners with the best possible solution for their access chal-lenges. His extensive direct market experience and dedication to customer satisfaction make him an ideal addition to the strong Spider Orlando team.”

Muncy Industries announce promotion and additions to their staff

Rose Pulizzi has been working in our Inside Sales Department since Sep-tember 2008 and is being promoted to inside sales manager. Rose grew up

Rose Pulizzi

Paula White

Joe Trimble

Abel Firnandez

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vendors (even a few of our friendly competitors) are truly impressed when they see our Olive Branch Corporate office and distribution center.

I would like to personally thank my fellow team members, customers, vendors, and the rigging industry for making this the best job I have ever had. I look forward to building new partnerships for growth and strength-ening the foundational relationships forged over Southern Wire’s 40 years in the business.

Alps Wire Rope GrowthOur goal at Alps Wire Rope Corpora-

tion is to provide quality products and services to our customers. As Alps con-tinues to grow, it is important that we meet the needs of our customers and to continue to provide the services and quality products that our customers have come to expect.

In order to keep up with the growth at Alps Wire Rope Corporation, we hire, and promote from within, quality people that we feel will con-tinue in these efforts. We feel this allows new for new ideas, contin-ued growth, and quality service.

Alps Wire Rope Corporation is pleased to announce the promotion

increased at a parallel rate.To keep in lock step with our growth,

Southern Wire has added outside sales resources, upgraded our ERP system, installed a nationwide VOIP phone network, started 24/7/365 call center capability, expanded management and inside sales staff, re-engineered our flagship distribution center in Olive Branch, added marketing resources, and increased operational effectiveness throughout the organization. It makes me proud knowing our customers and

the company’s overall strategic direc-tion and multiparty project work.

“Bill has been an asset to our com-pany for over 25 years. His in-depth knowledge of our customers’ indus-tries and how Yale’s products address their challenges is invaluable,” said Yale. “This, coupled with his opera-tional expertise working at all levels of the business, will serve him well as our new president. Bill’s promotion sets the stage for continued long-term growth for our company. I look forward to working with Bill to strengthen Yale Cordage’s position in a variety of mar-ketplaces.”

“I want to thank Tom for his confi-dence and support. Yale Cordage con-tinues to make great strides providing application support to industries that use our products. I am honored to work alongside Tom for many years to come,” said Putnam.

Putnam joined Yale Cordage in 1984 as a rigging shop supervisor, respon-sible for application-specific products before departing in 1989. Putnam re-joined Yale in 1999 as a purchasing manager until he took over as plant manager in 2001. He was promoted to executive vice president in 2006.

He is based at the company’s head-quarters in Saco, Maine. About Yale Cordage

Saco, Maine-based Yale Cordage is a custom and specialty rope manufac-turer that designs application-specific ropes: winchlines, stringing lines and blocklines for utilities; fiber optic pull-ing lines for telephone construction; bull ropes and climbing lines for arbor-ists; safety lanyards and lifting slings for industrial applications; ropes for marine applications — from hawsers for mooring commercial tankers to hal-yards for sailing dinghies.

Yale also designs and manufactures custom and specialty rope for specialty applications such as oceanographic ar-rays and faired electromechanical ca-bles. For more information, please visit www.yalecordage.com.

Southern Wire – a note from the president, Christian Sokoll

I am so proud of what the Southern Wire team has accomplished in the short time I have been here. A strong mission and vision based on Southern Wire’s core values have been our guid-ing light. Our team has grown from a two location organization with a little over a 100,000 ft2 to enjoying the re-sources of 8 nationwide locations with over 500,000 ft2 of space. Our inventory and customer service programs have

Christian Sokoll



of Elizabeth Beddow to Controller. Elizabeth has been with Alps Wire Rope Corporation since July 25, 2005. Elizabeth attended college at West-ern University of Illinois. She has been working closely with Bob Zader,

our recently retired vice president and controller since her employment at Alps.

Alps welcomes back Ross Benner as Customer Service and purchasing

manager. Ross worked with Alps from 1988 to 2004 in all aspects of the com-pany and has now returned to Alps Wire Rope Corporation after taking time to pursue other interests.

Jeff Pyzyna joined Alps as district sales manager, Western region. Jeff is headquartered in Saint Charles, Il-linois and will be responsible for West-ern region sales. Jeff has a background in wire rope sales and most recently was a National Account Manager for a manufacturing company.

Alps is very excited about the new changes. Quality and service is our number one priority. We feel these peo-ple will ensure that perspective contin-ues into the future.

Southwest Wire Rope hires new operations manager

Southwest Wire Rope, a division of Houston Wire & Cable Company, proudly welcomes Anthony Quandt

to their corporate team. Quandt is a graduate of the University of Florida with a BA of Science -Mechanical Engineering. He worked more than two decades in Aerospace engineer-ing where he excelled in training programs, testing systems, analy-sis, and operations management. In his new role, Quandt manages the operations for the Houston, TX loca-tion of Southwest Wire Rope. While Quandt feels this new role to be full of challenges requiring hard work and dedication, he admits, “It ain’t rocket science”.

Southwest Wire Rope welcomes Lundy to inside sales department

Southwest Wire Rope, a division of Houston Wire & Cable Company, is very excited to announce the addition of Ramiro Lundy to their corporate in-

side sales team. Lundy’s multiple years of experience in synthetics production, planning, and plant management make him an asset to the Southwest Wire Rope Sales team.


Ramiro Lundy

Elizabeth Beddow

Jeff Pyzyna Anthony Quandt

Ross Benner

P.O. Box 871Clark, NJ 07066

Fax: 732-396-4215 • Email: [email protected]

Have you promoted someone in your company?Made a major acquisition?

Received an award for some type of achievement?Do you have a product or service you would like to

introduce to our industry?If you tell us about it, we’d be very happy to

consider it for publication.

All it will cost you is the time it takes to write it up and send it to us. Become visible to our readers. You might be surprised what a little publicity can do for your business.

Send your news to:

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Please turn to the pages indicated belowfor a detailed view of

advertisers’ products or services.

Advertisers Index

Accutech .......................................................65

All Material Handling .................................57, 65

Allied Power Products ....................................32

Alps Wire Rope Corp. .....................................22

Associated Wire Rope & Rigging, Inc. ..11, 35, 50

Buffalo Lifting and Testing ..............................61

C. Sherman Johnson Co., Inc. ........................47

Cableway Technical Services ..........................73

Caldwell Company, Inc. ......................30, 48, 76

Chant Engineering Co., Inc. ......................31, 51

Chicago Hardware ..........................................28

The Crosby Group ................................2, 12, 46

Distributor Computer Systems ........................57

Downs Crane & Hoist Co., Inc. .......................59

Elite Sales ......................................................25

Engineered Lifting Tech ..................................54

Esco Corporation ...........................................24

Esmet ............................................................18

Gaylin International Co. Pte. Ltd. .....................75

Ken Forging, Inc. ............................................36

KWS, Inc. .......................................................53

Landmann ........................................................6

Lift-It Manufacturing Co., Inc. .........................16

Lincoln Hoist ....................................................3

Miller Lifting Products ....................................23

Morse-Starrett Products Co. ...........................49

Muncy Industries ...........................................45

My-te .............................................................54

NACM ............................................................26

New England Ropes .......................................58

C.S. Osborne & Co. ........................................59

Peerless .........................................................33

Pewag ...........................................................37

Premier Wire Rope ...........................................4

Rud Chain, Inc. ..............................................13

Sea Catch ......................................................70

Slingmax Rigging Products ...............................5

Slinguard Protectors .......................................69

Southern Wire ................................................41

Strider~Resource ............................................9

Suncor Stainless, Inc. .............................. 38-39

Talurit .............................................................19

Taylor Chain Company ...................................67

Terrier Lifting Clamps .....................................27

Van Beest BV .................................................15

Vanguard Steel, Ltd. .......................................21

Wichard, Inc. .................................................55

Windy Ridge Corporation ................................53

Wirop Industrial Co., Ltd. ................................29

WSTDA ..........................................................44

Yoke Industrial Corp. ......................................17


HELP WANTEDFast growing Billings Montana industrial

supply and rigging shop seeks experienced rigger and wire rope assembler. Must be fa-miliar with all aspects of rigging shop opera-tions. Email resume to [email protected].

POSITION AVAILABLEOutside sales representative needed for

a well established distributor of wire rope, rigging hardware, chain and related indus-try products, located in Central Arkansas. The qualified individual will possess indus-try knowledge and the ability to develop new accounts and grow existing accounts. Our company offers a competitive salary, bonus structure and benefits package. If you are qualified please email your resume with salary history to: Reference Box12-01 on subject line, and reply to [email protected].

Web and Round Sling Dept. Manager; Arctic Wire Rope and Supply in Anchor-

age Alaska is looking for an experienced person to run a small but active sewing and round sling department.

Must be accomplished at sewing and teach-ing others how to fabricate multiple ply and width web slings, working with a round sling machine and adapting to ours. Must be com-fortable with non-standard / custom orders.

Pay is $18-22/hr DOE, major medical, 401k with 8% company match. Winters can be cold and long, should enjoy playing in the snow if possible, no city or state tax and you get a yearly permanent dividend from the State after one year of residency. Email re-sume to [email protected].

Company: Southern Wire, a leading wholesaler/distributor of wire rope, slings, chain, and fittings is expanding sales force in other parts of the US.

We are seeking Outside Sales Territory Managers for the Northeastern and South Central areas of the US.

We offer a competitive base salary and com-mission program. Our excellent benefits pack-age includes medical, dental, life, disability, paid vacation, vehicle, and 401K. Please visit company website: www.houwire.com.

College degree preferred - Industry knowl-edge a must. Send resume in confidence to: [email protected] or Fax# 662-893-4732. *No calls please*

Wire Rope Industries, one of the leading manufacturers of premium ropes with more than 125 years of experience, is opening a regional sales rep position to support the growing business in South/Central USA. We are looking for a dynamic candidate with ex-perience in the lifting industry and a proven ability to excel in competitive environments. Strong personality, focus, drive, and the abil-ity to develop accounts in a fast and sustain-able way are required. We offer competitive compensation, industry-leading training, and opportunities for growth. If you are in-terested in joining the leading innovators in the premium market, please email your re-sume to [email protected].

Philadelphia, PA Wire Rope & Fabrica-tion shop has inside customer sales/service position. Experience in rigging or crane in-dustries a plus. Contact us via email: [email protected] or fax: 610-687-0912.

Inside wire rope sales representative:90+ year family owned business is looking

for an experienced inside Wire Rope repre-sentative, to replace retiring veteran sales-man. Candidates must be reliable, honest, strong work ethic, and demonstrate good communication skills. Our company pro-vides excellent compensation and benefits to our team members, including Paid vacation, holiday, and sick leave, 401K Retirement plan with matching, excellent insurance benefits - Medical, Dental, Vision, RX, Short Term Disability, Life Insurance. M-F. office hours. Drug free workplace.

Please reply to: Attention: Cherise, Rasmus-sen Wire Rope and Rigging Co. Inc. 415 south Cloverdale Street, P.O. Box 81206 Seattle, WA 98108, Phone: 206-762-3700, Fax: 206-762-5003, email: Cherise [email protected].

Company: Nelson Wire Rope CorporationDescription: Established in 1979 in Hat-

field, Pa, Nelson Wire Rope Corporation is a leader in wire rope fabrication and product distribution. We offer a wide array of prod-ucts for the lifting, towing, construction, traffic control and other industries.

Location: Hatfield, PAEmployee Type: FulltimeIndustry: Manufacturing, Wire Rope and

Sling IndustryJob Title: Outside-Inside SalesRequired Education: Industry experience,

degree preferred Required Travel: Frequent Day TripsOther: Local Candidates OnlyInterested candidates should Email re-

sume to: [email protected]. Job Duties and Responsibilities:• Aggressively identifies and contacts

prospective customers by phone and on-site visits. Ability to conduct sales presentations of company products or services while on site. Plans effective strategies to capture new business. Proven ability to generate new sales.

• Provide inside customer service and sales. Skills and Qualifications:• Excellent customer service skills; strong

written and verbal communication skills, outgoing personality, team player.

• Effective time management, organiza-tion and multi-tasking skills.

• Proficient in Microsoft Word, Excel, Outlook.Education and Experience: • Minimum of three (3) years experience

in an Outside sales role, and five (5) years experience in Inside Sales/Customer Service experience.

• Knowledge of wire rope, crane cable, rigging, construction or related industry.

Certified Slings & Supply, Florida’s larg-est family owned rigging, contractor and industrial supply company is seeking expe-rienced sales representatives for our Florida territories.

The suitable candidate will be aggressive and detail-oriented with experience in sell-ing overhead lifting, load securement and fall protection equipment along with other contractor supplies and have a proven suc-cessful sales history.

Our 53-year family-owned company pro-vides excellent benefits to our team members including medical insurance, holiday and va-cation pay and 401(k) with company match.

If you share our core values and the ex-

perience we are looking for we look forward to hearing from you. Email your resume and salary requirements to Attention Team Member Relations at [email protected] or fax to 407-260-9196.

Our Purpose: To grow through chal-lenge and opportunity ‘with passion’ while benefiting team members, customers and vendors. Our Core Values: Service, Qual-ity, Team, Commitment, Communication, Integrity, Respect. Our Mission: We will be the most trusted and respected company in rigging, overhead lifting, load securement and contractor supplies in the world. Please visit our website at www.certifiedslings.com. EOE/AA/MFDV. Drug Free Workplace – Drug testing required. Florida Locations include: Orlando, Miami, West Palm Beach, Fort Myers, Tampa and Ocala

Experienced Regional Sales Manag-er wanted for KWS Inc., member of the THIELE GmbH & Co. KG.-group.

KWS Inc. is expanding in the USA and Canada markets. Candidate must have a strong understanding of overhead lifting equipment, chains, slings, hooks and acces-sories. A strong sales experience is a must. Candidate must also have basic computer skills that include Microsoft word, excel and PowerPoint.

KWS Inc. offers a competitive salary, prof-it sharing and many other benefits. Please email resume to THIELE Germany, Mr. En-rique Bermejo, Sales Director Lifting Depart-ment, Germany; Email: [email protected].

Leading manufacturer of below the hook lifting devices seeks a mechanical engineer who has experience with designing below the hook lifters. Experience with motor-ized control systems is a plus. Excellent working environment, compensation and schedule all in a fantastic, southern coastal area! Please send resume to Tandemloc, 824 Highway 101, Havelock, NC 28532, [email protected] or call 252-463-8113.

Sales manager needed for Chicago mar-ket. Must have strong understanding of wire rope, chain, hardware. Must be able to estab-lish goals and achieve desired results. Com-puter literate, minimal travel. Salesforce knowledge a plus. Competitive salary and benefits. Reply to box 11-4, care of Wire Rope News, 511 Colonia Blvd., Colonia, NJ 07067.

Fabrication manager/customer service. Work in a family oriented business with an opportunity to earn part ownership. Need someone 35-55+ years old who started at the bottom and looking to finish at the top. Need hands on splicing experience, lifting rigging experience, test bed knowledge, able to direct small growing crew. Basic comput-er knowledge. Willing to train and mentor young employees. Top wages and benefits for the right individual. Problem solver that our customers can depend on. Honesty and integrity a must. Call Chuck Farmer, Presi-dent, Rouster Wire Rope and Rigging, Inc., 304-228-3722, in confidence.

Outside Sales Representative needed for well established family owned business in Nashville, TN. Contractors & Industrial Sup-ply Co., Inc. founded in 1970 is a distributor

continued

CABLEWAY TECHNICALSERVICES GRAVITY

RETURNCall Nielsen

Ocala, FL 24 Hour Fax (904) 342-0547


Only $1 per line. Ads answered through private box numbers, $3 extra.Place stamp on envelope, cut along perforation, fold, tape where indicated and drop in the nearest mail box.If you prefer, send no money now, we’ll bill you later.

(Please type or print clearly)

Ad To Read:

NameCompany NameAddressCity State Zip PhoneHeading Ad Is To Appear Under

Please limit each line to 40 characters AND spaces.

Payment enclosed. Please bill us.

Check here and add $3 if you wish to have your ad answered through a private box number.

Published bi-monthly: Dec., Feb., April, June, Aug., Oct. Material must be received by the 20th of month preceding date of publication (e.g. May 20th for the June issue).

Publisher assumes no liability for errors, or, in assigning or forwarding mail for classified advertisers using publication box numbers.

Fax: (1-732) 396-4215

continued

of wire rope, rigging hardware, chain and related industry products is expanding our sales team. The qualified individual will pos-sess industry knowledge and the ability to develop new accounts and maintain existing. We offer a competitive base salary plus com-mission and an outstanding benefits pack-age. If qualified, please email your resume with salary history to [email protected].

Established wire rope distributor in North America is expanding into crane/con-tainer rope and fabrication. We are looking for an experienced individual that can assist in formulating a marketing and business plan. This position will eventually evolve to a sales manager or general manager. Fax your resume in strict confidence to 330-452-2331 attention Kris Lee or email to [email protected].

Texas Wire Rope Company expand-ing inside sales department. Individuals must have a strong technical, mechanical and basic mathematical aptitude, includ-ing basic computer knowledge. Selected candidates must be quality conscious and able to handle multiple tasks. Previous experience in the industrial supply mar-ket is necessary. We offer a drug-free, results-oriented work environment with excellent wages and advancement oppor-tunities. Resumes received confidentially at [email protected].

POSITION WANTEDWest Coast Wire Rope and Rigging is

looking to hire experienced riggers. Please send your resume to: 7777 7th Ave. South, Seattle, WA 98108, attention manager.

Experienced Wire Rope Sling (Flemish) fabricator needed. CWR Hawaii is seeking a worker with knowledge and hands-on ability to fabricate wire rope and chain assemblies. Full-time, 401k, vacation, insurance, and other benefits. Relocationg cost can be negotiated.

If you are interested in working for our company, please email me at [email protected] or call me at 808-843-2020.

Former Division-Product Manager, Re-gional Outside Sales Manager desires southeast territory to manage and solicit accounts in the wire rope, chain, fittings, and related industries. Over 25 years experience including District Manager, Bethlehem Wire Rope, Regional Manag-er, Wire Rope Ind Product Manager, Rud Chain, Inc. Interested parties reply to M.E. (Mike) Givens [email protected], ph 256-476-7700.

REPS WANTEDSunwood Inc., manufacturer of nets,

slings, etc. since 1986, (formerly known as Fl. nets & slings supply) is expand-ing nationwide & looking for ambitious independent reps in US and Canada. Check our webiste: www.netsandslings.com before contacting us. We offer sev-eral protected territories without any restriction of house accounts. Generous commission paid when order is shipped (not when $ collected). Call 954-788-7144 or e-mail: [email protected].

Sales rep wanted for an established man-ufacturer of labels and sling tags. We are looking for a sales rep that currently calls on sling makers and rigging companies and is

familiar with the business. Etiflex is a regis-tered trademark and manufactures custom sling tags for synthetic and wire rope slings and has an excellent reputation in the field. We advertise in trade journals and exhibit at industry shows to generate brand aware-ness. Please contact us at [email protected] or call 866-ETIFLEX for information.

Manufacturer Represtentatives for Lift-ing Equipment & Accessories wanted by ALL MATERIAL HANDLING, Inc. Terri-tories are now available and supported by our 4 USA Warehouses where our highly competitive and top quality products are stocked to the roof. Partner with us as we continue to grow market share. Check us out at www.allmaterialhandling.com and reach us at 877 543-8264, or e-mail [email protected].

Well established manufacturer of wire rope assemblies seeks manufacturer repre-sentatives for most major U.S. and Cana-dian markets. Visit our web site at www.thecableconnection.com. Please contact [email protected] or call Ray at (800) 851-2961


PRODUCT LINES WANTEDMerit Sales, Inc. (Manufacturer Repre-

sentatives) is looking for rigging related lines to compliment the manufacturers we currently represent. If you need sales people in any of our states (AL, AR, FL, GA, LA, MS, NC, OK, SC, TN, TX, VA) please con-tact. We also have 2 regional warehouses available in the Atlanta area & Houston. e-mail: johng@meritsalesinc. com or call Johnny at 713-664-7723.

EQUIPMENT WANTEDWanted: Used test stand for manual

hoists static testing, up to 10-tons. Contact John Gideon at [email protected] or Phone 770-266-5700.

Wanted 600t wire rope swaging press complete with dies in good order, please contact [email protected], or Tele 0064 3 366 1528.

Wanted: used wire rope cable, sizes 1-1/8”, 1”, and 7/8”. Please call for pricing. (740) 452-5770.

PROFESSIONAL SERVICESDragline range & depth extended using gravity return. Contact Nielsen by fax for details (fax) 904-342-0547

FOR SALE“Nets & slings” equipment (used) are of-

fered at bargain prices (best offer will take it): Singer- 6 Sewing machines H.D. w/benches. Kiwi- Web printing machine, com-

plete set-up. Tinius Olsen- Testing machine 60K. Call us at 954-788-7144 or e-mail: [email protected].

3/16" Campbell Chain L3x51 Links- Zinc; 3200 pieces 48" with 5/16" S Hook; 1100 pieces 15" with 5/16"x2.5" O ring; In NC. Best Offer [email protected], 800-342-9130 x 124, Andy.

New wire rope with galvanized fin-ish, 8 x19, Seale, fiber core, traction grade (1180/1770 N/mm²), right regular lay: 1/2” diameter, 14,900 lbs breaking load, .36 lbs/foot net weight, 25,000 feet; 5/8” diameter, 23,700 lbs breaking load, .58 lbs/foot, 16,489 feet. Contact Draka Elevator Products at 1-877-372-5237 for pricing.

New wire rope 1-1/8” drill line 5000 ft. 6x195 BR RR IFWV $30,000 Aud & freight. Reply to Brayd Gross, Alpha Rig-ging SErvice, 11-13 Gerberte Court, Wur-ruk, Victoria, Australia, 3850. Phone 0011+61351461088. Email: [email protected].

Crosby 7/8” G213 LPA shackles. NEW! 205 pieces available. Contact Gary Lee @ 1-800-844-3517. Fax 251-456-8860.

Impacto Cable cutters and parts available from Windy Ridge Corp. Tamworth, NH, USA. 800-639-2021. Fax 603-323-2322.

WIRE ROPE FOR SALENew Wireco: 6 X 26 construction, 7/8” X

5,700’ - 1” X 1,000’ ¾” X 3,500 – 5/8” X 3,000’ – 1-3/8” X 1,350’ – 1-3/8” X 1,500” – 7/16” X 5,000’ – 1” X 300. All New.

Also available: new assorted Esco shacl-kes. Call Tom at 541-378-7006 for pricing and details.

HARDWARE FOR SALEOverstocked inventory for sale, 1-3/8”

Shackle, WLL 13½ ton, galvanized, round pin, import. Super savings. Sold in mini-mum lots of 50 at $9 each. Eric Parkerson, Certified Slings, 407-331-6677.

EQUIPMENT FOR SALENational swage 1000 ton press. Excellent

condition, including most dies up to two inch, $110,000. Barry, Bilco Wire Rope & Supply Corp., 908-351-7800 or [email protected].

1-800 ton Esco, 1-500 ton National, 1-500 ton Esco, 1-350 Esco. 713-641-1552.

150 ton, Wirop C-type hydraulic swaging machine for sale. Brand new, with 4 sets of dies. $19,500 or B/O. Call Oscar at 909-548-2884.

Wire Rope Grips for proof test machines. Sizes: 1-1/2”, 2”, 2-1/2”. Load cells & digital read-outs also available. Call Joe Roberts (912) 964-9465.

Prooftesters for sale. Capacities from 20,000 lbs. to 3,000,000 lbs. Call Joe Roberts (912) 964-9465.


Below Hook LiftersRigging Attachments

THE INDUSTRY'S FIRST ANDONLY 2-YEAR WARRANTY.

A promise of performance.

Caldwell quality. Guaranteed.Learn more about our full line of products and services at caldwellinc.com.Or call our team of experienced engineers and technicians at 800.628.4263to discuss the optimal lifting solution for your application.

• Quality assurance• Safety• Increased productivity

• Decreased maintenance • Peace of mind• Cost savings

5055 26th Ave. Rockford, IL 61109 • 800.628.4263 • caldwellinc.com

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