Category: August 2015

As the British summer disappears in a torrent of rain at Havant, UK headquarters, Straightpoint is awash with new products. Mr Loadlink explains

In Latin, “Omne trium perfectum” means everything that comes in threes is perfect. There’s certainly something about groups of three that invokes an emotional response. Take the Three Wise Men, the Three Musketeers or the Three Blind Mice, for example.

It’s certainly true that good things come in threes at Straightpoint this summer, as three new products are ready to launch almost simultaneously. Such has been the varied nature of the paths these products have take from conceptualisation, it’s remarkable that they’ve all reached this point at the same time. It’s almost as though it’s meant to be; as if it were written in the same stars that were so important to the Three Wise Men.

The three products I’m talking about are the Running Line Dynamometer (the TIMH range); the Towcell load cell, for towing applications; and ATEX, IECEx versions of our most popular product, the Radiolink Plus wireless load cell. The Towcell is available even as I write this, while the new explosion-proof products are awaiting certification that we expect to receive in the coming weeks, about the same time that the TIMH range will be ready.

This isn’t the place to go into detail about the features of the new products but they’re examples of the continued evolution of the company and, moreover, demonstrates our ability to diversify our range to penetrate new marketplaces and provide a broader mix of products to the sectors that we have served to date with force measurement, load monitoring and suspended weighing load cell technologies.

For example, the TIMH range will be particularly useful in the marine, offshore and towage and salvage industries where there is no anchor or dead end and a loadlink, digital dynamometer or other load cell are unsuitable to measure tension force. The TIMH is constructed from marine grade stainless steel and will also, as an option, calculate lineout in metres or feet and line speed.

Towcell, meanwhile, is a towing device for road going vehicles that displays wirelessly the weight being towed. The launch represents evolution of a product that started as a hybrid of the Radiolink Plus following an enquiry from the UK Highways Agency. The agency had a fleet of lease vehicles and needed to ensure they were not towing over capacity and damaging clutches, axles and other components.

Also an enhancement of the Radiolink Plus, the ATEX and IECEx versions of the product will be assembled on a brand new production line ensuring that we can continue to provide quick delivery to job sites around the world.

I want to take a moment to reference the dedication to the project shown by Roshan Divakaran, our design engineer, who has overseen the product’s development from the outset.

Roshan and the team have worked tirelessly with the Sira Certification Service, an independent certification body, to meet the requirements of ATEX and IECEx, while ensuring that we can put a production line in place ready to deliver with the same short lead time that epitomises our entire range. Customers in marine, highways, oil, gas, heavy lift and many other industries know that this ability is a hallmark of the company.

Learn or leave

Another Latin phrase I like is “Aut disce aut discede,” which broadly translates to “Learn or leave”.

Every product launch can teach one something about a market, a company and the supply chain that will take it to lifting (or towing) applications in industry. What these three particular products have reiterated to me is the importance of making sure the arduous processes that are sometimes involved—especially true of explosion-proof product launches—are respected and completed in tune with the overarching ethos of the company.

There would be little point in launching a product if we couldn’t provide it to the same quality, at the same speed, for which we are known. I’d go so far as to say it is our number one selling point. Towcell customers will expect the product to be effectively on the shelf, while we’ll exceed the expectations of Running Line Dynamometer customers in delivering product within a week. Oil and gas clients already know well of our ability to do that.

You can take a lot from the success experienced to date in shaping your future. Aut disce aut discede, one might say. Within each successful product, where is there a component or piece of engineering that could be utilised by another application?

John Molidor, the general manager of our North American subsidiary, considered this when introducing to manufacturers and end users of two-point (swing stage) adjustable suspension scaffolds our load shackle that will measure the combined weight of personnel and tools prior to use. It’s a market that could consume our product pretty much as it exists. The entertainment industry is another sector of interest, as discussed in last month’s blog.

It’s worth asking yourself, how might your products be used in other applications you haven’t yet considered or components applied to the continued improvement of your offering?

We’re constantly asking ourselves questions to challenge the company and the individuals within it. As a result, we approach the final quarter of the year as a very different business to that which turned the corner of the year eight months ago. It’ll look very different again this time next year, I’m sure, as distributors and users continue to inspire innovation and ingenuity.

“Work hard. Never give up.”

Part of that evolution and improvement will be represented by the new faces that we introduce to the business. Our North American subsidiary has been a focal point of our growth for some time; we recently welcomed former Bishop Lifting Products and Certex USA employee Aaron Orsak as technical sales engineer. Aaron is based in Houston and covers the Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama regions.

Further west, we have expanded our team at US headquarters in Camarillo, California, with the addition of Tressie LaBass, who joins as customer and sales support administrator. The quality of personnel we are now able to attract is another yardstick by which we can measure our progress. I particularly like Tressie’s LinkedIn tagline: “Work hard. Never Give up.” Hear, hear!

What’s the Latin for that, I hear you ask. Something like “Labor omnia vincit,” I think!

The aftermath

Tremors are still being felt throughout the industry following the news that Konecranes Plc and Terex Corporation will combine their businesses in a merger of equals. The combined company, to be called Konecranes Terex Plc, will be a leading global lifting and material handling solutions company with estimated combined 2014 revenues and EBITDA of $10 billion and $845 million.
I know there have been many references to consolidation—and fragmentation—of the industry, particularly from these companies, but this surprised me. I’d be interested in the challenges and opportunities such a significant merger presents for your company.

Only as I was posting this blog did news break that Schlumberger, a leading oilfield service provider, will buy Cameron, one of the biggest oilfield equipment manufacturers, in a deal worth a whopping $14.8 billion!

I’m off to the states to spend some time with John, Tressie and the team before drawing breath in readiness for another trade show season which gets underway as always in September. I look forward to catching up with some of my readers over the next few months.

Thank you for reading. Keep following us on Twitter—@LoadCell—and use the hashtags #loadcell and #belowthehook.

Carpe diem!