|
LETTER
FROM THE EDITOR
With the
arrival of fall, the leader.com is back from its
summer break, and we are very enthused to bring
you all the news and latest developments of the
past few months.
In a lengthy article, I
explain to you our new partnership with one of
Europe’s leaders of wheel and caster manufacturers,
Blickle. Amongst some of the changes, our sales
representative, Dominique, has decided to move
on to take on a new challange with EIJ. Therefore,
we take this opportunity to introduce you to his
successor, Patrice.
Finally, we have our usual
articles about some of our team’s personal
experiences such as Frederic’s first triathlon
event, Bleutec’s participation at the IUV
Show in Denver, and an invitation to visit Blickle
at the CeMat Show in Hanover, Germany. Our cartoon
is about a topic that is relevant to many of today’s
conversations, and we present another one of our
distributors, Kinecor, who has just moved in to
their new premises in Lachine.
We hope that you’ve
enjoyed and relished the beautiful summer that
we’ve had, and we hope that you are as ready
as we are for a very prosperous fall!
Signed,
Luc Turcotte
Editor
|
|
Bleutec, Guitel, Blickle:
where are we at?
The last couple of months
have been a bit overwhelming, but we are finally
starting to see the light at the end of the
tunnel. Please allow us to use this edition
of the leader.com so that we explain and tell
you about the latest developments at Bleutec.
In April 2005, our business
partner and main supplier of the past 15 years
filed for voluntary liquidation. The economic
structure in France, as well as the competition
from Asia, forced Guitel’s directors to
take this decision. European laws being somewhat
different than ours, the company was able to
continue their production until the transfer
of all assets was completed.
As of July, Guitel’s
main assets have been taken over by a French
company that is continuing to manufacture the
blue Resilex® and sandwich wheels, as well
as the Mecanic and Gem-Roll rigs (forks). The
delays that we have encountered during the past
few weeks have been due to the transfer of machinery
to the new production sites. Furthermore, the
wheels and casters had to go through testing
processes for quality control.
For the past 3 weeks,
production has been back to normal, and our
shipments are expected to arrive here on a regular
basis within the next week or so.
Also in the news, we have
reached a partnership agreement with Blickle,
one of the largest wheel and caster manufacturers
in Europe. This new partnership will strengthen
our position on the North American market.
Blickle
is a family owned company which was established
in 1953 by Mr. Heinrich Blickle. Today, Blickle
is headed by Mr. Reinhold Blickle, son of the
founder. The Rosenfeld plant produces millions
of wheels per year, with thousands of wheels
and casters manufactured each day.
Blickle
carries over 20,000 types of wheels and casters,
with weight capacities ranging from 30 lbs.
to 20 tons. Their products move machines and
all types of material handling equipment: rolling
scaffolds, various production equipment, units
for laboratories and kitchens, maintenance carts
for the aerospace and automotive industries,
and much much more. The Blickle
International Group employs over 500 people,
holds over a dozen distribution centres in Europe,
and has many exclusive agents in more than 80
countries.
Blickle is representative
of wheels and casters “MADE IN
GERMANY”: high quality, long
service life, and maintenance free.
We are very proud to be
associated with such a business partner who
is well regarded and respected the world over.
In the upcoming months,
our sales team will be handing out our new Bleutec
catalogue, and will present you the Blickle
product line.
Luc
Turcotte |
|
|
OUR
NEW SALES REPRESENTATIVE
 The
entire Bleutec team is pleased to introduce you
to our new sales representative, Patrice Desjardins.
Patrice started at Bleutec
this past September. His first weeks were spent
learning about our products, market, and work
methods. His very first days at Bleutec were spent
working in our shipping department where he assembled
casters and picked orders. He then worked at the
order desk, and finally he spent a couple of days
on the road in order to familiarize himself with
his future customers.
Already well integrated
at Bleutec, Patrice will no doubt prove in the
future that he is the ideal candidate for this
position. His past internal and external sales
experience has taught him what customers appreciate:
quick response time, thorough follow-ups, professionalism,
and courteous service. Just as Dominique had,
Patrice too has a good sense of humour, enjoys
working with the public, and possesses the required
qualities to give you the service that is expected
from Bleutec.
Patrice is looking
very forward to meeting you.
Sales Representative
pdesjardins@bleutec.com
Luc Turcotte
|
|
TRIATHLON
 This
is a little article about myself
and a new passion that I've discovered.
September 17th is the day that
I set the bar in terms of my own
personal physical achievements.
Saturday, September 17, 2005 is
the day that I officially completed
my first triathlon !!!!!
 My
fellow co-workers insisted that
I write about this first experience.
As you may
know, this type of event consists
of three major disciplines: swimming,
cycling and running. The Sprint
category that I competed in consisted
of 750 meters (820 yards) of swimming,
20 km (12.42 mi.) of cycling and
a nice smooth 5 km (3.12 mi.)
of running to the finish line..
No, you
guessed it, no motorcycle tours
this year... You can see an article
about that at the following link
CLICK
HERE
 Here's
a piece of advice: if you train
or go to the gym without any specific
goal in mind, I suggest you try
preparing for a specific event.
This will make that additional
mile on the tread mill easier.
This event actually affected me
subconsciously: after regularly
preparing for it, I actually found
myself in need of intense cardiovascular
workouts. The more I trained with
this goal in mind, the more I
felt the need ..... for speed
!
I completed
the sprint triathlon in 1 hour,
and 20 minutes. As I mentioned,
the bar is set for the next triathlon
season. I'll be preparing all
winter to beat this year’s
time and I'll make it a point
to let you know if I've achieved
my personal goal next summer.
If you plan
to do some cross country skiing
this winter, be on the lookout
as you may very well run into
me .... ,
I
know it's still early, but enjoy
the upcoming winter season.
Frederic
Lagace |
|
|
THE
PHN HEAT RESISTANT WHEEL
 This
is the second part of my article from our
last edition of THE LEADER.COM about heat
resistant wheels.
Blickle’s hi-temp PHN wheel recently
helped us solve a serious ergonomic issue
in a large Toronto bakery. It is quite a challange
to solve an ergonomic issue such as this one
in an environment where casters are exposed
to extreme heat..
In this particular case,
the casters used on the carts were being replaced
at least once a month because the wheels would
fail, and the raceway would seize due to extreme
heat combined with flower entering the raceway.
This seizing of the raceway made the carts
almost impossible to move.
We therefore offered
Blickle’s PHN wheels, made of a reinforced
heat resistant phenolic resin with heat-resistant
ball bearings (oven bearings). We also added
a special heat resistant silicone O-ring to
prevent elements from entering the raceway.
The effort required
to maneuver the carts was greatly reduced
and the customer’s employees were extremely
satisfied with the results. Maintenance is
no longer required on the casters, even though
we are talking about a high heat environment.
You
can see more information about these Blickle
wheels if you click on the following link.
CLICK
HERE
Frederic
Lagace
|
|
|
Bleutec Shows
Bleutec has been busy
over the last few months with shows.
We set up booths at both the Eastec Show in
Springfield, Massachusetts and at the IUV (Industrial
Utility Vehicle) Technology Show in Denver,
Colorado.
These past shows gave
us the opportunity to showcase our Blickle products,
specifically the heavy duty polyurethane casters.
 Blickle
will have their booth (Hall 12, E81) at the
CeMat Fair in Hanover Germany held from October
11 – 15. CeMat, held every 3 years, is
considered the world’s leading information
and communication platform for technical logistics.
If you happen to
still be in Germany after Oktoberfest, stop
in at CeMat and meet the Blickle group.
Nancy Allen
|
|
| Distributor
of the month :KINECOR
Kinecor is Canada’s
largest distributor of bearings, power transmissions,
and hydraulic and process equipment.
The Montreal based company
was created in 2001 with the amalgamation of
National Bearings, Spencer Industries, Spencer
Teris (also knows as Industrial Chrome), Motion
Technologies, and Wajax Process Technologies.
Together, they combine over 80 years of experience
in the industry.
Kinecor’s core competencies
include distribution and logistics, engineering
support, a complete range of products including
Bleutec’s wheels and casters, as well
as technical support for their customers.
Across Canada, Kinecor’s
network comprises 55 branches, which is their
key element in ensuring that they are the industrial
components company of choice
 Nouvelles
coordonnées:
KINECOR
2200, 52ème Avenue
Lachine, Québec
H8T 2Y3
Tél.:(514)636-3333
Fax:(514)636-7777
Site web:
www.kinecor.com
Kinecor |
|
| Hockey
in Canmore
In our fall 2004 edition of the leader.com,
you may remember reading an article about my
son Joel and his passion for hockey.
Well, his hard work has
led him to being recruited by the Canmore Eagles
in Alberta. We received a telephone call from
an agent one weekend in late August, and in
the space of a couple of days, Joel and his
hockey equipment were on a plane to Canmore,
where he’ll spend the next year studying
and being a defenceman for the Junior A Eagles
team.
Western Canadian hockey
is a bit more physical than it is here. For
example, a game played here with 30 checks is
considered a “good” game, but in
Canmore, a game with 38 checks just doesn’t
seem enough for the coach.
The small town of Canmore
is located at the base of the Canadian Rockies.
Joel tells us that it’s just like walking
into a postcard when he steps outside.
If you’d like
to take a few moments and look at some breathtaking
scenery from Canmore and the Canadian Rockies,
click here www.canmorealberta.com.
Robert Hamelin
|
|
|
DON'T FORGET TO WRITE US...
|
|
HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!
Setup and design of The Leader.Com by Karine.
|
LEADER.COM
