| LETTER
FROM THE EDITOR
Finally spring has arrived! The sun is setting
later, and the days are getting warmer and warmer.
 The
golf fanatics are shining their golf clubs, the
gardeners are thinking about their flowers and
gardens, and the summer enthusiasts are impatiently
waiting for those hot summer days.
In this spring edition of
the Leader, we share a winter trek from one of
our European counterparts, and article by Nancy
on the St. Patrick’s Day Parade, a “flight”
lesson from Frederic, as well as a Montreal tourism
pitch.
You’ll also read about
some new products, the NA06 Show in Cleveland,
and two of Bleutec’s distributors.
Happy reading, and please
let us know of any comments or suggestions that
you may have.
Signed,
Luc Turcotte
Editor
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| Québec
trip
We should get along extremely
well with our European counterparts from Blickle
because like us, they enjoy winter and the cold,
and especially skidooing in Quebec.
From February 9th to the
17th, Mr. Jacques Giorguitti, (Director of Sales
of Blickle France), along with his wife and
friends visited Northern Qeubec on snowmobile.
Their trip was divided into 8 stages, where
they covered a total distance of 1,200 miles
(2,000 km).
They left from St. Zénon,
went to La Tuque, went around Lac St. Jean,
passed through Chicoutimi, then Shawinigan,
St. Come, and ended their adventure in Ste.
Agathe des Monts.
Throughout their trek,
they encountered REAL Quebec winter: snowstorms,
fog, and unfortunately rain during the last
stage of their trip.
For Mr. Giorguitti,
the mix of sport, engines, and gliding over
our white and wide open spaces in true winter
conditions is motivation for him to return to
Northern Quebec again and again.
Luc Turcotte
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St.
Patrick’s Day Parade in Montreal
 Did
you know that Montreal has one of the longest
running St. Patrick’s Day Parade in North
America? This past Sunday marked the 182nd parade
in Montreal. There’s been a parade held
since 1824, and I wonder if they were as much
fun then as they are now?!
I’ve been going
to the parade for several years, and it’s
become part of the winter/spring ritual. You
see, March in Montreal can be very a warm and
sunny 10 degrees (50°F), or snow with temperatures
of -10 (14°F)! So from year to year, it’s
always a surprise for the weather on parade
day, and no matter snow or shine, there’s
an estimated crowd of 300,000 that line St.
Catherine Street for the parade.
 Although
Montreal is the largest French-speaking city
in North America, many of us here have or know
citizens with Irish origins. (Our municipal
flag even bears a shamrock!). In the early 1800’s,
the British colonial government sent Irish labour
to Montreal in order to build the Lachine Canal.
The second influx of Irish immigrants came in
the 1840’s due to Ireland’s potato
famine.
 So
there you have it. A bit of Montreal history
and fun. Here are a few pictures from this year’s
parade.
Nancy
Allen
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| LITTLE
THOUGHTS ON TEAMBUILDING
To follow up on my article
from last month’s edition of the Leader
about my collection of thoughtful e-mails, here’s
something about why geese fly in ‘’V’’
formation and team building.
As each bird flaps its wings, it creates an
uplift for the bird immediately following. By
flying in a "V" formation, the whole
flock adds at least 71% greater distance range
than if each bird flew on its own.
***People
who share a common direction and sense of community
can get where they are going quicker and easier
because they are traveling on the thrust of
one another.
Whenever a goose falls out of formation, it
suddenly feels the drag and resistance of trying
to go at it alone, and quickly gets back into
formation to take advantage of the lifting power
of the bird immediately in front.
***It's a
good idea to stay in formation when we find
people who are headed the same way we are going.
When the lead goose gets tired, he or she rotates
back in the wing, and another goose flies point.
*** Being
out front is a highly visible position, and
it feels important. By the example of geese,
taking turns doing the hard jobs is the way
to tap into everyone's fullest potential.
The geese honk from behind
to encourage those up front to keep up their
speed.
*** What do
we say when we honk from behind ?
Finally, when a goose gets sick, or is wounded
by gun shots and falls out, two geese fall out
of formation and follow him down to help and
protect him. They stay with him until he is
either able to fly or until he is dead, and
then they launch out on their own or with another
to catch up with the group.
*** IF WE HAVE THE SENSE OF A GOOSE, WE
WILL STAND BY EACH OTHER.
I’ve always said
it, there’s nothing wrong about reminding
ourselves of what we already know…
Wouldn’t it be easier
If we could only remember to apply these ‘’GEESE’’
basic principles? My new resolution is to try
to apply one of these laws of ‘’flight’’
at least once a day.
Be on the lookout next
month for another one of my ‘’THOUGTFUL
E-MAILS’’.
Frederic
Lagace |
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DON'T FORGET TO WRITE US...
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Setup and design of The Leader.Com by Karine
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Reminder
for NA06
One last reminder that the NA06 Show is being
held in Cleveland from March 27th
to March 30th. If you’re heading
to Cleveland, make sure you stop in to see
us at booth #2748. We hope
to see you!
We’ll have a full recap of our week,
along with pictures in the next edition of
the leader.com.
Here are some quick facts about Cleveland:
• Cleveland is on the southern shore
of Lake Erie
• population of city of Cleveland is
500,000
• 15th largest consumer market in the
US
• is home of the Rock and Roll Hall
of Fame which was opened to the public on
September 2, 1995
(Admission: $20.00 and hours are from 10:00
– 5:30)
• hosts a Champ Car Series race in June
at the Burke
Lakefront Airport – cool!
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
Nancy
Allen
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Southpoint
Industrial Supply Inc.
Southpoint Industrial Supply Inc. in Leamington
has been one of our Ontario distributors since
1999.
Established in 1997 and situated in southwestern
Ontario, (just 25 miles or 40 km southeast of
Windsor & Detroit), Southpoint distributes
a wide range of industrial products from power
transmission components and hydraulics to belting
and casters. They serve various markets such
as the greenhouse, automotive, and agriculture
industries.
The entire team is at their customers’
service, and they are always ready to help with
solutions to any industrial needs.
Give them a call today:
Southpoint Industrial Supply Inc.
226 Talbot St. West
Leamington, Ontario
N8H 1P1
Tel.: 519-326-1032
Fax: 519-326-6838
Or you can e-mail any inquiries to:
Kelly@sisinc.ca
James@sisinc.ca
Thanks to James and Kelly for their continued
support throughout the years!
Nancy
Allen |
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| New
at Bleutec:
drive wheels and rollers
Our new partnership with
Blickle now allows us to offer a more complete
line of wheels and casters for basically all
material handling applications.
Bleutec now carries drive
and running wheels manufactured by Blickle for
European forklift trucks such as Jungheinrich,
BT, Linde, Still, and Wagner.
 Also,
we carry in inventory Blickle-manufactured rollers
and wheels for pallet trucks. (You may have
seen these on page 36 of our volume 4 catalogue).
For a detailed listing of our pallet truck wheels
and rollers, please call us and we’ll
get you a complete list of model numbers.
Patrice Desjardins
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Bleutec
distributor: VOHL
What started as a small
blacksmith shop in 1918 and what has become
today a high-tech machining company of the 21st
century, VOHL is one of Quebec’s leading
equipment manufacturers.
VOHL, located in Saint
Marc des Carrières, which is south west
of Quebec City, continuously grows and its reputation
strengthens as they regularly receive contracts
for machining and equipment from the industrial
and agricultural sectors.
Besides manufacturing,
VOHL also distributes industrial parts so that
they can answer all of their customers’
needs: tools, oils, bearings, and much much
more.
For more information on
their products, please call them at 418-268-3527,
or you can visit their website at www.vohl.ca
Gilles Drouin
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| MONTREAL
VIEWED BY GOURMET MAGAZINE
By pure coincidence, this
is a month where we basically make ourselves
the ambassadors for our province of Quebec (read
Nancy’s article about the St-Patrick’s
Day parade).
I was reading the local
paper one typical cold Montreal February morning
when my attention was directed towards a specific
article. This article was about the famous American
cooking magazine, GOURMET, that had issued a
special edition about Montreal and Quebec. The
GOURMET delegation spent weeks in Montreal,
and the magazine reveals the many restaurants,
food markets and other distinctive leisure sites
and accommodations that they discovered during
their stay, and that make this small area of
North America such a unique place to visit.
After reading the article,
I thought I’d get my own copy of the magazine.
So I called several bookstores, and after being
told that this particular issue was sold out
here and even in the US, my research took me
to the Comag Marketing Group in NJ. This is
when I explained my story and the purpose of
my call to a wonderful and helpful lady by the
name of Alisa Seaton. She was nice enough to
offer to send me a few copies of GOURMET’s
March issue that I am now impatiently waiting
for as I’m writing these lines. I’ll
be more than happy to share any of the articles
with our readers (and I will stay on the legal
side of things Alisa …don’t worry).
In the mean time, the
following link will take you to one of the stories
found in the mentioned edition of GOURMET magazine.
http://www.epicurious.com/gourmet/menus/montreal
Make sure you take a look
at their ‘’GREAT GOURMET MONTREAL
GETAWAY’’ contest and win a chance
to experience Montreal’s restaurants and
ambience first hand. If you win, we’ll
even throw in the special Bleutec warehouse
tour… for free!!
Good luck!
Frederic Lagace |
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Monthly
Cartoon
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Happy Easter
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