Industrial Bridges

“The mission says why you do what you do, not the means by which you do it.” – Peter Drucker

In our day-to-day business as manufacturers, resellers, marketers, accountants or whatever titles we hold, we forget to stop and reflect. Why are we doing what we’re doing? Is it purely bottom-line economics? Or are we looking to firmly establish our careers? Or are we motivated to achieve something beyond just money and career? In the daily grind of things, it’s easy to sometimes forget that the main purpose of any business is to provide a certain set of products or services that can fulfill the unique needs of a certain set of customers. If our customers didn’t have a need that we couldn’t fulfill with our products or services, we wouldn’t have a business, or goals, or a mission statement. In fact, it is good to re-visit those goals and mission statements as often as possible to remember the big picture:

• Are our customers happy with our service or product?
• Are we satisfying their ever-changing needs?
• Are we evolving with those changing needs?

The only constant is change and most days it’s easy to forget the big picture because we have so many small moving parts to deal with on a daily basis.

Peter Drucker – the management guru of the 21st century, invented modern day management, as we know it. For all his fame and fortune, the man left behind a simple legacy wrapped up in a world of knowledge.  If we don’t have time to read his various books or articles, we can definitely take time out of our busy schedules to answer 5 basic questions:

1. What is our mission?
2. Who is our customer?
3. What does the customer value?
4. What are our results?
5. What is our plan?

The questions are simple, but by forcing ourselves to re-examine our assumptions, we can focus on why we are doing what we are doing, and how to do it better.

Bluff Manufacturing’s mission statement asserts that Bluff Manufacturing will strive for superior partnering in all channels to fully understand our customers’ challenges and provide innovative solutions that make us the ‘Go-To Company’ in the material handing industry.

Our customers are our distributors and our end-users. Our customers value high-quality, secure docking solutions that can match their unique needs and requirements. Our plan is to constantly aspire to understand our customers’ needs and to create products that surpass safety standards while meeting these needs. Bluff Manufacturing has worked to closely match results with its company objectives. But in order to continue that, it’s important to keep asking these five questions. As Drucker puts it, “Suppliers and especially manufacturers have market power because they have information about a product or a service that the customer does not and cannot have, and does not need if he can trust the brand. This explains the profitability of brands.” Here’s to profitability in American manufacturing and creating trust-worthy brands.

The 25th Southeast Recycling Conference & Trade Show – SERC – was in sunny Destin, Florida at the Hilton Sandestin Beach Golf Resort & Spa held between March 11 – 14, 2012. Two of our lucky employees got to attend this wonderful show at a fantastic location and this blog is a summary of their account of the show.

To begin with, this is a great four day event linking industry leaders and recycling officials, offering focused educational sessions, the latest recycling products, equipment and services and exciting networking opportunities all at an economical rate.

Where does Bluff Manufacturing fit into all this excitement? A substantial percentage of Bluff’s customer base originates from the recycling industry. The recycling industry has various material handling needs and Bluff Manufacturing provides unique solutions to match this industry’s requirements.

Some of our customers in the recycling industry face the common problem of inadequate amount of dock space or no dock at all. Those without a ramp commented that unloading a trailer without a dock or ramp was hard work, time consuming, and hazardous.  At the Bluff booth, the team highlighted the Bluff Portable Yard Ramp using a new video showing the Bluff Portable Yard Ramp in use at a paper recycling facility. The video along with a miniature replica of the 36’ ramp created buzz and excitement and enthusiasm for the solution. Our team was also able to engage with a customer and help him find an optimal solution to extend the life of his existing ramp (which was at least 15 years old).

Bluff also introduced our new Tuff Guard Safety Rails at SERC 2012! The recycling process / operation involves heavy forklift traffic in recycling plants. This creates a critical need for safety measures to protect personnel, products, and property.  The Bluff Tuff Guard Safety Rails provides the safety barriers that recycling plants need.

With over 600 attendees and 80 exhibitors (Bluff being one of them), this was a great trading and networking event. Key note speaker Dr. Leonard Coldwell motivated an already enthused audience when he reminded them that “we are all born champions” and “that we determine our own health and happiness – it all starts with believing in oneself.”

All in all, this networking event was truly productive and our team gained a lot of information from this event while spreading the word about Bluff’s products and solutions. On a more social note, looks like our postings on SERC’s Facebook page earned us a few fans that arrived at our booth to claim their prize – a Bluff jacket! See you at SERC 2013 and don’t forget to recycle!

We’d love to have zero claims on all our shipments that go out. But in the event we do have some claims, here’s how we can all work together to either reduce the number of claims or recover the damages.

Last Friday, one of our employees that works with Con-way met with one of their representatives to go over a few details regarding damaged shipment. The damaged shipments were BLS products. This is what she discovered:

In 2010, we had 2,789 shipments with Con-way. In 2011, we had 5,640 shipments with Con-way – a 50% increase! In 2010 and 2011, we had filed 25 claims with Con-way, 20 were paid for, and 15 were declined. The 15 that were declined was because customers had not accurately signed the Bill of Lading (B.O.L.) – and did not mark whether the goods were short, damaged, lost-in-transit, etc.

But considering the sheer number of shipments we have sent via Con-way, our freight claims are very minimal. In fact, we average a 0.9 ratio on shipments that are damaged, lost in transit, short, etc.  Freight carriers try not to exceed a ratio of 0.9 on freight claims. This means, Con-way does a pretty good job for Bluff!

However, our goal at Bluff Manufacturing is to have zero claims, or to reduce the number of claims even further. If there are unavoidable circumstances where a small number of claims do arise, we would like to be able to recover the money. In order for us to achieve this, we need to work together as one team – our distributors and customers, our logistics partner – Con-way, and our employees at Bluff.

How can you help as employees to better package our products? The Bluff employee took diligent measures to prevent further damages by asking the Con-way representative to assess the products in question and see if he had any recommendations on how to better ship or package the product or what could possibly be done at the Con-way terminals to help prevent damaged products. That was a first good step. The second step is to follow some of the representative’s useful suggestions. One great tip was to label shipments to be handled with care. The shipping department will start adding these stickers to any BLS orders and large crash guard orders shipping via Con-way.

How did Con-way help us reduce our claims or better help us recover our money in case of claims? The Con-way representative was happy with Bluff’s packaging. The only suggestion he had was for the shipments to have clearly marked labels like – “Do Not Double-Stack” or “Handle With Care” or “Fragile.” He even gave us some of the stickers to use.

Con-way also went out of its way to add a note to all of our DR’s (Delivery Receipt) so customers do not forget to accurately make a note on the delivery receipt if products arrive damaged, short, or are lost-in-transit. This is the note you can expect to see under ‘Description of Articles and Marks’ – CAREFULLY INSPECT THE CONDITION OF SHIPMENT AT TIME OF DELIVERY AND MAKE ANY NECESSARY NOTATIONS.

How can you help as distributors and customers when taking delivery of our products? In order for Bluff to claim any damages, our customers and distributors must inspect the product carefully upon delivery, sign the DR (Delivery Receipt), and accurately notify Con-way if articles are damaged, short, or lost-in-transit.

These are simple, short steps to take – but the cost savings to us are tremendous, and when we save, you save as well. Here’s to zero claims or better claiming our damages. And thanks to Con-way for being such a great partner to us!

February is the month of love and relationships; but when the calendar turns to March we still have to nurture our relationships if we want them to be healthy all year long.   All of our relationships need care if they are to be strong and productive – even the business ones at work. For this blog, let’s focus on a relationship very critical to the nature of our business – one between the manufacturer and distributor. This is a relationship if nurtured and built on trust and communication, can become a successful mechanism for competent and confident selling.

In order to create a high-performance team and a competitive supply chain, there needs to be a free flow of information and education between both parties. Creating this free flow of information boosts morale for both the manufacturer and the distributor. There is much to learn from each other. Manufacturers provide the education on products, which helps increase the confidence of distributors when selling, and distributors provide critical customer feedback and field information that greatly benefits manufacturers when designing and manufacturing products. The art of great communication is not just what is said, but also, what is heard. So, sharing critical information between these two teams is vital to successful selling. Together, they can make a strong, winning team.

There are several other factors that can contribute to creating a winning team. A recent newsletter article highlighted some key points in developing a great team based on certain factors.

For instance, believe in your product. That is the best way to start off with a great manufacturer-distributor connection. If you believe in your product, it’s easy for the distributor to believe in it, and then it’s easy for the customer to believe in it as well. Basically, lead by example.

Building great relationships – no matter what kind of relationship – is based on a healthy dose of trust and fairness. As manufacturers, we need to be fair and non-partial with all distributors and equally supportive of all their needs. And distributors need to show the same kind of support to a manufacturer’s products as well.

Another factor for success is good training. We talked about communication. But training is a step beyond just basic communication. In the manufacturing world, training requires the manufacturer to thoroughly coach distributors on all aspects of the product – features, benefits, application, use, accessories, related products, and more. Imparting selling and marketing strategies and keeping distributors updated with current specials and promotions is generally good business practice.

This type of checklist for the manufacturer helps optimize performance.

• Create great quality products
• Provide top-notch education and training to distributors
• Take their input into consideration
• Consistently monitor results to ensure goals are being met

When morale and confidence increase, competency takes a step up as well. Here’s to striking the right balance with our distributors and creating winning teams! Happy Selling!

Bluff Manufacturing’s Spring Loaded Dock Plate

A PATENTLY Clear Solution to Your Material Handling Challenges

Bluff Manufacturing is pleased to announce the receipt of a USPTO Patent on our Spring Loaded (SL) Aluminum Dock Plate.  Bluff is truly innovative in its problem solving and provides a patently clear solution to your unique material handling challenges!

If your docks are frequently serviced by fleets of comparable vehicles and if the materials are loaded or unloaded by hand truck, dolly or other manual methods, your application is the perfect candidate for Bluff’s  Spring Loaded (SL) Dock Plate.  The SL Plate’s differentiating feature is its ability to be easily secured to the top of your dock, stored vertically and immediately available for use without the hassles of retrieval and/or placement. 

Increase the operational efficiency and safety of your dock with a plate that is always in place and is always ready to use:

• Reduce downtime in hunting for “misplaced” plate
• Avoid  board damage from improper placement and retrieval
• Enhance  dock safety by protecting against dock run off
• Increase efficiency

Fitted with a pair of spring loaded attachments, the diamond deck aluminum SL Plate can be lifted using less than 5 pounds of pressure and raised to the vertical position for storage.  SL Plates are custom built for your unique dock needs taking into account plate size, bend specifications and spring weight.  Call our helpful Customer Service now to receive a quick quote at 800.433.2212!

SL Plate with non-skid tape and hinge covers

Earthquakes are a terrifying possibility in areas with high seismic activity. The destruction of property, land, and most importantly, human lives drives us to take into careful consideration all standards required to protect our buildings and structures from these terrible tremors and shakes.

When you know you live in an area of high seismic activity, you want to know that you’re on solid ground even when the earth is shaking! Much like buildings that have strict codes and standards in earthquake-prone zones, mezzanines have special requirements as well. And it’s very important to consider these factors when making a decision about your mezzanines and stairways.

Bluff Manufacturing takes your safety into consideration when designing and manufacturing mezzanines for your building. If you are in a “seismic zone,” Bluff’s engineering department knows how to make your mezzanine safe. We have resources that define such necessary data through the United States Geological Survey organization based on the project’s address alone. The only parameter we may need from our customer is what Occupancy Category the mezzanine system will apply to. For instance, “Buildings and other structures that represent a low hazard to human life in the event of failure, …” is a Category I. While “Buildings and other structures with potential to cause a substantial economic impact and/or mass disruption of day-to-day civilian life in the event of a failure” is a Category III. Category III would be facilities such as power generation, wastewater treatment, telecommunication, and the like. This occupancy category translates into an importance factor (I), which can be applied in determining the Seismic Response Coefficient (C_s).

We may also determine a site class – something that can be easily defined by a subsoil investigation either by a material testing firm local to the project site or historical document relating to such an investigation. For mezzanine systems this parameter can be taken from that assigned to the building itself.

Finally, Seismic Design Category is determined based on the Occupancy Category and geographical location. But Bluff can already determine this piece of information for you based on all the information previously collected.

Safety is at the very epicenter of our business and Bluff Manufacturing works with customers located in all kinds of seismic zones to provide them with stable mezzanines built to stand on shaky grounds. We help our customers configure their mezzanine frame – a simple hand sketch often helps us outline the Seismic Force-Resisting System (SFRS) and the lateral support required. Whether your mezzanine frame is a cross bracing, knee bracing, or moment frame, we at Bluff Manufacturing, are committed to keeping you on solid ground.

Moment Frame

Knee Braced

Cross Braced

Guard: To keep safe from harm or danger. A simple phrase, but it’s one that carries a lot of weight and responsibility. Bluff’s Tuff Guard says it all – this safety rail is manufactured with 1/2” thick ASTM A36 steel to protect and prevent loss and injury. This is the kind of product you want in your warehouse when the stakes are high and protecting your property and employees is your top priority.

We’re introducing one of our top products in this week’s blog – Bluff’s Tuff Guard Safety Rail. So what makes the Tuff Guard so special? Consider some of these facts and you will get all soft on our Tuff Guard Safety Rail!

• The Tuff Guard Safety Rail is manufactured with 4” x 4” x 3/16” structural steel square tubing posts for mounting posts

• Plastic insert caps act as mounting post closure and enhance the appearance of the safety rail

• Solid hardware for rail attachment includes 2 bolts per side (4 bolts per rail) with Rail-to-post “thru-bolt” connection

• Formed 10 gauge steel rails in lengths up to 12’ to eliminate the need for higher cost posts

• Standard post heights are 18” and 42”

• 8” square base plates manufactured with ½” thick ASTM A36 steel. Hardware includes four 5/8” wedge anchors for concrete mounting

Tuff Guard Safety Railing Features:

• We’ve hidden our bolt fasteners behind the rail for a finished and cleaner look

• We’ve ensured ease of installation and reduced our freight costs

• But here’s our star feature: with proper installation, The Tuff Guard Safety Railing can withstand impacts of up to a 10,000-pound load at 6 mph!!!

Federal standards for Safety Barrier testing requires our safety rails to pass the crash test with an impact f 10,000 pounds (forklift truck) traveling at 4 miles per hour. But Bluff Manufacturing has been manufacturing quality material handling products for several years and we know that in busy docking areas, speed of forklift operations often exceeds the 4 mph limit. That’s why we increased our safety crash standard to 6 miles per hour. And even with the increased speed, Bluff’s Tuff Guard exceeded the crash test expectations with minimal rail deflection. We weren’t kidding when we christened our safety rail as the Tuff Guard! We know our customers are always looking to us to provide the kind of quality they have come to rely upon. This is why we design and manufacture products you can always trust will exceed your expectations. When you buy Bluff’s Tuff Guard Safety Rail, you never have to worry about the safety of your plant personnel or the costs associated with employee injury, machinery down time, insurance claims, and building repairs due to accidental collisions. Bluff’s Tuff Guard Safety Rail puts your mind at ease.

What does this mean for you? The modifications made to our Tuff Guard Safety Rail have effectively decreased the weight of the product, the cost of the product, and the rail installation time. Not only do you have a safer, lighter, and sturdier Tuff Guard Safety Rail, you now have a manageable bottom-line! If you’ve got our Tuff Guard installed properly, you don’t have to worry about “tough luck” when operating your forklifts and navigating precarious turns.

Bluff's Tuff Guard Safety Rail

A nice, long, restful weekend awaits us! Whether you are spending it with family and friends carving up a deliciously cooked bird, or hiking through the rain forests in Costa Rica, or spending it at home just relaxing, catching up on personal projects or reading a good book, this is a much welcome break! A break away from business and the daily grind to spend time with family, friends, or even a little “me-time” to enjoy the pleasures that life has to offer. And the best part is, it’s a time we can give thanks for a much-deserved break! One that is hard earned for the work put in throughout the year!

So before I shut down, unwind, and prepare for the long weekend, I would like to say “Thank you” to all our wonderful distributors, associates, employees, and customers! We are truly grateful for the opportunity to work with you. We’ve had a great year and we couldn’t have done it without you! Bluff Manufacturing wishes you a restful, safe, and fun-filled weekend. We hope you enjoy the time off with your friends, family, and good food!

Talking of good food, here’s a great Thanksgiving recipe from foodnetwork.com for any holiday potluck – Emerilized Green Bean Casserole – a new twist on a traditional side dish. This is an intermediate level, 4-star recipe from the man himself – Emeril Lagasse! Happy Holidays and let no calorie go unconsumed! What are you doing this Thanksgiving weekend? Tell us your plans… we’d love to hear them!

Even though the economy remains “sluggish” at best, Bluff Manufacturing can’t really complain. We’ve had a good year so far and look to continuing that upward trend in the last quarter of 2011.

At Bluff Manufacturing, we have been able to report good, strong growth especially in these times. There are constant fears driven by concerns over the still-slow-moving economy, political & policy uncertainty in Washington, and the ongoing unemployment crisis. In spite or these woes, the American Manufacturing Sector is still moving in an encouraging direction. And so are companies like Bluff Manufacturing. Bluff continues to maintain it’s positive trends as we continue to meet the needs of our customers and we continue to add more people to our team.

Steel and aluminum prices might increase in the 4^th quarter as the price of raw materials increase putting a slight damper on manufacturing. But according to the October 2011 Manufacturing ISM (Institute of Supply Management) Report On Business, economic activity in the manufacturing sector expanded in October, 2011 for the 27^th consecutive month, and the overall economy grew for the 29^th consecutive month. Out of the 18 manufacturing industries, 8 have reported growth in October 2011: Computer & Electronic Products, Petroleum & Coal Products, Food, Beverage & Tobacco Products, Nonmetallic Mineral Products, Primary Metals, Fabricated Metal Products, Paper Products; and Machinery. The five manufacturing industries reporting growth in new export orders in October are: Plastics & Rubber Products, Fabricated Metal Products, Miscellaneous Manufacturing, Computer & Electronic Products, and Chemical Products.

Another recent development to consider is the growth in aircraft manufacturing. With airlines always looking for ways to reduce overhead costs, manufacturing has received a lot of attention from the c-level executives looking to reduce fuel consumption by manufacturing sleeker and slimmer-bodied aircrafts. Increase in the order of such airplanes equals increase in aluminum production. Therefore, the lead-time for manufacturing aluminum has also increased.

In the Fabricated Metal Products industry, the general consensus among survey takers was that “Business is very strong, both domestically and internationally.” Clearly, the Fabricated Metal Industry has come out a strong winner this year. We are truly grateful for that. As we continue to watch industry trends, we are confident we can keep up the positive growth trend at Bluff in the remaining two months of 2011.

Tune back in, and we’ll keep you updated for more manufacturing news.

Manufacturing

One among the many reasons why Bluff Manufacturing has been faring well in a still slow-moving economy is our commitment to networking and maintaining our presence at the many events and tradeshows around the country.

Networking has always been at the heart of Bluff’s business. It is Bluff’s loyal association of partners and distributors that are the driving force behind our success. Our network connects our customers with our products. At this year’s WERCouncil show, Bluff was represented by Sid and Cindy – two of Bluff’s best. With over 40 exhibitors and nearly 200 attendees, the 10th annual North Texas WERCouncil show (Warehousing Resource Council) on 12^th October 2011 in Grapevine, TX was a great success for Bluff Manufacturing. Like all good shows with great attendance, WERC brings us face to face with our network – our distribution partners, customers, and even our competitors. Attendees included Operations Managers, Process Improvement Specialists, Warehouse & Distribution Managers and Engineers looking for new technologies, products and services.  Bluff’s safety products (crash guard, rack guard, door guard) received a lot of attention.  The WERC gave us the opportunity to update our distributors, on new Bluff products, and learn how we can better meet their needs and the needs of their customers.

Sid and Cindy not only met up with old friends – but also made new ones. Some of our distributors learned about our mezzanine products for the first time and were excited at the prospect of offering it to their customers. The Bluff representatives also met new distributors who were enthusiastic to meet with them and learn about Bluff’s offerings.

Not only did we meet our distributors, but we also made a few new connections. Meeting the users of our products allows us to develop better solutions to their challenges and helps us to understand which of our distribution partners they would be best partnered with to purchase Bluff products. Bluff also discovered many new opportunities. Meeting several attendees that were working at major companies, Sid and Cindy learned that these attendees had been given the green signal to proceed with projects that had earlier been put on hold.

For instance, one company was looking for a solution to protect their racks from damages that could rack up significant repair expenses. Investing in protecting their assets made more sense than spending on costly repairs. Another company required a crash guard to protect a long aisle that had heavy forklift traffic. A major communications company had a problem on route deliveries because their customers did not have dock plates to facilitate unloading. They wanted to provide their delivery personnel with dock plates on the trucks but had not found one light enough for their employees to safely use.  When they saw the variety of solutions that Bluff has to offer and learned that we could design custom solutions, they were immediately interested in talking to Sid and learning more about Bluff. The Bluff team looks forward to working with these companies through our dealer network and outfitting them with unique solutions that solve all their docking and material handling problems.

The show’s highlight was the ingenious use of our mini-mezzanine, which we use to promote mezzanine products at different events. But at the WERCouncil show, the Convention Center dock door was too small to let our mezzanine pass through. So the Bluff team used their resourcefulness and with the approval of the event organizers, set up the demo-mezzanine outside of the main entrance. What better place to demo our not-so-mini-mezzanine than the show entrance? Who could miss a greeting banner hanging from our mezzanine asking guests to “Come up to Bluff”? Hope to see you at the next WERCouncil Show!