Caldwell recently increased in-stock inventory levels on more than 400 of the company’s best-selling items and has given the go-ahead for manufacturer representatives and inside sales teams to begin sharing details of the program with distributors.   “Our in-stock program makes us more efficient, smarter, and better prepared to serve customers than ever before because it forces us to focus on what matters—supporting distributors,” Stitt continued.    Stitt and his team have been working for more than a year to get manufacturing processes, product management protocols, sales reporting, distributor feedback loops, and warehouse space planning in top working order to support increased levels of on-the-shelf inventory, resulting in faster order turnaround, higher order fill rates, and stronger relationships with the below-the-hook distributor network.    The result was the list of more than 400 items that are in stock, ship within one business day, and ship for free—no additional shipping charges are added to the invoice.    “Our customer service team hears how important in-stock availability is on a daily basis. We know we win orders because we have more equipment on the shelf and are ready to ship. The fact that these items ship via standard ground for free is the icing on the cake,” added Jeff Ferchen, director of business development.    Why focus on increasing inventory levels when much of the manufacturing and construction segments are still worried about the possibility of a recession? Caldwell thinks the answer is obvious.    President Joe Biden’s infrastructure bill, signed into law in 2021, authorized funds for things like federal-aid highways and highway safety programs.   “That means more bridges being built, more water and sewer pipes being laid, and more highways being improved,” Stitt said. At the same time, he said Caldwell is seeing increased demand from offshore drilling, aerospace, and energy-related industries. “Certain industries are still enjoying significant growth due to pent up post-COVID demand, I think.”   To make the change possible, Stitt and the team looked at their entire operation. They made production processes more efficient with a dedication to Lean. They reviewed historical sales trends and seasonality data. They streamlined picking and shipping efforts.   “We know distributors don’t want to carry extra inventory, which adds cost to their business. So, they need to count on us to replenish quickly when they need to. We’ve set ourselves up to do just that,” Stitt said.   The bolstered inventory levels include below-the-hook lifters, such as lifting beams, coil grabs, sheet lifters; construction lifters, such as barrier grabs, pipe lifters; forklift attachments, such as fork booms, extensions, drum lifters; plus, Renfroe plate clamps and RUD lifting points.    The most popular Caldwell items on the bolstered in-stock list include select sizes of the Model 16 Economy Lifting Beam, Model 20 Low-Headroom Lifting Beam, Model 32 Adjustable Spreader Beam, Model 80H Dixon Coil Hook, and Model BEF Spreader Beam End Fittings, Model 416 Dura-Lite Composite Lifting Beam, Rig Release Remote Releasing Hooks as well as pipe picks / carriers, barrier grabs, beam clamps. Renfroe Models FR, SCPA, TLA, LPA and RUD ACP Turnado, VLBG, VWBG, ABA and others also made the cut.    

Caldwell partners with the RUD Group to unite their sales and marketing activities in North America for RUD material handling and lifting devices within a common organization. The RUD portfolio includes slings and lifting points for the most complex tasks for integration into almost any application.   A lifting point is the connection between the lifting gear and the load. It connects the load with the lifting gear both during lifting and rotation as well as during turning and movement of loads. Lifting points include ring lifting lugs, eyebolts, flanges, etc., that the sling is attached to by using hooks, shackles, or other connection elements.   ACP stands for automatic center point; the RUD ACP-Turnado’s lift shackle immediately turns in the load direction automatically when it is lifted, so it cannot remain in an incorrect position. Dangerous transverse loads and a sudden drop of the load are excluded, thanks to a unique spring mechanism.   With the relaunch, RUD has gone one step further in terms of working load limit (WLL). The smart ACP-Turnado lifting point is now available from M8 to M100 as well as ½” to 4", each with all the well-known advantages of the concept. This means that a suitable solution is now available for an even greater variety of applications, including extreme heavy-duty use.   The RUD ACP-Turnado Max (launched in April) brought to market M48, M52, M56 / UNC inch threads in size 2" and the Supermax, the M64, M72, M80, M90 and M100 / UNC inch threads in sizes 2 ½", 3", 3 ½" and 4". The family is now available with metric threads in diameters M8, M10, M12, M16, M20, M24, M30, M36, M42, M48, M52, M56, M64, M72, M80, M90 and M100 as well as with UNC inch threads in sizes ½", ?", ¾", 1", 1 ¼", 1 ½", 1 ¾", 2", 2 ½", 3", 3 ½" and 4".   A practical feature of Max and Supermax versions is the deflector disc, which makes the user’s work easier. It is equipped with an angle marking and thus enables a quick, simple assessment of the current stop angle. The disc also displays important information for the user such as the WLL specification in “t” and “lbs”, the design factors 4:1 and 5:1, as well as the torque moment. Thanks to this, the ACP-Turnado fulfils the requirements of the American standard ASME B30.26. Furthermore, wear lenses are installed at the critical points of the power transmission, making it easy to assess whether the lifting point has already reached discard maturity.   Smart Lifting Point   Robert Allen, outside sales manager for the RUD product line in the U.S. and Canada, said: “Since the ‘smart’ centric lifting point automatically turns into the correct load direction when the load is lifted, the lift bail cannot remain stationary, and a sudden drop of the load is not possible. The innovative spring mechanism is the actual heart of the ACP-Turnado. It provides its unique ‘intelligence’ and makes it a ‘smart’ lifting point.”   The RUD catalog covers products from solid chains to diverse screw variants and includes items that are manufactured for use in specific end-user markets.   Allen added: “RUD lifting points, like other products, have stood for top quality, ergonomics, and safety in lifting technology and load securing for more than 35 years. More than 700 tested boltable and weldable lifting point variants in load ranges up to 250 ton meet maximum requirements in all areas of application in combination with the unique variety of application of our ICE and VIP chain systems.”   As with smaller RUD ACP-Turnado lifting points, large versions have a universal bolt head with internal and external hexagon, which enables optimum handling. The bolt is captive, but still replaceable, which useful in many applications. In addition, there is an adapted thread length for each dimension instead of a standard thread length across several sizes.   Jürgen Grubmüller, marketing director at RUD, said: “This concept allows us to offer fully customized thread types, thread sizes as well as thread lengths even in smallest batch sizes. Even customized special threads or special lengths up to 300mm are possible; this means that each of the three designs…is optimally matched to a defined [WLL] range and individual requirements.”   RUD ACP-Turnado Max and Supermax will be in stock at Caldwell and ready for shipping within the U.S. by the end of July.