Don't Miss the SEMA and AAPEX Shows This Year

Trade shows are a great way to show people what your company can offer and to find out what others can offer you. Coming up at the beginning of November, Las Vegas will be home to two of the largest automotive-based shows, AAPEX and SEMA, bringing in the second largest group of attendees to Las Vegas.

The SEMA show runs November 4 through November 7 at the Las Vegas Convention Center. This is a great place to find specialty automotive products, and it draws a large crowd. Last year’s numbers were greater than 60,000. From the exhibition floor to product demonstrations to educational seminars to celebrity appearances, this show is a great way to get your products out there, find products you need, and just network in general.

The AAPEX show runs November 3 through November 6 at the Sands Expo.  Educational conference sessions run the 3^rd through the 6^th, and the exhibit hall is open the 4^th through the 6^th.  With more than 39,000 buyers and 130,000 professionals set to attend, this is a great place to come to help grow your business. In addition to the conferences, webinars, and exhibit floor, be sure to check out the celebrity appearances and press conferences.

Quick Cable will be exhibiting again at AAPEX, so come visit us upstairs in the Tool & Equipment Section, booth #952. We hope to see you there!

Between the two shows, Las Vegas is sure to have what you are looking for this November. It’s not too late to register. Come, learn, look, and find what you need to help your business continue to grow. We hope to see you there!

The Portable Power Pack You Need

Portable power packs are handy tools. Quick Cable sells power packs to cover just about every type of vehicle, from cars to light trucks to semis and tractors. We even offer some with aero connections. Whatever your power pack need, Quick Cable has you covered.

With 100% copper cables, ergonomic design and materials, our Rescue Portable Power Packs are a great choice. They offer an array of different features, so you can choose the best option to fit what you want. Do you want something lightweight to jumpstart your car? Our iStart model is lightweight and easy to use. Perhaps you want something with a little more power, something that warns you about reverse polarity and comes equipped with LED clamp lights and a place to store a few tools. Our new Rescue 1000 model gives you that. Do you need enough power to start construction equipment and extra long cables and a voltmeter? You can look at our wheeled Rescue 5000 and 6000 models for those.

Engineered better. Built better. That’s our Rescue Portable Power Packs motto. Our high quality power packs are designed to meet your needs and to deliver top performance. Whatever you are looking for, Quick Cable has you covered.

Our New Universal Crimping Dies

It’s a big deal when we change what we’re doing across the board with crimping dies for our manual and pneumatic cable crimpers. After all, we've been selling the same dies for years, so what’s up?

There are a lot more cable types now than there used to be. And the cable manufacturers are squeezing the specs right down to the minimum in a lot of cases because copper can be a volatile commodity—its price can fluctuate wildly. So cable wire diameter is not as consistent as it used to be and that makes cable crimping more of a challenge.

The barrel diameter of a terminal has to be large enough to accept cable at the maximum diameter for a particular gauge size, but as that cable size varies among types and manufacturers, the same crimping force doesn't produce the same clamping force, and the risk is the cable can pull out of the terminal.

To help make sure that you can get quality crimps on all terminals and cable types, our engineering team developed a new series of crimping dies that have enough setting possibilities to handle virtually any crimping challenge you’re likely to come across.

Our universal die set consists of two A dies and two B dies, so you can match A and A, A and B or B and B to get 78 possible crimp settings. That allows us to create specs for cast copper, MagnaLug, MAX lug and even contacts for SB housings using the same set of dies.

An obvious benefit is you don’t need a dedicated MAX lug crimper any more.

Along with the new universal dies comes a new quick-change system for manual crimpers and pneumatic crimpers to make it much easier to change die sets—you don’t need special tools, and it just takes seconds.

Best of all, the universal dies and quick change pins for manual crimpers are an easy retrofit to existing crimpers.

It's Not Just Battery Cable Any More

Remember the good old days when you had a simple choice between battery cable and welding cable? Battery cable was the stiffer stuff that had the hard plastic PVC jacket that was resistant to solvents and abrasion. Welding cable had that rubber insulation and was fine wire so it really flexed well in cold weather. Battery cable was great for under the hood and welding cable made great booster cables.

Well now there are more kinds of battery cable and you have choices to make.

The first step was marine battery cable. It is a fine stranded cable similar to welding cable, and like welding cable is rated to 600V while basic battery cable is only rated to 60V. Most importantly, the copper strands are tin plated for added corrosion resistance in marine environments.

In the latest Quick Cable catalog, there are two new battery cable choices: SGX High Temperature Rated Battery Cable and Fine Stranded Battery Cable that performs well at low temperatures. Both are fine stranded cables rated to 600V.

The insulator on SGX cable is a polyolefin and it is designed for underhood temperatures up to 257°.

The insulator on Fine Stranded Battery Cable is SGT thermoplastic rubber; the cable is very flexible like welding cable but more resistant to solvents and abrasion. It would be a good choice for making up booster cables—it stays flexible to -50°C.

Things may not be as simple as they used to be, but you have more choices for the right cable in any environment.

Jump Packs in Summer?

Well, it looks like spring is finally making an appearance after a long, cold, hard winter. 

Time to put away those booster cables and portable power packs, right? Not so fast!

Conventional wisdom might tell you that jump starting is a winter sport, and most of the time it actually is, but Rescue Portable Power Packs are more than everyday jump starting tools.

Of course, as you walk out to the garden shed to start that riding mower for its first cut, you might find it handy to have a Rescue 900 in hand.

Or better yet, a Rescue 950 with a built-in compressor that can air up those tires after a long cold spell.

Folks tell us the Rescue 1060 with the compressor and the 120V power inverter is the perfect thing to bring along on camping trips. You can make short work of air mattresses, beach balls, etc. and you can charge your cell phones, tablets and even run a TV if you have to for the kids.

Desert racers love the 1060 because they can jump their ATV’s and they can lower their tire pressure for sand running and bring them back up for street use.

Even our economical iStart is a great camping companion with its flashlight, starting cables and power outlet.

So even though summer is on its way, don’t pull those portable power packs off the shelf. Maybe you just need a new sign to guide your customers!

Train the Delivery Drivers

If your business is battery retail, then this blog is for you.

Your delivery driver could be a sales person. All you have to do is to teach him (or her) to ask a simple question when they drop off or pick up batteries:

“What are you doing about battery accessories?”

Battery installers have to get their accessories somewhere. Why not from you? 

If they are buying batteries, they need replacement cables and connectors. They need shrink tube. They need terminal protectors, split loom, battery cleaner and protector spray, nitrile gloves—actually, just pick up a Quick Cable catalog and you’ll see what they need.

We know a lot of battery distributors who do 10% or more of their annual battery volume in accessories. That can be a pretty significant number, and the margin potential can’t be ignored.

Your delivery driver has a relationship that your counter people may not have—knowing the people at the other end well—and not actually being a sales person. So the driver has an advantage that can uncover opportunities.

Teach your drivers to ask questions, and everyone on your staff can help grow the business.

Professional Grade, Professional Selection

Often we hear people talking about professional grade products and professional selection or range. But what does that really mean?

To us at Quick Cable it means having the right product for the right application. Period.

Consider the ordinary battery clamp style terminal. It fits over a battery post; has a bolt and a nut to secure it tightly. What does a professional selection of battery clamp terminals look like?

We make them in copper die cast material, straight terminals, left and right elbows, flags, with accessory take-offs, with add-on connector studs and with locking stud tabs. Then we make them as Fusion connectors with solder and flux built in so you can solder them fast—in straight, elbow and flag styles. 

And then we make the compression connectors that you can fit to a cable with a screwdriver and a wrench, in straight, elbow and flag. And after that we have the lead and brass automotive terminals, often sold on cards, and we have the lead-free OEM style terminals like what you see on new vehicles. AND we have marine terminals, military terminals, terminals with quick disconnects, terminals with three-way clamps, and adaptor terminals of several types.

All together we have 247 terminals that are just battery clamps, including all the gauges and styles.

If you’re going to call your product line professional, you better have the solutions that professionals need.

We do. And we are.

Put Your Workbench to Work

Two questions:

1. Have you ever told a customer “No” when he (or she) came in looking for a specific starter or battery cable—like a starter cable for a 1962 John Deere tractor?

2. Do you have an old workbench not doing anything in the back room except providing horizontal storage?

If you answered “Yes” to the first question, then you probably know you have missed out on some sales and the potential to get some good customers and repeat business over the years.

If you answered “Yes” to the second, then a lot of the solution is at hand. (We can help, even if the answer is “No.”

There is no reason to turn away OEM starter and battery cable business when you can easily make up a perfect replacement. Have you looked at what the OEM’s charge for those things? With a relatively modest investment in some cable, connectors and a crimping tool you can make up perfect replacement cables, cash in on the profits, and make your customers happy. 
We have lots of ideas on easy ways to get started, including starter kits tailored to various industries and customers—all the basic connectors you would need for automotive, ag machinery, truck and bus, etc.

Check out our catalog and call your account manager. 

And if you need a work bench, we have those, too.

Copper Clad Aluminum--The True Story

Things aren't always what they seem to be.

Take jumper cables, for example. If you go shopping for jumper cables you'll find prices all over the place. But they all look pretty much the same. So what's up? 

There are some really inexpensive jumper cables out there. And they look pretty good at first glance, in fact they look pretty much like the expensive ones. But, they don’t weigh as much, and that’s the first clue. 

If you look closely you’ll see they are made of aluminum cable.

But it doesn’t look like aluminum. It looks like regular copper wire. 

You might be able to look in the clamps where the wire is cut and see the ends. You'll see shiny aluminum in the center of the wire. It may have been painted with copper paint or actually plated with copper, but it’s still aluminum wire. 

Is someone trying to pull a fast one on you, making it look like copper? Maybe, maybe not. 

Aluminum tends to oxidize pretty easily, so copper coating helps prevent that. That's a good reason to plate it. But they also may be trying to fool the customer.

What’s wrong with aluminum cable? 

Actually, there’s nothing really wrong with it. It just doesn’t have the same current carrying capacity as copper in the same gauge sizes. 

To get roughly close to copper’s current capacity, you’d have to go up at least one gauge size in aluminum cable. So to get the starting current capacity of 8 gauge copper booster cables you would have to use 6 gauge aluminum cables; to match 2 gauge copper cables you might have to go all the way to 1/0 in aluminum, depending on temperature.

But that isn’t how aluminum cables are packaged. They are packed to look just like copper in the same gauge sizes. That's the way they keep the price down. Unfortunately, the price and the performance are both down when they do that.

Here’s the critical consideration: When it’s cold out, and you’re trying to jump start a car with a dead battery, you want to get all the power possible from the good battery to the weak one. You’re not trying to limit the available power, you’re trying to maximize it.

The good news is Rescue booster cables from Quick Cable are copper. So you get the power you need when you need it. No games, no tricks.

To learn more about copper and aluminum ampacity, click here.

B The Crimper

It’s your moment of Zen.

It’s that moment that you realize that you don’t have to take your hammer out and beat that battery connector into submission.

You don’t have to settle for the flattened, squashed look.

You don’t have to hand a customer a cable that looks like it was made in a shed on an anvil.

You can sell a top quality replacement battery cable that looks just like the one that came from the factory.

You can charge the customer a fair price without guilt.

We call the tool a B-Crimper because from the end, the finished crimp kind of looks like a capital B. Part number 4265M on our catalog page 77.

With it, you can put OEM lead-free connectors on cables just like the big boys do.

Only you don’t have to pay the big boys.

You can pay yourself.

You CAN Always Get What You Want

Especially if you want a fully-customized kit of battery cable clamps, lugs, heat shrink and terminal protectors.

If you look at the opening pages of the Quick Cable catalog you see lots of kits—kits we developed over the years working with customers in all sorts of industries, trying to get to some optimal selections of products they use and need.

We even have a customizable field service kit that you can configure.

But we still can’t please everyone. Some people love the idea of kits but they balk at buying them because they don’t want to be stuck with a bunch of parts they don’t use.

Enter the Quick Cable KitFigurator. Building on our popular QuickFigurator and our Containment System Configurator, our KitFigurator is an online application that allows you to create a custom kit including the terminals, protectors, shrink wrap, etc. that you need. Pick the drawer you want (12 slot, 24 slot, or customizable) and set it up the way you want it. We’ll ship it to you, we’ll store your info online so you can reorder kits or components to restock them, and we’ll give you a pdf of the kit layout for you to print out and include with it.

Buy what you need, and need what you buy. KitFigurator, by Quick Cable.

A Robust Video Library

Lots of companies talk about added value. We actually do something about it.

A good example is our QuickHowTo website.

Our vision for this site was to create the industry’s most comprehensive resource for information and training on topics and products important to the battery service and DC power industries. With more than 120 video training programs, technical data sheets, product instruction manuals, and a growing library of white papers and related resources, QuickHowTo provides ready access to technical, safety and compliance information that is available 24/7.

All of this information is free for you to use and share. We believe that information on selecting and using products in these industries is critical to delivering proper performance and working safely. 
Our videos are designed to be short and focused so they can be used for individual study and review, and as programs for group training.

Feel free to use these resources and be sure to come back often and see what’s new. This site is dynamic and continually updated and reviewed for the most current information on products, applications, and support materials.

What’s New at QuickHowTo.com?

* B-crimping Tool 
* Ratcheting 500 MCM Cutter
* How to Crimp a Battery Terminal
* Replacement Ends Preassembled Battery Cables
* Rescue Battery Chargers

A Baker’s Dozen Ideas for Impulse Purchases

Here’s the challenge:  What do you put up in the front of your store, by the checkout area, to try to get impulse purchases? We’re not talking about gum or candy—something that your customers might really need and want, and something that costs enough to put a few bucks in your pocket.

That little area of real estate is extremely valuable, and it’s worth putting some thought into it. 

And it’s worth changing it around frequently so people see new things when they come in.

We kicked this around and came up with 13 ideas to generate some extra cash flow before the customer leaves the building. 

1. Flashlights. Our rechargeable LED flashlight/worklight is lightweight, bright, and rechargeable. 604200.
2. Heat guns. We have the big hair dryer sized ones (4271 and 4272) but the average guy might really want a flameless butane model (4273). Better than a torch!
3. Inverters. Might not be on everyone’s wish list, but if you put it out on the counter, who knows what will happen? Start with the 150 watt model 303203 that plugs into a cigarette lighter.
4. Battery maintenance kit. Cleaner, protector, terminal brush, washers and a wet nap. 120145.
5.  iStart portable power pack. Low price point, lots of features, fits on the counter. 604049.
6. Battery box. Quick Cable battery boxes are great, locking lids, easy to mount. Put one up where people can see how much better they are. Group 24 model 120171.
7. Digital voltmeter. Everybody needs one. The price is right. 303118.
8. Battery tool set. These are really nice battery tools, pro quality. 120290.
9. Battery carrier. We have strap versions, scissors types and the old standard side lift. 120154.
10. Terminal caps. The customer is buying a battery, more than likely. Sell the caps. 5723.
11. Fuse kit. Who doesn’t need a fuse kit? And who remembers to buy one? 509115.
12. Carded terminals. Add “-2007U” to these part numbers:  5566, 5577, 5588.
13. Spool of primary wire. You probably stock this someplace. Put a spool out where people can remember to buy some. 230200.

Free Engineer. Click Here.

How cool would that be, to have free engineering any time you needed it? Just go to a website and click and get something designed that you can actually use, that’s safe and meets industry standards.

Not only is it a cool idea, it’s real. Quick Cable has two websites that can engineer custom products for you as you click your way along. 

The first and best known is quickfigurator.com, our online custom cable configuration tool. You spec the cable gauge, length, types of connectors, heat shrink, terminal protectors—whatever you need—and the website automatically builds a blueprint and bill of materials. Best of all it won’t let you do anything stupid—like putting the wrong gauge connector on a cable. Or the wrong size heat shrink.

You can hand the blueprint over to your guy in the back room that builds cables or you can get a quote right away from us, and we’ll build it for you.

Our newest automated engineer can build a battery acid containment system for your battery rack and spec out all the components for you. All you have to do is enter the size of the rack and whether you want it made out of PVC or stainless steel. Our containment configurator does all the rest, calculating the rails, clips, liner, absorbing pillows and socks—everything you need.

Point and click engineering for the masses. Only at Quickcable.com.

What Professional Battery Accessories Mean to You

Differentiation.

If you’re a battery distributor, you face a lot of obstacles, not the least of which is all the mass merchandisers trying to take your business. The marts, depots, and supplies are all in the game selling batteries and accessories and making your life tough. Same goes for all those auto supply chain stores.

How do you fight back? Better products, better service, better selection, and skilled installers. You sell batteries and products—brands—that the mass market guys don’t have access to.
That means you can tell a product story and a quality story about added value and performance. 

And you can justify your price.

It works for your batteries and it works for your accessories. There is no point in selling the same cables, cleaners, protectors, battery boxes and other accessories that your customers can walk into a mass merchandiser and find cheaper. There is no advantage in getting into a price war that you can’t win.

Quick Cable makes an exclusive, pro-quality line of products you can’t get at the marts, the depots and the supplies. These products help set you apart from your competitors.

It’s all about differentiation. And profitability.

Want more information about how Quick Cable battery accessories can put more money in your pocket? Call your account manager today. Don’t have an account manager? Call our customer service at 800-558-8667 and we’ll get one for you.

Apps for Your Smart Phones and Tablets

One thing we work hard on at Quick Cable is giving you access to information about our products, services, and technical experience in ways that you find useful. We’re continually working on our websites, www.quickcable.com, www.quickhowto.com and www.quickfigurator.com to make sure that they are up to date and have the information you need.

Along that line we have also put a lot of effort into getting our catalog information organized so you can get product information quickly and easily. Our new flip-page catalog on our website features an improved interface so it works as well on a smart phone or tablet as it does on a computer.

All of that is great, but what happens when you don’t have the internet or your cell phone signal drops out or you’re somewhere where you get barely 1G service?

The answer: Our new apps for Android and iOS.

We’re happy to introduce our new catalog app for both platforms—available at Google Play and iTunes, and if you download the data with it, you have a Quick Cable catalog with you no matter where you go. Does one of your customers have a question about battery boxes or quick replacement ends? You can answer that!

Currently the apps feature our catalog in both English and Spanish, and a French version will be added in the not-too-distant future.

We do appreciate your business and we continue to look for ways to make it easier and faster to work with Quick Cable.

Something for Every First Responder

How would you like a product that you can sell to equip every police car and every fire truck, and every other first responder?

Here is just the thing: The Rescue 510195 portable battery acid spill kit.

Inside the bright yellow battery box is enough acid neutralizer to take care of ½ gallon of battery acid, a brush and pan to sweep it up, safety goggles and gloves to protect you, hazmat pads, a battery bag and a carrier. Plus there is emergency eye wash solution.

So, what’s the big deal?

Anytime there is a car accident, there is the potential to crack or rupture the battery. Or the batteries. And batteries can be anywhere in today’s cars and trucks—under seats, in the trunk, under the hood. If the battery is cracked and acid leaks onto the pavement, you have a hazmat situation along with everything else you have to deal with.

This kit makes it easy, safe, and fast to take care of any hazardous acid and clear the area.
If you have sales people calling on municipal garages, order in a couple of these kits and train them to do a show and tell session. 

It’s a big opportunity.

Crazy Cool Cutter

We go to a lot of trade shows, meet lots of nice people and have a good time talking about our new products, how our customers are doing—all that normal stuff. But every once in a while something happens that really stands out.

Like what happened at a recent show. We were showing off some new products that we thought were really cool, like our new B-crimper (we’ll talk about that soon, but you can check it out here) and our new 500 MCM telescoping handle ratcheting cutter.

I was holding the cutter and showing how the handles adjust (see the video here) and all of a sudden a guy watching and listening goes “WOAH! Let me see that.” And he grabs it out of my hand.

Now he’s walking up and down the aisle, working the ratchet, moving the handles in and out. “This is bitchin’” he says. He’s showing it to everyone around him. “I need one of these. Check how this works.” He’s going on and on, and so excited he’s got everyone into it.

Working at the booth you do the best you can to tell a product story, but there’s nothing like someone who goes completely crazy and freaks out about how cool your stuff is.

Now, you may not freak out, but check the cutter out anyway. See for yourself.

Get Max Dollars Per Square Foot

One of the ways to measure how well your business is doing is to calculate how many sales dollars you get per square foot of your building per year. Big retailers live and die by this number—but it is helpful even to small and medium sized battery shops, automotive supply shops and even ag dealers. If you’re one of those, these thoughts are for you.

Many times, retail floor space in a small shop is at a premium. Everything you put out takes up space and you have to be aware of how much profit you can generate. We were thinking about those things for you when we created three different retail rack displays that only require a 3.9 square foot space.

Each of these displays is based on our basic Rescue Portable Power Pack rack, but the components were designed for three different markets. Our heavy-duty ag display, 990134-001, features some workhorse power packs, booster cables and other components that sell well in that market. Sell the inventory once and you can generate over $2,000 in profits or over $500 per square foot.

Our automotive rack (990136-001) is about half the cost but still would generate over $250 per square foot in just one inventory turn. Our battery retailer rack (990137-001) is a little bit higher and cost and potential. But the point is, most stores would sell the rack components two or even three times in a season.

 The big boys say a good target for any store is $300 per square foot per year. With the right stuff and the right display, you could beat that by two or three times. Want more information? Call your Quick Cable account manager and get the details.

Auto Auction Depends on Rescue Packs

This is the kind of story we love to tell:

At the Metro Auto Auction in Lewisville, Texas, just outside of Dallas, they bring in 1,000 to 1,400 cars every week for the Tuesday morning auctions. It takes quite a crew to move these cars around, clean them up, stage them and get them ready for delivery. When you’re moving that many cars and offloading transporters, a lot of them have trouble starting—and that’s where Quick Cable Rescue Portable Power Packs come in.

According to Ed Bowers, the auction started using Rescue 950’s and 1060’s in the vans they run to move drivers around—four Econoline E-350’s and 1 Chrysler Town and Country. “We use the Rescue 950’s and 1060’s in the vans when we go to the dealerships to pick up cars and trucks coming to the auction. We use them all day and return them to the transportation department for recharging each night,” Ed said.

“Outside the main building, we have the Operations Department where we have the lot equipment for the auction. We previously rented out jump boxes from an outside vendor. After using the Rescue units in the vans, I made a presentation to purchase our own lot units from Quick Cable. We started out with one Rescue 4000 test unit to see how it compared to the rented units. It proved to be a better unit for starting the cars on the lot plus the lighter weight made it easier for the ladies to use it.”

“We now have 9 Rescue 4000 units for use on the auction lot. Hope to get a few Rescue 4050 units in early 2014,” Ed explained.