Batteries Need Lots of Care

Taking care of your battery is important. So how can you do that? Keeping it clean and preventing corrosion are good places to start. You have to begin somewhere. Here are a few convenient, easy to use products that can be stored in your garage for when you need them.

First off we have our battery corrosion preventatives. These products seal out acid fumes, road salt, moisture and dirt. Pretty nifty, right? You don't want any of those things getting in and wrecking your battery. Our Original Red Aerosol formula sprays on red, making it easy for you to see where the protective coating is. Our Clear Silicone Sealant sprays on white, so you can also see where it is being sprayed, and seals out acid and water. There is also the QuickCote+, a brush on compound which also neutralizes acid. If you need something tiny to fit in a tool box or for on the go, our Protective Spray -- which also comes in a kit with our small Cleaner Spray -- does the job well.

If you are looking for a quick cleanup of your battery, we've got the product you need. Battery Cleaner offers foaming action, making it easy to clean. We also had a Battery Cleaner with an acid detector, so you know when acid is present. Do you want to neutralize any acid while you clean your battery? Our Battery Cleaner with acid neutralizer will do the trick, and comes in a convenient 1 oz. size, so it is easily storable for on the go.

If you don't have time, and need to quickly clean your battery terminals, we have our new Battery Terminal Wipes. These handy wipes are disposable, and offer our color changing formula, so you can see when acid is present and know when it has been neutralized.

If you are looking for an easy way to clean your battery, and want a product that is convenient to have around, these nifty products are the ones that work. After all, keeping your battery clean and protected makes for a better battery.

It's Hot Out There!

If you're reading this, chances are you're inside in a nicely air conditioned office or vehicle. I just got back from lunch and walking from the car to the entrance of Quick Cable actually made my sweat glands work...A LOT! Checking the current high temps for today, you'll see pretty much most of the country is under some sort of heat advisory and that means batteries are working harder and are under more stress than they are on your average mild day. That means if you run a roadside service crew, your guys are out in this heat, changing batteries, working harder as well.

Map provided by www.weather.com

Are You Taking the Heat Seriously?

I decided to check the statistics on weather related fatalities to see how heat factored into all of this. I have to say, I was surprised to see HEAT was the number one cause for weather related fatalities in 2012. Even higher than hurricanes. Even higher than tornadoes. Heat is a serious issue, especially for those that work outside.

Statistics provide by http://www.nws.noaa.gov/om/hazstats.shtml

Resource to Beat the Heat

OSHA is a great resource for employers looking to prevent heat related injuries. Remember when an employee falls ill to the heat, it not only is unnecessary but it actually will cost you $$$ in workman's compensation, hospital expenses and even lost customers. Summer is a great opportunity to increase your revenue through the selling of batteries and battery accessories but remember, take the heat seriously.  

Richard Sosa

Video Producer/Blogger

Quick Cable Corporation

Summer Preparedness

Summer is the time to be outdoors. The sun is shining, the air is warm, and you want to get out there and enjoy it while you can. What are your favorite things to do during summer? Swimming or hiking? What about camping, fishing, and four-wheeling? Do you have an RV, a boat, or a four-wheeler of your own? If so, do you have what you need to take care of it? What would you do if your battery dies? Do you have the proper trailer wiring? Whatever your needs, we have a wide array of products that can help you out. Need a battery box to protect your battery? We have what you need, from standard to high performance. We even have a Sportsman battery box, which is ideal for hunting, fishing, boating, and RVs. The new, tougher material is impact resistant to -30˚ F and heat resistant to +200˚ F. It is also impervious to acid, gasoline, oil, and solvents. Find it at www.quickcable.com/products.php?pageId=192. Whatever your cable needs, we’ve got it. Need a trailer cable? It’s here. Need a golf cart cable? Yep, we’ve got that too. It’s always smart to keep some extra cable on hand too. Of course, if you can’t find the exact cable you want, we can make it for you. Check out www.QuickFigurator.com to design a custom cable. So, what do you do if you are out and the RV, boat, etc. battery dies? That’s easy! Make sure you have one of our Rescue jump packs with you! Our Automotive/Power Sport line is perfect for those four-wheelers. Our Heavy-Duty line is great for RVs and fishing boats. If you own a small plane, we even have the jump pack you need for that. An extra bonus of our Rescue Packs? Most of them come with a built 12V outlet, so you can plug in your electronics on the go. Find out more at www.quickcable.com/products.php?pageId=165. With electronic devices playing such a huge part in our everyday lives, many people prefer not to be cut off from them. Going camping and want to charge your phone or hair dryer? Our Rescue packs aren’t the only way to charge your devices; we also offer a selection of inverters, so you can convert your battery into an outlet. Pretty neat, huh? See what we have at www.quickcable.com/products.php?pageId=232. Don’t be afraid to get out there and have fun this summer, but make sure you have what you need to keep your things running and in good condition! Check out everything we can offer you at www.quickcable.com!

Safety is Job #1!

This week I spent most of my time shooting and editing an in-house safety training video for our manufacturing facility in Franksville, Wisconsin. I admit, it's not Iron Man 3, but I still get pretty excited about doing a big production like this.  I'm about half-a-day away from completing this video which will be shown to all new employees working at Quick Cable.  From personal protective equipment to safe lifting practices to working around forklifts to working in our die cast area, We cover a lot of areas of safety in only 10 minutes. Quick Cable is very safety conscious and is always looking to improve safety awareness in the workplace. 

Safety Not Just for Quick Cable

Though this video is a safety video for our plant, some of the points made (see below) actually can be applied to almost any manufacturing facility or battery related work place:

1. "Before entering the manufacturing facility, always wear proper clothing and protect yourself with the proper protective equipment.  Proper eye protection and steel toe shoes are required in the entire manufacturing area." This is common sense and could be applicable for anyone working around heavy batteries. Know your environment and use common sense.

2. "Certain areas within manufacturing such as the die cast area require additional Personal Protective Equipment such as hearing protection, long sleeve shirts , face shields and gloves." Face shields and gloves are definitely smart to have on whenever you are working in a high exposure battery environment. Quick Cable offers a variety of personal protective equipment from face shields to gloves to aprons. 

 
3. Safe Lifting Practices. One Group 24 size battery can easily weigh over 50 lbs and a Group 27 size battery can exceed 70 lbs. If working with batteries is your full-time job then you know that practicing safe lifting practices is critical to your safety and continued health.  According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, "More than one million workers suffer back injuries each year, and back injuries account for one of every five workplace injuries or illnesses. Further, one-fourth of all compensation indemnity claims involve back injuries, costing industry billions of dollars on top of the pain and suffering borne by employees." 

If you have to lift a battery  Quick Cable offers a variety of battery carriers to help safely transport them. So here are some quick pointers on safe lifting at work:

1. ·      Tuck in your chin to keep your back as straight as possible while lifting
2. ·      Lift with your legs
3. ·      Ask for help with heavy, awkward items.
4. ·      Don’t use your back muscles to do the lifting
5. ·      Don’t try to lift an item that is too heavy or awkward
6. ·      Don’t twist your body while carrying an object
7. ·      Don’t attempt team lifting without proper coordination

Battery Safety

We created a general battery safety video a few years back. Check it out. It may be something you can show to your battery crew as a refresher.



Job Opening at Quick Cable

Just an FYI: If you know anyone interested in working for a progressive, growing company, Quick Cable is looking for a Director of Global Suppy Chain. Click here to get the full job description. 

Well that's all I have today. Next week is a short week here at Quick Cable so this will be the last blog post before the holiday. Have a great 4th of July and be safe.

Richard Sosa
Video Producer/Blogger
Quick Cable Corporation

Who knew?

Finishing my first week as a marketing intern for the summer here at Quick Cable! I have to say, this place is even better than I expected! I don’t know what I was imagining when I took the job, but I was surprised to learn about all that Quick Cable offers. I knew we had a lot of products, but 6500? Wow! And we make them in-house! I have to admit, I was really impressed when I found that out. I got to tour the manufacturing facility, and actually got to see people making the products and putting everything together.




One thing I love about Quick Cable, which I did not realize when I took the job, is the care about meeting the needs of customers. Not only do they we have standard cataloged products, but we can custom design an order to meet the customer’s needs. How cool is that? Need more of one thing, but less of another? You can get it your way! I don’t know of too many companies who are willing to do that. We also have video training and fliers about the products. Pretty neat, I would say! We are even working on improving the experience for our customers in French-speaking Canada. One of my projects is working on translating material into French, and I am very excited about being able to contribute in that way.



It has been so much fun learning about all the types of products Quick Cable offers. We have everything you need to take care of your batteries! From cables to connectors to cases, we have you covered! It’s a one stop shop! We even have a line for connecting batteries to solar panels!



I am so excited to be working at Quick Cable this summer! The company is amazing, and I can’t wait to discover everything it offers! You should too!



Nicole Savage

Become an Engineer in 5 Minutes

Well not really but you can make engineer quality CAD drawings of cable assemblies with no training in less than five minutes with our QuickFigurator online application. That's big if custom cable is an important part of your business. Being able to provide an accurate, detailed drawing of a cable to your customers benefits you by removing any ambiguity in cable expectations and providing your cable techs the right information to assemble custom cable. Watch this tutorial to see how easy it is to make engineer quality drawings. Remember QuickFigurator is FREE to Quick Cable registered users.


Since QuickFigurator first was launched in 2010, we've seen our distributors and dealers using QuickFigurator to build and grow their custom cable business by regularly incorporating the web application into their processes. "It's just part of our process now. We get a call or email to build an order of custom cables and the first thing we do now is get it drawn up on the Quickfigurator."says one of our local distributors in the Milwaukee area.

One of the natural benefits of using QuickFigurator is its ability to make an impression. Gone are the days of sending your customer a hand drawn cable assembly by fax. QuickFigurator can give you email ready PDF's to send to your customers for verification. Our specs are are listed on the drawing so you and your customer can make sure you're both on the same page.

We know not every custom cable shop can afford to have an engineer on staff along with expensive CAD software. That's why we developed the QuickFigurator, to help you increase your business by providing your customers the quality they expect.

Go to www.quickcable.com today to learn more about QuickFigurator or call your account manager to find out how QuickFigurator can help you.

Richard Sosa
Video Producer/Blogger
Quick Cable Corporation

Schools Out!

School's out! School's out! Today is my daughters' last day of school. No more 3 hour long nights of homework. No more night after night of after-school activities and no more waking the kids up at 6 a.m. I don't know who is actually more happy, me or my kids? Summer is finally here! So as a celebration of summer beginning, I've included the anthem to end of the school year.


Time for summer fun!

Summer  is the season for road trips in my family. Every summer we hit the road for a 6 hour drive to the Wisconsin north woods. On other weekends, we'll take short 2 1/2 hour rides to my parents' mobile home or one of the many beautiful state parks Wisconsin has to offer. One thing I've never really paid attention to until I started working for Quick Cable is the battery. I don't mean just the battery but the battery and everything around it: cables, connectors and corrosion.

Family posing in Park Falls, Wisconsin and beautiful field just south of Park Falls

Once I started working for Quick Cable I learned all about connectors, conductivity, crimping, cable, heat shrink, corrosion, vibration, moisture, replacement ends.. you name it, I became educated on the science of battery connectors. So now every time I open the hood, it's just natural to first look at and around the battery to see what kind of condition it is in. Is there corrosion? Are the connectors tight around the posts? Are the cables securely attached to the connectors? You don't want to be in the middle of nowhere when your battery fails due to a poor connection. Believe me, I know. Even working here, it took our Landcrusier failing to start, with wife, kids and 2 very large, hairy dogs in the car on a hot 90° degree day to realize that a poor battery connector can ruin a picture perfect family vacation. 

So enjoy the summer! Go somewhere, do something new but don't forget to check your vehicle, especially the battery.

Richard Sosa

Video Producer/Blogger

Quick Cable Corporation

rsosa@quickcable.com