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STORM PRODUCTS CHANGE ITS CORPORATE STRATEGY
When the telecommunications industry began to struggle in 2001, Storm Products recognized the implications and changed its corporate strategy. The company began to seek innovative ways to create additional revenue streams through new products and new product outlets. The welding cable industry filled part of that void. “Since the crash of the telecommunications industry, we’ve taken a very aggressive approach to diversifying our business by identifying additional markets for our products,” said Mark Charlesworth, inside sales manager and engineer for Storm Products. Identifying, testing, and working with unfamiliar materials was one of the steps the company took in its drive to build a more diverse customer base. Storm Products’ engineers were given permission to open new doors for additional business opportunities by experimenting with new materials like Alcryn® Melt-Processible Rubber™ from Advanced Polymer Alloys, a division of Ferro Corporation (Wilmington, Del.). “We had only limited experience in extruding welding cable jackets,” Charlesworth said. “But when a potential customer asked whether we could do it or not, we said yes, and then found a way to get it done.” Storm Products recognized that nearly all cable and wire extruders in the U.S. have yielded the market to overseas companies. The reason, Charlesworth said, is the cost. The offshore companies can do it less expensively. Recognizing it could not compete with the overseas market on price alone, Storm Products wanted to create a competitive market advantage by offering an alternative to rubber and its complicated processing requirements. The company’s first step in implementing the new strategy was to run sample lots of extruded welding cable jackets using Alcryn MPR. “One of our customers was demanding a cable jacket that felt like rubber and was able to withstand the tough conditions so prevalent in the welding industry, including excessive heat and frequent abrasion against surfaces like concrete and brick,” said Charlesworth. “Alcryn MPR had the physical property performance and the processing characteristics we needed, so we suggested the material to them.” Alcryn MPR offers durability, superior flexibility, and a soft-touch feel that rivals natural rubber. Additionally, it processes easily on conventional plastics equipment, providing cost savings. Alcryn MPR does not require compounding or pre-drying before processing. Since parts made from Alcryn require no vulcanization, scrap can be recycled repeatedly with no detrimental effect on performance or appearance. When compared to soft TPEs and many vulcanized rubbers, Alcryn MPR outperforms in durability and resistance to abrasion, chemicals, oils, fuels, and long-term exposure to sunlight and other aspects of weathering. Storm Products’ customer listened to the outlined options and gave the company the go-ahead to extrude test product using Alcryn 2080NC with a flame-retardant additive as the jacket. The cable features a 0.080-inch thick Alcryn jacket that surrounds and protects the core elements, including the 30 to 35 conductors running through the cable. The entire construction, including the Alcryn MPR jacket, the copper wires, PVC insulation, a braided shield, conductors, and a second heat-protective layer, ranges from one-half inch to one inch in diameter. “Once we created the samples, the customer beat the cables up pretty bad to make sure the jackets were up to the challenge,” Charlesworth said. “But that’s what happens in the welding industry.” Still, despite the harsh treatment, including exposure to the sparks generated by the welding process, oils, and other materials, plus repeated rolling and unrolling of the cable, the cable jackets withstood the test. “Under those types of conditions, with sparks flying, few cables will last very long. But the cable made with Alcryn is obviously doing a better job than what our customer was previously using,” Charlesworth said, adding that the customer has continued to place orders for welding cables in lengths of 2,500 to 3,000 feet for use on mobile welding trucks. The end-user is experiencing two advantages, Charlesworth said. First, the cables last longer, meaning the customer has to order cable less frequently. Typically, if rubber is torn or slit, the hole tends to expand, hastening the demise of the cable. Alcryn MPR does not expand if it is torn, eliminating the problem. Second, the cable jackets help to create a safer work environment. “Providing more reliable cable jackets really is an important safety issue,” Charlesworth said. “Because the cable has less chance of breaking down, individual welders don’t have to keep looking over their shoulders to make sure the cable is holding up. “We tried a number of other materials and none met our customer’s specific needs for flexibility, resistance to heat, and rubber similarity better than Alcryn MPR,” Charlesworth said.
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