Posted by Steve O'Dea on Wed, Jun 09, 2010 @ 10:53 AM
In W.P. Kinsella's book "Field of Dreams" which was later made a movie starring Kevin Costner, one of the famous lines was, "If you build it, they will come." This saying was the driving force for the protagonist, Roy, to build his baseball park in the middle of an Iowa cornfield. It was a pretty good movie and a better book. Isn't that usually the case? Well, here at Pacer, we have been slowly building our website and our product offering in hopes that people will visit in droves. We have a long way to go but we are making progress. Our newest section contains pre-made battery cable assemblies.
As soon as we turned the "Open" sign on in this battery cable store we began to get more calls and orders for folks needing to upgrade or update their cables on their boats, cars, trucks and forklifts. As one of our newer customers commented to me, "this is exactly what I was looking for. No more excess pieces, no more failed crimps." That pretty much sums it up.
One of our new customers had us make a battery cable for his 1949 Ford Woody. He was so excited about getting exactly what he was looking for without making a compromise. He also told me that he was going to the "World of Woody Rally" in which he could not wait to tell all of his fellow "Woody" enthusiasts about where he purchased his battery cables.
On a typical day, our battery cable department makes anywhere from 400-800 battery cable assemblies. Often times they are fulfilling orders for any of our OEM customers for their custom assemblies. They are also ensuring that we have adequate stock of the battery cables listed on the site. One of the advantages our cables have is superior flexibility. We use very fine stranded copper conductors in our cable, and that flexibility helps when installing in a variety of spaces.
When we get an opportunity to make a custom assembly for a special antique vehicle or for a race car, the guys get excited. Perhaps it is the typical monotony of doing the same thing over again and when they get to do something different and know about where it will go, they enjoy the possibilities. I guess we all do in a way. When much of your market is recreation or industrial applications, the little kid inside still wants to build in the sandbox, but with full sized earth movers. Or with antique cars, race cars, all terrain vehicles or, well you get the idea. Remember we don't get to ride too many snowmobiles here in Florida. We can however make the battery cables for them so that they perform at their best up north.
Posted by Sheila Knott on Tue, Dec 15, 2009 @ 08:18 AM
By: Steve O'Dea - Pacer Solutions Expert
What a w
eek in Orlando, FL for the 2009 PRI Show! This was our second year being an exhibitor at this show and we made major progress from one year to the next. Most exhibitors we spoke to indicated that there would be fewer attendees than in years past. While this might have been the case, and understandably so, we had more people interested in Pacer Group and our product offering. Hundreds of people came to meet us at our booth and ask us about various product solutions. Many were excited about our website www.PacerGroup.net and many came to pick up our new catalog. While many professionals stated that they were buying most of their electrical products "from here & there," we feel confident that they will now turn to us to be their electrical resource. When they are buying wire and parts from a discount auto store, and then they see the savings and knowledgeable technical help that we, as the wire manufacturer, can provide, they are ecstatic. We always love the look on a new prospect's face when they ask, "you actually make the wire?" You can see the calculations in their head, tallying up the savings. Couple that fact with our electrical engineers ready to help with technical issues, Pacer moves from supplier to solutions provider.
We would like to thank the Jeff Gordon Foundation for their generous donation of the Jeff Gordon prize pack. He is a polarizing figure in racing to be sure. One thing that cannot be disputed about Jeff Gordon (other than his success) is that his Foundation is a wonderful and worthwhile cause. The man gives back and that is something we should all consider. Our success at the trade show means Pacer will be donating $250 to the Jeff Gordon Foundation.
We would also like to thank everyone who came by to say "Hi." When we are back at the office on the telephones with our customers we forget how nice it is to see them face to face. To put a face with the voice helps Pacer strengthen the relationships that are the foundation of our business and our customer service practice. The feedback you provide us helps Pacer to learn how we can help professional racers improve, simplify and excel in the electrical and wiring that is mission critical in your vehicles.
Finally, we would like to thank all those involved with the PRI show in making it a top notch event. There were many PRI professionals, including Susannah, who were walking around and greeting the exhibitors and asking for feedback and improvement ideas. When companies spend a lot of money to display a booth at a trade show it is refreshing to know that the organizing company is looking out for our best interest.
Pacer will definitely plan on doing the PRI show in 2010, for the third year and we look forward to helping all the racing professionals that were kind enough to come to see us and sign up for our website. Stay tuned as we will be announcing the winners of our Pacer PRI Give-away prizes! We are definitely lucky to be involved with fun industries like marine and professional racing. At our hotel there was an accounting conference going on during the days of the show and I thought to myself; they have no idea of the fun they are missing over at the convention center!
CLICK HERE to see some of the photos we took while at the show!
Posted by Sheila Knott on Thu, Nov 12, 2009 @ 09:57 AM
By Steve O'Dea - Pacer Solutions Expert
Pacer Group has traditionally worked with original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) in the marine market. This experience in working to help our customers overcome common occurring problems and improve the product they sell to the consumer. These problems include, but are not limited to heavy vibrations, harsh environments and fragile connections. Unfortunately the electrical systems are considered mission critical to keeping the vessel working. This part most people take for granted until something goes wrong.
When we began working with industries outside of the marine market, we found many of the same challenges. The Performance Racing Industry experts have to deal with heavy vibrations in their eternal quest to get more speed out of their vehicles. Most segments of their industry also deal with harsh environments. The race across the Mojave Desert would be considered a harsh environment, as would the Bonneville Salt Flats. Everyone in The Performance Racing Industry spends a great deal of resources, money and time to go faster. The last thing they want to happen is to watch all of that work go down the drain because of a faulty terminal connection on a simple part that failed. No one takes comfort in "Oh well, we'll get them next week."
Snowmobiles, stock cars, mud racers, ATV's, open wheel, go-carts, powerboats, trailers, drifter cars, material handlers and more, all use terminals for connecting to switches and breakers in their electrical systems. Unfortunately, at some point a so called "expert" told many of the OEMs and repair guys that solder was the best solution. The reason this solution is not recommended by Pacer is that it creates a solid and brittle point at the end of the wire or wires. The heat of the solder melts into the soft copper stranding and, instead of having a flexible high stranded wire; you are left with a solid and unforgiving point where the terminal meets the wire; arguably the location most prone to heavy vibration and failure. The solution is using heat shrink terminals.
Heat shrink terminals with epoxy are insulated and offer much more durability than nylon or vinyl insulated terminals. OEMs and repair experts alike have used non insulated terminals and then applied heat shrink to them to finish the crimp and they have the right idea. To save even more time, inventory money and space, move to terminals with heat shrink already applied. This process eliminates at least one step while achieving the same results, if not better. Crimp the terminals properly on the wire using a crimping tool specifically designed for heat shrink terminals. Next, heat the insulation with a heat tool. This will cause the insulation to shrink around the wire and a very tiny bit of epoxy to ooze out and finish the seal like a tiny bead of caulk. This creates a water tight seal that can stand up in heavy vibration.
If you have read the blog posts here, you might already know that I like my clichés and truisms. Those who do not learn from their past mistakes are doomed to repeat them. Fortunately, Pacer has learned from past mistakes and now you are not doomed to repeat them. Let us know if you have any questions or suggestions for future blog posts. Sometimes what we do everyday as a routine can help you overcome a challenge in your work - and vice versa. Sharing our findings and collaborating with each other will only make us all improve our products or service. Also, if you will be attending the PRI 2009 trade show in Orlando in December, please come and visit us at booth # 1142.