As this new year gets underway, it’s hard to say what is more exciting for those of us in the industrial wire rope business: an economy with energy that seems to promise strong potential for the upcoming year, or an NFL playoff season that has included a match-up of two teams that each boast suspension bridges in their backyards, relatively speaking. Collectively, the cable on those bridges at the straits of the Golden Gate and of Mackinac could wrap around Earth at the equator nearly five times! Together they boast 120,000 miles of “rope”, made from galvanized steel wire. 2024 Construction Ou ..read more

A one-page article in the August 2023 issue of Wire Rope News, “Righting the Oklahoma” launched a quest: to figure out how many miles of industrial rope are used at sea.  “Righting the Oklahoma” is an interesting account of the history of the battleship USS Oklahoma, as the second oldest ship at Pearl Harbor. It was so severely damaged in the attack that it sank and remained lodged in the muddy bottom of the harbor, with only the hull exposed. It was March of 1943 before salvage efforts could begin. Engineers deployed ropes and twenty-one synchronized winches to parbuckle the USS Oklahoma ..read more

A lot of weightlifting goes on behind the scenes of major sporting venues, and it’s not just the athletes hoisting the weights. For fans and athletes alike, it’s hard to beat the thrill of the energy inside the stadium. It’s a force that binds team spirit and motivates competitive peak performance. The stadiums set the stage for epic experiences. Yet probably little thought is given in the stands or on the field to the behind the scenes, pre-game, pre-season, pre-opening day construction of what becomes a destination that has its own energy and almost seems to be alive in its own right. Howeve ..read more

If you’ve been in the business of transporting heavy cargo for any length of time, you likely know that a chain binder, also referred to as a load binder, is a tool used to anchor large cargo loads for transport. As a device that applies tension to the chains that tie-down cargo, chain binders play an important role in securement systems. As common as the chain binder may be in the day-to-day work of loading and moving cargo, it’s a relatively new addition to the transportation “toolkit”. One of the earliest applications for a US patent on a load binder was submitted less than 100 years ago in ..read more

Industrial Wire Rope began purchasing Crosby Shackles in the 1950’s. It’s somewhat of an understatement to say this is a relationship that is enduring! Quality and safety have always been top priorities for both Industrial Wire Rope and American Scaffolding, and as you may have seen in earlier blog posts, our commitment to these values is something that lives through continuous improvement. As advancements develop in equipment, tools and materials offering enhanced quality and safety features, we are quick to adopt them. It’s a philosophy and approach to doing business that Crosby shares, and ..read more

It’s rare for a week to go by here at Industrial Wire Rope without discussions about tensile strength or working load limit. We take it for granted that most people in our industry know there is a difference in the meaning of these terms. Yet, these terms and others are highly interrelated, and we thought an overview of them on one page might be a helpful reference. For those who want to dive deeper into the definitions and how they apply on the job, we’re also providing links to sources with additional information. Tensile Strength Let’s start with Tensile Strength. As we described in a post ..read more

In their recent blog post, AMSCAF wrote about upgrades to their safety program. This got us thinking about the bigger picture of workplace safety. Among the many aspects of workplace safety is the fact of an aging work force and the drain of experience, expertise and knowledge associated with it. A peek at worker demographics available through the Bureau of Labor Statistics provides some benchmarks we think are notable. We looked at the age of construction workers and workers in related industries – ones with a propensity to be working with industrial wire rope in some capacity. Industry ..read more