How to reduce wiring costs and improve panel efficiencies eGuide

Building with lean processes isn't enough; there are big savings in the way the control panel is designed. This eGuide from Control Engineering Magazine walks you through, step by step, how to design and build a leaner control panel. Learn about calculating short circuit current ratings, interactive tools to ease control panel design, trends in terminal blocks, and other tips and tricks for designing control panels. Many people who thoroughly grasp the concept of lean manufacturing still find it challenging to apply these principles when it comes to electrical controls. In the featured white paper: "The secret ingredients in lean electrical controls", specific and simple ways are discussed in which you can leverage lean methodologies to remove waste from your electrical control panels. Read More

DUH !

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I can’t believe that it’s taken me this long to really take notice of adhesive cable tie mounting bases, but it’s finally happened. Driven by desperation to hide the cords that are ruining the view behind a new LCD TV, I’ve been wracking my brain to come up with the right combination of products for my particular predicament. First I was going to stick a piece of raceway down the back of the TV stand, but I needed cables to enter and exit at different points along the way, so that idea was nixed. Then, I thought that stick-on cord clips would make sense, until I realized that, considering how many cables there are, I’d need to use an awful lot of them. Add to that the fact that they’re adhesive-backed, and in the end, I’d just rather not have a whole slew of things glued to the back of my furniture.

And then I came across cable tie bases. I haven’t looked at or even thought about them in a long time, but suddenly, they’re beginning to look like the perfect solution. One pack of these babies and a few black cable ties, and I’ll be ready to rock. I know I said that I was trying to avoid adhesives, but 3 of these (tops) will do the trick, and in the event that I ever decide not to use them anymore, they’re so low-profile that they’ll be practically invisible. That, and they’re super cheap, which will maybe help to offset the… ummmmmmm… flat screen TV purchase.

Here’s how they work: cable tie mounting bases are basically little, almost-flat plastic squares, with spaces through which you can thread a cable tie. On the back, there’s peel-and-stick adhesive. You just peel off the backing, stick the bases wherever they’re needed, and then thread a cable tie through each one. Then just gather a few cords together, cinch them into the cable tie, and the whole bundle is kept in place. Too easy! These may not look too exciting, but they definitely qualify as Good Stuff.

Vacation Time !

Have you ever noticed that you seem to think better while on vacation ? I must say, so far this vacation has been pretty good. My wife and I decided at the last minute to fly to Tampa, Florida rather than drive. Delta airlines gets a bad rap (usually well deserved), but this flight went a bit better than I expected. I was one of the lucky ones to get in a line for the "naked picture" machine. Our son travels quite a bit, so we had followed his advice to empty everything from our pockets, take our shoes off, take our belts off, laptop, Ipad and phone out and in the bins. It was a bit of a let down, just stand there and then hear the TSA folks say, "go ahead". Well, after re-dressing we got to the boarding gate and got on the plane. This was a much larger plane than we are used to, so we had a lot more leg room and it was not cramped at all. Yes, you are still herded around like cattle, but the Delta folks are doing their best not to make you feel like a piece of meat. Our plane was filled to capacity, but everyone co-operated and off we went. Smooth flight, got to the gate on time, went to the rental car place. Here is where is starts to break down.....one customer service person and a very long line. Now, this is not my idea of fun. I stood in line for about 1 hour, then the lady that finally waited on me tried to upsell me on every little thing. Just give me my car, quit trying to sell me insurance, gap insurance, upgraded car, etc. After we finally got all the paperwork signed (note: by now you will sign anything, just to get your car and get on the road). We then dragged our carry-on bags, suitcases, and two sets of golf clubs into the garage where you get your own car. Well, the lot was empty....no cars !! I finally found someone who proceeded to upgrade me to a "luxury" car at no charge. At least he knew the meaning of the words "customer service". This is now 2 hours later than when we landed, and still had over 100 miles to drive. Well, fast forward and we are here and enjoying ourselves. I have been able to observe the customer service in quite a few places, (mostly restaurants), and if they need business, they go out of their way to help you. If they don't, they don't seem to care. We at Midwest Equipment care about our customer service, we are always trying to improve. We do make mistakes sometimes, but we will fix the problem to your satisfaction. Just give us a try, whether business is good or bad, we offer the same level of service to you. We want you to be thrilled with your purchase, your delivery, and the price. If you have questions, please contact our inside customer service team and we will answer any question you might have about any of our products.

Thank you for your business.

Vote With Your Wallet

We here at Midwest Equipment believe that people vote with their wallet. If you get bad service, or a bad product, most of us do not speak up and tell someone who can fix the problem, we just don't go back to that store, website, service provider, etc. Now, I am not saying that every product or every service will be perfect on the first go-round, things happen that are out of our control What is under our direct control is our attitude towards solving the problem.
I would really appreciate it if you experience any sort of a problem with Midwest Equipment, whether it is on this website, dealing with our customer service staff, our products, pricing, or whatever is a problem to you, that you contact us right away and give us a chance to make it right. We will do it. Promise. If you don't receive the type of service or product that you expect from Midwest Equipment, just email me: Marty at midwestequipment.com. I will personally take care of it for you.

We want you to walk away from our products and services with a feeling of satisfaction. Let's face it, you are not going to walk away with a feeling of euphoria, I mean, we sell electrical parts......not very exciting. But, we can make sure that you are happy with your purchase, and the way we treated you so you will come back. We work very hard at that, so please allow us a chance to earn your business, you won't regret it.

Thanks for taking the time to read this, and again, email me personally at marty at midwestequipment.com if I can do anything for you.

Sincerely,

Marty Garneret
President