May 26, 2008

TORONTO, ON, May 26, 2008 -- Not surprisingly, manufacturers the world over are trying to cut workplace injuries and manufacturing downtime in an ongoing effort to stay cost-competitive.

According to Darcor Casters, a leading global provider of caster solutions, what most manufacturers overlook is that both the health and safety of their people and the productivity of their plants and warehouses can be significantly improved--effectively and inexpensively-- just by using better rolling, quieter, more durable casters.

That is the specific message Darcor is taking to hundreds of companies in North America, Europe, and Asia through unique one-hour webinars.  Darcor began offering these interactive, web-based seminars in mid-2007 and uses them effectively to demonstrate the connection between lower caster rolling resistance and fewer overexertion injuries and how better built, longer lasting casters reduce maintenance and manufacturing downtime.

The focus of the webinars is on how a relatively small outlay on Darcor casters can generate a major—and immediate—return on investment (the Darcor Return on Investment (DROI)).   It’s a message that resonates with engineers, managers, ergonomists and health and safety specialists.

“Industry feedback tells us that our webinars are very effective at creating awareness of both the broad opportunity and the nuts and bolts of specifying or custom designing the right caster for every application,” says Rob Hilborn, president, Darcor Casters “More importantly, the information we are conveying is definitely helping to reduce injuries in the workplace, which makes us feel very good.”

“Because of the current turmoil and the intense pursuit of cost savings in the automotive industry, our first webinars were aimed solely at automotive plants.  But we are currently expanding the program to include a variety of other manufacturers,” Hilborn adds.

Given the stakes, it is not surprising that the webinars have been popular.  Research done by Liberty Mutual in 2003 shows that industry spent—directly or indirectly—nearly $70 billion that year on serious overexertion injuries.  Another study, done by Advanced Technology Services, shows that every minute a production line is down—an occurrence that can easily result from caster failure—costs more than $20,000 on average.  Experience in the field also proves that a better workplace—one with fewer injuries and less noise—serves to help attract and retain good people.

Hilborn proudly points out that webinar participants as far away as Asia are willing to get up in the middle of the night to be part of the webinar program.  “And once they hear and see the conclusive proof that our casters have proven to cut both injuries and downtime in a big way, many are spurred to action.”

Darcor Chief Marketing Officer Kirk Tobias describes a recent example.  “After attending a Darcor webinar, a company’s representatives approached us about specifying a custom caster solution.  It is now in place and working to reduce workplace injuries every day.”

Numbers of virtual attendees are kept low, so that there is ample time for discussion of issues and response to specific questions, Tobias emphasizes.

“The feedback has been excellent. The evidence we present through videotape and real-time presentations is incontrovertible: our casters keep people off the injury list and keep production rolling because they are designed and built to start, roll and swivel much more easily and because they are virtually maintenance-free and bulletproof.” says Tobias. “And, given that Darcor casters are a relatively inexpensive fix with a rapid payback, we can count on a very receptive audience.”

About Darcor Limited
For more than 75 years, Darcor has been the world leader in high performance caster solutions—helping companies and organizations in every industry to keep things rolling more easily, safely, quietly, and reliably. With its head office and manufacturing facility in Etobicoke, Ontario, Darcor exports its casters to top automotive, medical and industrial companies in 20 countries around the world.  For more information, visit www.darcor.com.

Interested in being part of a Darcor webinar?  Sign up at www.darcor.com/technical/webinar

Media contact:
Anne Adamson
Paradigm Public Relations
416-203-2223
aadamson@paradigmpr.ca

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