Author: Tracy Mikulec

Headquartered in downtown Charleston, Red7 is a full-service agency delivering a high-impact measured marketing approach to global business-to-business and business-to-consumer clients including niche action and adventure sport brands.

“To set these brand partners apart from their competitors, we build their business through continuous improvements. It’s winning market share for brands using a test-and-optimize strategy,” explains Jason Wilder, president and chief creative officer.

Red7 customizes its approach to include a formal process designed to uncover inefficiencies in a client’s marketing program and provide an ongoing system for improvement-based key performance data points. A crucial part of this process is delivering a monthly success report aimed at optimizing performance with detailed next steps.

This unique agency of digital strategists is located in the heart of downtown Charleston. “There is an exciting culture of innovation in our city today. As an integral part of this new digital corridor, we believe our business, which is based on continuous innovation, aligns well with the other local businesses focused on accelerating the tech economy of Charleston,” added Matthew Parker, executive vice president of strategy.

Red7 specializes in the area of business-to-business with a dedicated team focused on the manufacturing industry. Current industrial clients include SafeRack, ErectaStep, Atlatl, Agit Global and many others.

Red7 is a strategic, analytics-driven creative agency building global brands and delivering a rich customer experience by applying a method called measurable marketing. Headquartered in Charleston, SC, the agency partners with both business-to-business and business-to-consumer clients to drive measurable success across all digital and traditional channels.

For more information on building a successful brand, visit www.red7.agency.com, or visit our industrialized marketing blog.

Originally published on SouthStrandNews.com

While she was in town Wednesday, Gov. Nikki Haley visited the Saferack Manufacturing plant near Andrews. The plant is now expanding to double its size and will add at least 50 jobs. Haley told the employees after a tour of the facility that she was impressed with the work they do at the plant. “You are doing things here that are state-of-the art — things that you won’t see anywhere else,” Haley said.

“Our job is to keep you doing what you are doing. When a company like this is doing well it helps people see that South Carolina is a great place for industry and it helps us bring more companies to our state.” Doug Odum, production manager at the plant, said he was proud to welcome the governor. “I love the fact that Gov. Haley is willing to branch out into small towns and not just concentrate on big cities,” Odum said. “I have a lot of pride working for a company that is expanding and investing its capital back into the company. When a company like ours grows it creates interest in our community from other companies.”

To learn more, visit www.saferack.com.

Originally published on Grainnet.com

SafeRack, the world’s fastest-growing provider of stronger, safer and easier-to-handle truck loading-rack and fall-protection equipment, announced Aug. 18 that it has earned inclusion in the second annual Inc. 5000, Inc. magazine’s exclusive listing of the 5,000 fastest-growing private companies in the United States.

SafeRack, which was founded in 2003, is listed at No. 665.

Since 2005, when it had revenues of $4.8 million, the company has seen its revenues grow to $25.1 million in 2008, an increase of 417.5%.

SafeRack is also ranked 19th among the top 100 companies that fall in the Manufacturing category.

“It is quite an honor to be listed among the Inc. 5000, and one that we accept humbly,” said Rob Honeycutt, co-founder and president of SafeRack, LLC. “This is a tribute to all of our employees, as well as our customers who have helped make our products the top choice in loading-rack and fall-protection equipment. Now, we look forward to the challenge of improving our position before next year’s Inc. 5000 is announced.”

SafeRack’s rapid growth stems from its unmatched service and customer responsiveness, and cutting-edge equipment.

The company launched its latest G4 Gangway in 2008 and the response from customers has been overwhelming.

The G4 gangways are constructed using metal-stamping technology and a tool-and-die process to cut out pieces of aluminum, which are then bent into the required shape, eliminating the need for as many welds and creating a stronger, more durable gangway.

Other features of the G4 equipment include spring-loaded gangway and platform operation, slip-resistant tread on the stairs, powder-coated handrails and mid-rails, heavy-duty bumpers and four-rail design for maximum fall protection.

All of this combines to provide the safest gangway for loading and unloading operators in the numerous markets served by SafeRack.

The Inc. 5000 ranking is based on the revenue growth percentage since January 1, 2005.

To be eligible, a business must be generating operating revenue prior to 2005; have revenue of at least $200,000 in 2005, and revenue of at least $2 million in 2008.

Additionally, they must be U.S.-based, privately held, for-profit and independent, not subsidiaries or a division of other companies.

Despite the ongoing recession, aggregate revenue among the companies on the Inc. 5000 actually increased to $214 billion in 2008, up $29 billion, or 16%, from the previous year, with a median three-year growth rate of 126%.

Overall, the Inc. 5000 have been responsible for creating more than one million jobs since their founding, making the companies on the list the best example of the impact that private, fast-growing companies can have on the economy.

For more info, visit www.saferack.com

Originally published on ThomasNet.com

As the use of transloading-defined as the process of transferring a shipment from one mode of transportation to another-continues to increase, shippers who move liquid goods ranging from industrial chemicals to the increasingly popular renewable fuels have been looking for ways to quicken the transloading process while minimizing the risk that is inherent in liquid-handling. With this in mind, SafeRack, LLC, the leading provider of stronger, safer and easier-to-handle truck and railcar loading-rack and fall-protection equipment for the petroleum, biofuel, specialized chemical, food/pharmaceutical, cement and other industries, has developed its Mobile Transloading Unit.

Designed for fast, safe custody transfer of a wide variety of liquids, the Mobile Transloading Unit features a four-wheeled towable trailer for ease of operation. The unit was designed to incorporate two distinct sides, one created for use in truck transloading and the other for use in railcar transloading, with common transfer equipment-including hoses, filters, strainers, air eliminators, valves, sensors, overfill-prevention equipment, pumps, meters and emergency shut-off-located on the trailer beneath the transloading racks. When transloading needs to occur, the platform is wheeled between the truck and railcar. The truck side features grounding protection, overfill monitoring and metering of the custody transfer. The railcar aside allows options for unloading, as well as safe access to the hatch area of the railcar.

For an added level of operator safety while on top of the trucks and railcars, fall-protection safety cages are available on the gangways. However, a standard Mobile Transloading Unit is available without access platforms, gangways or fall-protection safety cages at a lower price. The transloading can be accomplished through easy-to-use loading arms or through hose-loading, while the unit’s grounding system integrates with the transloading process to only allow transfer to occur with a positive ground.

“Transloading is proving to be one of the more popular, and safest, forms of liquid custody transfer and we feel that our Mobile Transloading Unit will make this process even safer and more efficient,” explained Fred Harmon, Cofounder of SafeRack, LLC. “It has been designed to meet the highest quality standards that are inherent in all of our loading-rack and fall-protection products.”

To learn more, visit www.saferack.com.

Originally published on ThomasNet.com

SafeRack, LLC, the leading provider of stronger, safer and easier-to-handle truck and railcar loading-rack and fall-protection equipment for the petroleum, biofuel, specialized chemical, food/pharmaceutical, cement and other industries, has announced the availability of its redesigned, patent-pending SafeRack G4 Gangway. In development for 18 months, the G4 uses cutting-edge metal-stamping technology to create a stronger gangway that is at the same time lighter and smoother to operate.

Traditional gangway design features parts that are made of galvanized steel or aluminum and then welded together, a construction process that yields heavy gangways that are susceptible to cracked or fatigued welds after prolonged use, leading to costly repairs or untimely breakdowns. SafeRack’s G4 Gangways are constructed using parts, most often aluminum, that are stamped out in a tool-and-die process and then formed by bending the metal into the required shape, eliminating the need to weld the pieces together. This production process is also quicker than the one used for legacy gangway systems, allowing for more expedient delivery and turnaround time for the customer.

“When welding aluminum, the aluminum has to be thick enough to receive a full-penetration weld to bond the two parts together,” explained Rob Honeycutt, Cofounder of SafeRack, LLC. “When bending the material used in the construction of the G4, you can use thinner, lighter materials that will actually be stronger than the welded parts. This new design is a really big deal for our industry. It’s a pretty powerful sales tool.”

All SafeRack gangways have 90 shared parts that fold or unfold as the gangway is used. The use of the new metal-stamping technology means that the gangways are more reproducible, as well. This reproducibility also yields accurate replacement parts that can be bolted into the original gangway. Also, in the past, if a gangway were hit by a truck or railcar it would have been destroyed. With the new design of the G4, if an accident occurs, SafeRack now has the capability to deliver bolt-in replacement parts on a same-day basis.

“Eighty percent of the welds on the gangway have been eliminated,” said Honeycutt, “and virtually all of the welds that remain are not direct-impact welds, they are stitch welds or plug welds that aren’t load-bearing.”

While lighter materials that don’t require welds are used on the G4, that doesn’t mean that any of the quality associated with SafeRack products has been sacrificed. In fact, the metal-stamping tooling offers the same 4,000ths tolerance on each of the 21 pivot points on the G4 that is found on SafeRack’s other gangways. To test the strength of the new G4 design, SafeRack engineers placed more than 2,000 pounds-or four times the recommended load-on the outermost portion of the gangway. The only thing that failed during the test was the platform that was built to support the gangway during the testing process.

“With this technology, all of the pivot points on the gangway line up and don’t egg out, and they don’t wear out as the gangway rotates up and down,” said Honeycutt. “This results in a noticeably smoother operation and much longer life.”

In addition to aluminum construction, SafeRack also plans to offer a stainless-steel model that-thanks to the weld-less metal-stamping construction process-can use more expensive stainless steel that will actually reduce the price to the customer. The stainless-steel G4 model will be corrosion-resistant and half the weight of a galvanized model, making it easier to raise and lower.

While the G4 offers the capability to revolutionize the industry, it will still have the operator-friendly features that SafeRack’s gangways have become known for, namely slip-resistant tread on the stairs, powder-coated handrails and mid-rails, heavy-duty bumpers, strong and durable springs, four-rail design for maximum fall protection and easy operation. All customers looking to purchase a G4 gangway will also receive a personal visit from one of SafeRack’s highly trained, experienced sales force to map out the needs and options for their particular loading-rack operations. Once the project is approved, SafeRack makes sure that the equipment is installed correctly and functioning properly, and is always on call to answer any subsequent questions.

“That is the high point of what we do at SafeRack, how we do it and what we have that nobody else has: more than 200 years of experience in our direct-sales force that goes into plants, does an analysis of the operations and comes up with solutions that fit the particular needs of those plants,” said Honeycutt.

To learn more, visit www.saferack.com.

Originally published on SumterEdge.com

SafeRack manufactures steel loading racks for trucks and railcars has chosen Sumter as the location for its new headquarters.

SafeRack, LLC, Loading Rack Technologies, has purchased land adjacent to the Black River Airport Industrial Park and plans to construct an 8,000 square foot headquarters facility that will eventually employ up to 40 workers, primarily in sales and engineering. The company makes truck loading platforms, rail car platforms and other similar products at its manufacturing facility in Andrews, SC.

Fred Harmon, co-owner of Safe Rack, said the company looked in other South Carolina communities, but chose Sumter because of the efforts of the Sumter Development Board and the City of Sumter.

“Our final decision to locate in Sumter is a direct result of the cooperation and assistance of the economic development team, that consisted of the City, the County and the Development Board,” Harmon said. “We’re glad to be in Sumter.”

Development Board Chairman Greg A. Thompson said Sumter’s expertise in the metal working sector makes Safe Rack and Sumter a good fit.

“Sumter has had one of the strongest metal working clusters in South Carolina for a long time now,” said Greg A. Thompson, Chairman of the Sumter Development Board. “This partnership between Sumter and Safe Rack will only make that cluster stronger, and better position us to gain new jobs in the future.”

Sumter Mayor Joe McElveen said the City is proud to be a member of Sumter’s economic development efforts, which includes not only the Development Board, County and City, but also the South Carolina Department of Commerce and the Central Carolina Alliance.

“Landing a prospect is a cooperative effort and includes existing businesses, which spread the word about our great people and their strong work ethic,” McElveen said. “We are very happy to retain Safe Rack and help them grow in our community.”

Sumter County Council Chairwoman Vivian McGhaney said it’s encouraging to find that Sumter is not only a great place for manufacturing, but for front-office operations as well.

“We’re extremely proud of our community and Council is very pleased Safe Rack has chosen to run its business from here,” McGhaney said. “We wish them great success.”

To learn more, visit www.saferack.com.