February 2008

This month features information about one of our most established distributors who has been with us over 6 years and also one of our most cherished employees, who has been with us the longest-11 years.  We have added new segments on customers and recent sales projects we have been involved with.  Thank you very much for taking the time to read this newsletter and please send in your comments and suggestions.

Inco Mines, Thompson Operations, is the world's first fully integrated nickel mining and processing facility. The City of Thompson, "Hub of the North" is the regional trade and service centre of Northern Manitoba. The city is located 1,300 miles north of the international border, and 1,200 miles north of the provincial capital of Winnipeg, Manitoba ores yield marketable amounts of cobalt and copper and trace amounts of precious metals including gold.  The mine produces a nominal capacity of about 100 million pounds of nickel a year.

When it came time to acquire a lift inside their mine, Inco came to Stertil-Koni for a lifting solution.  We had mobiles, SKYLIFT, and four post lifts to offer.  The Omer parallelogram lift represented the perfect lifting solution. The narrow width of the lift (109") allowed the lift to be lowered down the mine shaft and the safety features integrated into the lifting platforms and multiple locks provided the customer with the ultimate security he needed to lift his 100,000 lb. vehicles.  The fully galvanized Vega 520 with a rated capacity of 115,000 lbs. was the ideal lift.

When it comes to Stertil-Koni's Omer parallelogram lift all that glitters is not gold!

U.S. Airways, a 5 billion dollar corporation, is the fifth largest domestic airline employing more than 36,000 aviation professionals worldwide.  When it came to supplying in ground lifts for their new Philadelphia Airport maintenance shop-U.S. Airways had a choice.   In fact, they had 3 choices in lift manufacturers.  After an exhaustive review and evaluation by their engineers and maintenance personnel they chose Stertil-Koni.  Accordingly, in 2008 Stertil-Koni will be installing 9 Heavy Duty In-Ground Vehicle Lifts in their Ground Services Maintenance Facility. This new 56,000 square foot facility, to be built adjacent to their existing shop, is slated to break ground April - May of 2008, with a completion date of May 2009.

The lifts that were chosen for this project are (2) HVZ 312 BT RG Lifts, with 75,000lb. capacity pistons, and (7) HVZ 214 BT RG Lifts, with  32,000 lb. capacity pistons.  The Ground Equipment to be serviced at this facility ranges from Baggage Tugs at 7,000 lbs. to Aircraft Tow Tractors at 120,000 lbs.

Congratulations goes out to Guy Wallace from Alan Tye and Associates, and also Peter Bowers and Lenny Nemec from Stertil-Koni for all of their hard work in providing solutions that met or exceeded every one of U.S Airways expectations.  Alan's group and Stertil-Koni collaborated on winning this very significant order. 

Howard County's Claim to Fame

Howard County, Maryland is listed as the third wealthiest county in the United States. (Washington Post, August 6, 2006)  Howard County's other claim to fame is that the Howard County Maryland's Fleet Services currently owns 2 sets of 4 ST-1082 Stertil-Koni mobile lifts with stands and a Humvee adapter (see product listing and accessories for the Humvee adapter).  According to Fleet Supervisor Earl Griffith, they lift mostly fire equipment: hook and ladder trucks, pumper trucks, tanker trucks, in addition to dump trucks, snow plows and various other heavy duty vehicles.  The mechanics are very pleased with the versatility of the lifts and the convenience of the wide open workspace underneath the vehicle.

While Earl says they chose the mobile column lifts because of the convenience and ease of installation and use, they are also considering the purchase of additional types of Stertil-Koni lifts in the future.  Earl says that the positive experience Howard County has enjoyed with Stertil-Koni from sale through installation, operation and prompt attention from the service department are all reasons he would recommend Stertil-Koni products.  Taking care of the customer weighs heavily in his decisions regarding future purchases.

James is a workaholic. He leaves for Texas normally on Sunday afternoon and returns Friday afternoon. 

Paul Marks joined Stertil-Koni after serving 26 years in the United States Air Force.  While in the Air Force, Paul worked in Administrative Management and then as a Courier with the Defense Courier Service.  Prior to his retirement as a Senior Master Sergeant, Paul served as an Instructor for the Defense Course Service Training School at Fort George G. Meade, MD.

While in the Air Force, Paul successfully completed all required stages of Professional Military Education and was a certified instructor graduating from the Academic Instruction School in Montgomery, AL.  He has also earned an Associate Degree in Administrative Management, from the Community College of the Air Force.

Paul is 54 years old and has worked for Stertil-Koni for eleven years.  Starting out as the Office Manager, Paul worked with Jean Dellamore in the one room office in Ellicott City, MD, prior to moving to the Benhill Avenue office/warehouse located Southern Baltimore in early 1998.  Sometime around the year 2000, Paul became the Operations Manager.  If you need it shipped, Paul's the man to call.

Paul and his wife Marlene are soon to be married 35 years in April.  They have two children, a daughter Christel and son, Sean and three grandchildren, Victoria age 5, Ryleigh and Christopher age 3.