Pictured from L-R Linda Summars, Doug Barrett, Joe Derr, Jr., Wyatt Townsend, Jim Luckie, Greg Ashley, Edd Mabe, Kurt Charpentier, Dorman Evans, Dennis Tucker, Sam Socolow
The FIRST®, Full Inspection RoundSling Technology, Inspectable Slingmaker Team joined in the Ashley Sling conference room on July 15th & 16th in Atlanta, Georgia. The conference was attended by FIRST® licensed manufacturers, Ashley Sling, Inc., Delta Rigging & Tools/Tuffy Products, Sling Tech Inc., and The Vernon Corporation, and was a classic example of the rigging gear industry at its best.
The elite teams of slingmakers represented play an important role in the crane and rigging industry. The use of both polyester and high performance roundslings is expanding and the emergence of The Inspectable Roundsling has eliminated the need for costly or confusing accessories to perform visual inspections. “The traditional opaque roundslings have become unnecessary, impractical and costly” said Wyatt Townsend, VP of FIRST®. “The FIRST® roundsling is the only sling on the market today that offers the user a visual inspection of the load rated core.” The transparent roundsling cover has been a big hit in the most safety conscious markets such as nuclear energy, automotive and both commercial and civil construction.
The first FIRST® Round-Table Conference focused on manufacturing and identification advances and investments in testing and value added inspection training programs for Inspectalble RoundSling users. Expert guests included Jim Bailey, President of Filtec Precise, Inc. of Tabor City, NC (a high performance core yarn producer) and Mike Parnell, President and founder of ITI-Industrial Training International of Woodland, WA (one of the most highly respected international sling inspection training firms).
Linda Summars, inventor and president of FIRST® Sling Technology stated that the old saying “don’t believe your lyin’ eyes” had turned out to be a big plus for her invention, a roundsling with a transparent cover. “When something works, it’s simple, it works! “
