Industrial Bridges

Let’s face it – we are in the age of Facebook. Time as we know it will be measured as life-before-Facebook and life-after-Facebook. Facebook has become the Internet revolution unlike any other social media in that it is by far the most successful with over 500 million active users out of whom 50% login everyday. These users spend about 700 billion minutes per month on Facebook. According to Facebook’s website, these users interact with 900 million objects on Facebook (pages, groups, events and community pages). The average user is connected to 80 community pages, groups and events and is attributed to creating 90 pieces of content each month. More than 30 billion pieces of content (web links, news stories, blog posts, notes, photo albums, etc.) are shared each month by Facebook users.

44% of marketers can confirm that the use of social media had spiked their search marketing efforts. According to business.com, 77% of B2B companies surveyed had a presence on Facebook among other social media engagements.

However you look at it, it is hard to ignore this fact – Facebook’s reach is tremendous and the opportunities for networking are incredible. With so many people spending so much time on Facebook, it’s hard not to harness that window of opportunity. But as I noted in my previous blog, Facebook, like other social media must be used solely for the purpose of networking and community building if you choose to add it to your social media marketing list. If you sign-up with the sole purpose of doing business, you may find yourself without any “friends” at least on Facebook. Facebook should be utilized for social networking, and to some extent, promoting your business page rather than your product. And your business page should be an online community that engages, interacts, and informs, rather than focus on heavy selling or promoting.

So get yourself a Facebook account if you haven’t already got one. Besides the obvious advantage of being able to snoop on your son’s friend’s list, you can also connect with hundreds of people from your past and present. You can work and play on the same social media sites. As long as you know how to create lists, use privacy settings, know how much information to disseminate and how much time to spend on your social media sites (these things can get pretty addictive), you can stay engaged with a wide network of people – both business and personal.

And while you are browsing Facebook to check out your cousin’s vacation pictures or update your status, visit the Bluff Manufacturing page. You will find interesting news topics and exciting updates about the material handling, manufacturing and supply chain industries as well as insightful tips on marketing and sales.  You will also get hot-off the-press information about our company, its products, promotions and events before everyone else does. So come visit us on Facebook. Leave us a note, join our discussions, browse our wall, view our pictures and videos, and hopefully “like our page” before you leave.

Bluff Manufacturing and its distributors work tirelessly and in tandem to achieve common goals to increase sales performance, profitability and customer satisfaction. To attain this goal, our partnership with our distributors must be strong and our selling techniques must be in sync. So distributors, let Bluff Manufacturing train your sales representatives for you. By training your reps, we have a higher chance of achieving greater conversion rates and greater opportunities to up-sell and cross-sell across the product portfolio.

As manufacturers, we work hard to make sure that the products we produce exceed customer satisfaction and in so doing mutually benefit everyone involved – end users, distributors and manufacturers.  While distributors are the key players in dealing with our end users and ensuring their needs are met, manufacturers are responsible for creating products that meet the customer requirements. For Bluff Manufacturing, its strongest tool is its market research and the data we receive from the field on customer requirements. Using this information, we manufacture products that complement and supplement other products. It is very vital that distributors and manufacturers train their representatives to up sell and cross sell.

This is where Bluff Manufacturing can contribute greatly. Our training programs will provide your representatives with thorough knowledge of the Bluff products you carry as distributors. Important techniques in selling across or up involve understanding the customer’s real pains and not just pushing a product in hopes of creating a bigger invoice. When a customer opts to purchase a product, a knowledgeable sales representative with presence of mind and a clear understanding of buyer behavior can anticipate other products or additional products that the customer may also want to purchase. For instance, if you were managing a paint shop, and a customer walked in to buy a couple of gallons of paint, a helpful sales person would ask the customer if they also needed paintbrushes, masking tape, a roller handle, etc. These are supplementary products a customer needs (if they don’t already have them) to finish the task of painting. It not only shows a genuine concern on the sales rep’s part but also helps cross-sell.

Up sell is enabling a customer to buy an upgraded version of a product. Without being pushy, a perceptive sales representative can gauge whether a customer might enjoy an upgraded product with more features or if he/she is satisfied with the lower-end model. It never hurts to politely enquire if the customer wants a higher end model that has more features. If the customer doesn’t want it, then they will indicate that, but if they are interested in a higher-end product, then as a sales representative, you have just sold up. Customers that have already purchased from you are already in a buying mood and may not be averse to buying up or across depending on their needs. But you will not know until you ask.

In our industry, training from Bluff Manufacturing will help point out all the opportunities for selling up and across. We will help you gain thorough product knowledge and help you anticipate customers’ needs even before the customers are aware of their own needs. For example, every forklift dealer knows that a customer probably requires a dock board to bridge the gap to transport the forklift from the truck to the warehouse and vice versa.  It’s a perfect opportunity for a cross-sell. Training with Bluff will point out such critical opportunities than can be harnessed to increase sales and build the sales pipeline.

This sort of combined effort in selling helps increase conversion rates and profitability for both the manufacturer and distributor. Because of the personalized effort they receive from sales representatives in helping them identify their shopping needs, customers are loyal and this helps in retention and repeat purchases.

E-commerce has come a long way. By providing the ability to shop from the comforts of your own home, the Internet has changed the way we retail. Sure, catalogs and shopping networks on TV provided the home shopping experience long before the Internet. But the Internet is credited with taking home shopping to the masses and creating an ease-of-use which is incomparable to any other way of retail distribution.

The reach of e-commerce has expanded and online shopping services have become more sophisticated. Part of that simplified process comes from automating a host of online shopping services. Every retail website has its own list of bells and whistles when it comes to the personalized online services they offer to their customers whether they are serious buyers, or just browsing through the company’s website.

Part of shopping online involves creating permanent online accounts through the retailers. Full-fledged e-commerce involves online accounts that enable shopping where transactions, credit/debit card payments can be made and orders can be tracked securely. Other online accounts may simply require a user to register online with a name and email address and may allow the user to track order history or view items that they have previously searched for. Whatever the level of service offered, online registration allows users to enjoy personalized service that does not involve having to call a toll-free number and waiting until they can speak to a customer service representative.

Unique user accounts (logins) allow users to access their own unique homepage on a retail website. Online accounts could be created to simply request a price quote. Or a user could register online to shop and make purchases through feature-rich online stores. Some of these full-fledged online stores provide the ability to view contract pricing, order and pay online, track orders, store favorite products, save shopping cart, get product updates and special offers and view previously searched items and buying history. This is shopping made a whole lot easier and billions of dollars worth of business is conducted throughout the world built on e-commerce. Most importantly, this will make online shopping much easier for users and create a unique user experience that will enable them to shop faster and better.

Bluff Manufacturing is updating its website to launch its online Distributor Resources Tool that will provide our distributors a unique shopping experience. A quick and initial registration will provide the unique login to every user, reducing cost and time for Bluff Manufacturing and our distribution partners. We will make an announcement when this online portal is launched and we encourage our distributors to register with us so that we can create a unique, streamlined shopping experience for you. We are convinced you will love our online shopping services once you register!

Bluff Manufacturing is growing and reaching new heights indeed! Recently, the company acquired B&L Structures, Inc. a Dallas-based national steel manufacturer whose client list includes big names such as NASA, Tuesday Morning, Burlington Coat Factory, Anderson Systems (a division of Wal-Mart which distributes books and music), and Aviall (a wholly-owned subsidiary of Boeing Company), which boasts the largest mezzanine structure in Texas. This acquisition led to an expansion of Bluff’s product portfolio to now include mezzanines, multi-level shelving units, free standing conveyor support structures, stairways, service and maintenance platforms, heavy duty rack, work platforms, and mobile units. In addition, B&L Structures’ exterior handrails and guide rail systems will complement Bluff Manufacturing’s existing Crash Guard warehouse safety products, which include safety rail, rack guard, machine guard, pipe guard, floor rail, post protector, door track protector and modular protective barrier.

In keeping with its objective of increasing in-plant efficiency, space utilization and safety, Bluff Manufacturing is excited to be able to offer mezzanines to its customers. Bluff Manufacturing now makes these at its Fort Worth facility and it custom-builds for its customers mezzanines that span up to 40 feet and have load capacities of up to 1,000 pounds per square foot. As always, customer service will always be top priority to Bluff manufacturing and a local representative will help determine customers’ needs and will assist them in custom-designing mezzanines – whether it’s 100 square feet or 25,000 square feet.

Bluff Manufacturing’s new line of Mezzanines will be offered in several option packages and can be used for a variety of purposes – whether it’s for in-plant offices, observations platforms, processing, storage, or multi-level shelving units. Material for designing and building mezzanines come in several shapes and sizes so that custom fabrication can be avoided and costs can be contained while still being able to offer custom designs to our customers.

Quality and safety will always receive top priority when it comes to any product offered by Bluff Manufacturing. Therefore, its mezzanines will be designed and built based on OSHA and International Building Code (IBC) and an engineer’s seal is available for all designs in the 48 contiguous states.

Made from the most efficient combination of hot-rolled structural steel (ASTM-A36/50), high strength cold-formed sections, structural tubes (ASTM-A500), and steel bar joists, Bluff Manufacturing’s mezzanines are assuredly safe and cost-effective. These products will continue to be available through B&L’s national network of distributors, many of whom also work with Bluff Manufacturing. Bluff Manufacturing hopes that this strategic move will lead the company toward a future of continued excellence in craftsmanship and customer service in designing, and manufacturing a diverse product line of material handling equipment.

Bluff Manufacturing has become a leading provider of steel and aluminum dock boards and aluminum dock plates to companies like yours throughout North America. Our long-standing commitment to the highest quality product and outstanding customer service has helped to sell our dock solutions.   Likewise, our attention to the safety, longevity and productivity of our products is unsurpassed in the industry.  In addition, we take your safety and the safety of your personnel quite seriously as witnessed by Bluff’s initiative in establishing ANSI Standard MH30.2 testing for our dock boards and plates.  The ANSI Standard MH30.2 contains mechanical and structural design guidelines.  Bluff’s rigorous testing, which takes place right in our own weld shop, assesses overall board/plate strength as has been a long standing industry practice.  Bluff takes an additional step and, using the ANSI Standard MH30.2, performs testing which sets finite limits for deflection of product while under load, safeguarding the integrity of the slope of the ramp in use.  This expanded safety testing, in conjunction with operation and maintenance standards, ensures your safety and empowers you to make better product-based buying decisions.   Clearly Bluff offers both safety and “Service You Can Stand On”.

While our dock boards and dock plates are the best and safest in the country, we do recognize that they have a finite lifespan and that, at some operational point, they must be replaced.  Continued use of dock boards and dock plates which show demonstrative signs of fatigue is extremely imprudent from both a safety point of view as well as an economic point of view.  The cost of equipment replacement will always be significantly less than the total “cost” of an accident, especially when it can knowingly be avoided.  What becomes imperative then is your ability to identify the signs and indications of dock board and dock plate fatigue.  The good news is that Bluff is here to help you with this important judgment call.

In the world of material science, “fatigue” is the progressive and localized structural damage that occurs when a material is subjected to repeated applications of stress or load, none of which exceeds the material’s ultimate tensile strength.  In other words, it is not what mechanical load you are carrying over your board or plate, per se, it is the accumulation of recurring use or stress which results in dysfunction.  In other words, the metal, whether it is aluminum or steel, experiences fatigue or failure after a certain number of cycles, or uses which exceed its rating.  The result is degradation or dysfunction of the product.  Specific to dock boards and dock plates, the rectangles of steel or aluminum begin to change shape or bend/warp as a result of fatigue.  As the shape of the plate changes, the auxiliary structures begin to be affected.  Curb separation or detachment may occur on welded dock boards and dock plates, or bolts may dislodge on locking legs of dock plates.  Stress fractures, microscopic at the beginning of fatigue, may appear on the plates and boards along the lines of maximum stress.  Fortunately, most of these signs can be visualized and appreciated upon close inspection of the equipment.

There are, of course, very specific ways to delay the inevitable need to replace your dock boards and dock plates.  The easiest mechanism to prolong the life of your dock equipment is to make certain that your equipment is suitable for the work that it will perform, that your projected workload is congruent with the required capacity rating of your equipment.   This workload includes not only the weight bearing capacity of the dock board or dock plate, but also the frequency of usage.  Keeping in mind that material “fatigue” is progressive and cumulative; the frequency of dock board/plate usage becomes a critical factor in selecting the appropriate equipment.  For exceptionally high frequency use such as a three shift, 7/52 operation, Bluff strongly recommends bumping up the product selection specs to the next capacity level.  This expands the range of stress and reduces the likelihood of premature fatigue and equipment failure.

Sad but true, like all wonderful things in life, Bluff dock boards and dock plates do not last forever.  As a result, it is extremely important for both the distributors of Bluff dock boards and dock plates as well as the end users to be knowledgeable as to the signs and indications of equipment fatigue.  At the very first hint of stress cracks, curb or bolt detachment, board warping or any kind of equipment deformation, every precaution must be made to expedite the replacement of that equipment.  The projected incremental cost savings of prolonging the usage life of a fatigued dock board or a dock plate will certainly pale in comparison with the actual and very real cost of equipment failure.  At Bluff Manufacturing we take every possible measure to ensure the safety, longevity and productivity of our products when we put them in your hands.  Take the initiative to continue this effort by regularly inspecting your dock boards and dock plates for any sign of fatigue or pending failure, then replace them immediately.  Bluff Manufacturing:  “Service You Can Stand On”, safety suggestions you should follow.

Here’s a fun and productive thing to do this hot August week – Come join our Bluff Manufacturing Forum on LinkedIn Groups! We have created our brand new user group on LinkedIn.com to provide all those interested in all things Material Handling with a platform for interactive communication. We just got started, but it’s been great so far! It’s a great place to go to share something new you learned about the industry or to simply reiterate and remind other users about an important best practice in the material handling, manufacturing, and supply chain industry. But we don’t just talk about industry updates and best practices, we will also keep you informed on selling tactics, social media, marketing, recruitment, training and retention, events happening in the great metroplex of DFW and a whole host of interesting topics to keep you entertained and informed. Click on the LinkedIn logo below to join the Bluff Manufacturing Forum on LinkedIn.

It has been both fun and exciting to be able to give Bluff Manufacturing fans more avenues to reach us and share their thoughts, views, and opinions in an informal setting. Groups on networking sites are like a virtual boardroom where several brains are working in tandem to provide answers, solutions and ideas to everyday questions, queries and problems. When group members share relevant and interesting updates, it adds value to the group and the members in general. And that is what we are hoping to accomplish with our user group on LinkedIn – provide value to our network of information-hungry members.

Among all its many benefits, the actual significance in joining networking sites and industry groups on these networking sites is the ability to network! Imagine how a decade ago, the only way to really work a room in a tradeshow, conference, seminar, or any event was to hand out business cards and hope that these contacts would provide some value someday. Now imagine achieving the same benefits without ever having to leave your office. The savings on plane tickets, accommodations, and other miscellaneous costs associated with attending an out-of-town industry event are substantial. You are reducing your carbon footprint, saving much time, and energy, and yet enjoying the benefits of professional networking. This is not to say that networking sites will replace face-to-face interactions and physical events. But they will complement each other and mutually benefit everyone.

Joining an industry group on a networking site truly helps expand your network. By adding even a few contacts, you create second and third degree networks that can lead to an ever-expanding, virtual network of important associates in the industry. A group allows you to meet important industry contacts.

Word-of-mouth marketing has always enjoyed superior status as one of the most effective sales tools. Social Media such as LinkedIn helps you market yourself through endorsements you receive that can help you when you’re looking for a job or trying to bid on a project. Finding and communicating with the right contacts makes all the difference.

So instead of going home with hundreds of business cards from every event, network on LinkedIn or any other such site and get all the contact information you want virtually. It’s important to remember the ‘networking’ part in social networking. So use it to your best advantage! Be active and ‘follow’ activities of your business acquaintances. The next big business opportunity may just come from that! So come join our group on LinkedIn, click on the image below to get started and you will go directly to our group’s sign in page!

There are enough articles out there on the World Wide Web evangelizing the linking of social media to mainstream business (marketing to be more specific). And unarguably the merits are plenty and varied, as are some concerns. But it is hard to overlook the single most important contribution that social media has brought to current business practices – the element of trust.

Social Media stands apart from traditional marketing in two very important ways: it is interactive and instant. There is a greater level of honesty. Social Media is not sophisticated marketing that has been filtered and re-filtered with messages geared toward selling. It is an immediate exchange of information between certain designated employees of a company and prospects or group members of the networking site. Whether it is LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube or any other social media site, the ability to create groups, communities, and pages that allow a more one-on-one type of interaction is always going to have a greater degree of honesty compared to other marketing and promotional methods. Honesty and transparency are organic links to building trust.

It’s important to remember to update your social media sites frequently so your readers find your story on their news feed (rotating news updates that appear on an individual’s networking homepage) on a regular basis. The news must be relevant, and informative. Information about your products, your company, or the industry are good topics as long as the goal is to inform the reader and maintain engagement rather than to just sell or promote a product. On the same note, talk less about your new products and tell them more about a new development in the industry or a great tip or practice that might make their lives easier. Information that adds value to your readers will be viewed more and regarded higher.

Social media builds trust because the news we post isn’t geared toward hard selling. It’s a long sell process. The idea is to build a relationship; not make a sale. When social media marketing is based on CRM rather than closing a sale, relationships are automatically built and fostered; and trust grows from there. Consumer behavior studies constantly show that people would rather do business with those they trust and with whom they have built a relationship.

When you post information on your social media sites, you are essentially opening the backdoors of your business and allowing your group members to take a peek into the inner workings of your company. It’s like going backstage to meet the cast members! We’re creating shared experiences through stories, pictures, videos, company events, discussions and more. Pictures speak a thousand words. Not just the pictures on your website – those pictures are still a product of marketing – glossy and professional. Pictures and videos on social media must be updated regularly to show company events like tradeshows and conferences as well as informal events like fundraisers and company picnics. It is important to remember that social media when used for business must still maintain a professional attitude, but maybe with the rules relaxed just a little bit. By updating your site, posting news feed, updates, pictures and videos, you are creating experiences and building trust.

These experiences will credit into your company’s ‘trust fund’ and help build business relationships that may ultimately produce revenues. But until these relationships naturally transform into customer acquisitions, it is important to remember that social media builds trust by not pushing products but building relationships.

On a final note, it is important to remember that open, two-way communication sometimes may open doors to criticism. Social media allows companies to control and regulate content to some extent. However, while you can filter really negative comments, allowing readers to view constructive criticism is often a good thing. It provides two important benefits. One, it shows the reader that the business is serious about maintaining transparency and two, it allows the business to address any issue that is brought to light so that others experiencing the same problem can see that the issue has been resolved or addressed. It shows that the company cares about its community.

Social media adds a powerful human component to your marketing plan. By allowing social networking to permeate into professional networking, businesses can create for themselves CRM opportunities that could perhaps turn into lucrative dealings. The possibilities are endless.

In 1975, Theodore Levitt wrote an incredible article titled ‘Marketing Myopia’ that caused a paradigm shift in the business world. His theory was not new or original and was based on the philosophy of great management gurus like Peter Drucker, J.B. McKitterick, Wroe Alderson, John Howard and Neil Borden. However, his writing style, arguments and examples were put so finely in the article that it caused a bit of a minor industrial revolution.

I wanted to go back to his article written 35 years ago and point out the relevancy of his thought process as it applies to the current economic scene.

Bluff Manufacturing is in the business of producing high-quality material handling and safety products. Bluff’s team of distinguished engineers and researchers are well trained and constantly innovate to manufacture world-class products. But Bluff realizes that success does not come from innovating and improving products, and increasing manufacturing efficiency alone. In fact, these are minor factors that contribute to the success of an organization. The real success factor lies in marketing; not just the promotional aspect of marketing (which is geared toward pushing the products we manufacture), but also and more importantly, the consumer and competitor research side of marketing.

No amount of innovating and creating fantastic, mind-blowing products can satisfy and retain a market if the manufacturer has not truly understood the mind of the consumer. If the consumer does not need or want your product, it is absolutely no good, no matter the bells and whistles or promotions or pricing or manufacturing efficiency. Even if a market does exist for a product, manufacturers often get complacent believing in the myth that there will always be a market for their product. Fuelled by this thought, management focuses on increasing manufacturing efficiency instead of keeping their eyes and ears open to changing and shifting needs of consumers and competitors’ offerings.

Levitt states that great industrialists have found themselves in economic shambles by believing that the holy grail of industrialism means there is always a market for your product and that the market will consist of a rapidly growing affluent population. That is the stuff of myths and legends; a mere fantasy. A company producing a highly successful and fast selling product can go bust tomorrow because it wasn’t paying attention to the market and to its competitors. What is considered a revolutionary product today can become obsolete tomorrow. There are always great business minds that are hungry for market share. With technological advances and research, competitors can offer a better and possibly a completely different product to replace an existing one. In his article, Levitt points out the oil, electronics and automobile industries as examples in proving his point but this business theory is applicable to every industry.

Levitt was not trying to paint a grim picture. He was merely cautioning executives to stay on top of their game and pay great attention to the shifting needs of consumers. Innovate by all means, he proposes, but innovate in creating products that truly satisfy consumers. Through research (both customer and competitor), Levitt proposes that companies find out what the customer wants, what new products the competitor is building, what new technological advancements are brewing, what new markets are growing, and to re-invent and reproduce accordingly. Always stay one step ahead. Stop being product-focused and stay consumer-focused.

As marketers, we all occasionally suffer from this myopia. We’re proud of the products our companies build and naturally, we can’t wait to brag about them. However, as marketers, our biggest priority lies in finding out what the customer really needs and providing this information to the R&D teams to develop the products. Once the product is finished and ready to be distributed, we have to enable marketing and sales to work together. Merely selling or pushing a product in exchange for the customers money will not hold anymore. Marketing points out the customer’s pain points and offers a value proposition and a unique solution that cannot be offered by competitors. This strategy helps build brand loyalty and helps companies stay ahead of the curve.

As technology becomes smarter and the World Wide Web is easier to access, paper will cease to become the platform on which many great ideas and notes were made.

Electronic media has replaced man’s need to put pen to paper. Paper hasn’t necessarily become obsolete. For every document you save on your secured hard drive, there is a conscientious administrative assistant that is creating copies to file away just in case one is required.

But with data security getting more savvy and electronic media becoming more innovative, it seems archaic to be seen writing. Typing or texting is the new writing. If we think of all the electronic gadgets that have replaced the humble pen and paper, the list is endless. Phones are getting smarter and cheaper. They have become portable mini computers on which you can spend your time working and playing. From sending emails and web surfing (a national pastime) to playing music and video games, electronic media has changed the way we live and play forever.

Laptops and electronic notebooks have virtually replaced the actual pen and paper. The iPad and Kindle have even replaced the way we read books.

Wikipedia has replaced the hefty encyclopedia that a generation ago was the main source of information. Information is now available at our fingertips, courtesy of the World Wide Web. Electronically, we can practically find the answers to all recorded information. No need for heavy books to line our shelves anymore.

Besides the obvious benefit of being virtually connected and being able to obtain information at the speed of light, there is the other added benefit of being environmentally friendly. Electronic media allows us to cut down on printing ink and paper, thus promoting a greener and more sustainable world.

In the business world today, it is impossible to keep up, let alone stay ahead, without the help of electronic media. In keeping with the times, Bluff Manufacturing has made its information and marketing collateral available through its blogs and website. Today, a distributor salesperson can access and print only as many brochures or case studies that he or she requires, rather than keep stacks of unused brochures that will soon become outdated anyway. With web marketing getting savvier and Internet access easily available to the masses, information is available through website updates, social media, and emails rather than printed pamphlets, flyers, and bulleting posters. Life is easier when the technology works and natural resources are conserved but don’t take away my books or writing pads just yet.

A while ago, we had talked about dock boards – aluminum versus steel – their merits and demerits. Bluff Manufacturing introduces a new line of aluminum welded truck dock boards available in 10,000 lb and 15,000 lb capacities board lengths and ranging from 36-72 inches.

Bluff Manufacturing’s new and improved line of aluminum dock boards is sturdier and constructed of 3/8 inch thick aluminum tread plate with aluminum extruded curbs and legs and a full length cross stiffener.

The new aluminum dock board offers several features that provide additional safety, flexibility and are easier to use. The locking legs (available in lengths from 8-13 inches) provide secure positioning and run-off protection creating a unique product that allows loading and unloading of trucks to be done in a safer manner. These dock boards are a perfect fit for industries that handle sensitive or perishable freight, such as food or ammunition. The new dock board differs from similar products because it features high-grade “diamond deck” aluminum curbs, instead of steel, which controls sparks and prevents rust in refrigerated environments.

Bluff’s new range of dock boards are very adaptable and offer optional features like locks and lift chains that can be added to the ATD. Lip lengths and bend angles are also available for our end users to enable them to build their own custom dock boards.

Most important, our new dock boards are tested and certified by strict ANSI MH30.2 guidelines and standards, ensuring quality, product durability and safety. Designed to meet OSHA safety guidelines, our end users get products of the highest quality with many secure features and options.

Bluff Manufacturing’s lightweight aluminum dock board offers a quick solution to bridging the gap between trucks, trailers and loading docks especially when applied to low-medium weight volumes.

While steel dock boards are often recommended for sturdier docking applications and heavier loads, as well as durability in the long run, aluminum dock boards have a lot of advantages for lighter loads.

Bluff Manufacturing is offering free freight from Fort Worth on the 10,000, 15,000 pound capacities 6048, 6060 and 6072. The offer is available from June 8th – August 8th, 2010. Lead times on custom orders are three-four days. If you’re looking for dock boards that fit this description, the time to purchase is now!