Improving productivity, enhancing operator well-being and delivering cost and environmental savings are key considerations for anyone tasked with specifying and selecting power tools. As a result, understanding all the contributing factors, comparing all the options and reaching a final purchase decision is often a long and complex process. Chicago Pneumatic, a key manufacturer of power tools for more than 110 years, offers advice and support at every stage of the journey to ensure customers have access to all the information they need to make an informed choice.
“Making the right tool choice is a major responsibility,” said Eva Marie, global brand communications manager for Chicago Pneumatic. “Selecting the best tool for your needs is not just a matter of capital outlay, it can have a major impact on efficiency, productivity and the health and safety of tool operators. We therefore feel it is very important to offer free advice and support at every stage of the decision-making process so that customers can make the right choice for them.”
One recent example is a simple six-step guide, available online, to choosing hydraulic jacks. Among other things, the guide points out that the lifting capacity of an air hydraulic jack varies for each lifting step. For a 50-ton jack, for example, the lifting capacity can vary between 15 and 50 tons depending on the lifting height required. This information can be critical in selecting the best jack for the application.
Another safety-critical area is the correct selection and application of torque wrenches. This information will be helpful to those working in industrial maintenance and repair, general mechanics and tire changing operations where applying the correct amount of torque is key to ensuring the safety of customers. Chicago Pneumatic’s seven things you should know about torque wrenches explains the basic principles of this type of tool and gives top tips for using and maintaining a torque wrench. For those specifically involved in the vehicle service industry, “why should you choose a torque wrench” provides further essential information about the difference between manual and pneumatic torque wrenches and how to select the best tool for light and heavy vehicle applications.
Chicago Pneumatic also offers more technical information in the form of detailed, downloadable Expert Corner Technical Guides. It has already published two of these guides – one on the selection of wrenches and one on the correct application, use and maintenance of grinders – and is planning to add to this suite of knowledge later in 2017. To make it easier and more intuitive for customers to access general support and advice as well as specific product information, the company has just revamped its website.
“A power tool purchase is a long-term commitment which can have far-reaching consequences,” said Marie. “We want to provide support to our customers through every part of the power tool-buying process by offering free, expert advice where and when it is required.”
To access the six-step online guide to choosing the best hydraulic jack, click here. The general guide to impact wrenches can be found here, and the vehicle industry specific guidance on impact wrenches can be found here.
