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Seventy weeks ago Friday Fax #417 set about to prove scientifically that APC has more technical depth in cable pulling lubrication than Ideal Industries, a chief competitor. It succeeded by comparing website search engine results for technical terms (APC had many; Ideal had none). So it was with some trepidation that the Editor returned to the Ideal website this week after reading a new PR release: "IDEAL Relaunches Website with Fresh New Look and Added Functionality," which claims to "... improve usability and provide a more engaging experience." Could it be that Ideal was making strides after decades of inferiority? Were they about to vanquish APC's technical hegemony and supplant us as the industry leader? As my eyes beheld their admittedly attractive new layout, my shaky fingers entered keywords into their site search box. At first I focused on common, though high-end, technical terms such as "coefficient of friction," "sidewall pressure," and "jam ratio." Finding nothing I searched for info on lubrication of specific cable types: "LSZH," "fire retardant," and "semi-conducting." Still nothing. And so it went. Here are the actual page-hit search results with comparison to APC's site: TERM IDEAL APC Field Report 0 4 Testimonial 0 6 Jam Ratio 0 7 Cable Configuration 0 7 Low Smoke 0 7 Zero Halogen 0 7 Wet Link 0 7 Standard 1210 0 8 Fire Retardant 0 11 Technical Paper 0 16 Semi-Conducting 0 18 Wetting 0 19 Combustibility 0 20 Approvals 0 20 Laboratory 0 21 Conduit Fill 0 24 Sidewall Pressure 0 24 LSZH 0 25 IEEE 0 31 Calculation 0 31 Research 0 34 Test Results 0 36 Coating 0 42 ASTM 0 56 Compatibility 0 62 Coefficient of Friction 0 62 Tension 0 94 Lubrication 0 97 Friction 0 103 To quote a famous movie line, "This means something." People, Ideal has been selling cable pulling lubricants since 1958, yet you can't find information on their website about "tension," "friction," or even "lubrication." Visitors seeking knowledge at the Ideal website receive a similar "engaging experience" as tall people who dive into shallow water. It looks inviting, but the bottom comes up quick. |
