VIDEO: TOOLING UP – Rigging Storage Safety & Solutions

Narrator: This video is brought to you by Strong Hold. Don't just hold, Strong Hold. If you're looking for real world insights, tips from leading industry experts, the latest trends in products and technology, you've come to the right place. From MSC Industrial Supply, this is Tooling Up.

TONI NEARY: Hello and welcome to Tooling Up. I'm your host, Toni Neary, I'm so excited you're here with us on the MSC YouTube channel. If you're new, make sure to click subscribe so you don't miss any future episodes. I am thrilled today to be talking about rigging storage with Erinn Waggoner. He is the Executive Director of Product and Innovation for Strong Hold.

And we're going to learn everything you've always wanted to know about rigging storage, but were maybe afraid to ask. Erinn, thank you so much for joining us today here on Tooling Up.

ERINN WAGGONER: Toni, it's great to be here with you. I look forward to discussing rigging, storage and this new product line that we're launching.

TONI NEARY: We love to jump in and take a deep dive on the product, but I always love to know, tell us a little bit about your journey and what led you to joining the team there at Strong Hold?

ERINN WAGGONER: Well, I began my career actually in marketing, moved into supply chain and then ended in product. I’ve spent the past 12 years working in Fortune 500s as product manager and product director for a couple of different Fortune 500 companies. About a year ago, I came to Strong Hold because of the strong ties that we have to the community here in Louisville, Kentucky.

I wanted to work for a smaller company that was agile, and I think that sums up how we get product to market here at Strong Hold.

TONI NEARY: And before Strong Hold, nobody was really making heavy-duty rigging storage. And that kind of makes you the OGs of this category. Why is rigging storage so important for organizations?

ERINN WAGGONER: Yes, Strong Hold is definitely the OGs of 12 gauge heavy-duty storage. Rigging storage is important because of safety. Safety first, you want your employees to go home the same way they come into work. OSHA Standard 1926.251 lays out proper storage of your rigging slings. Proper storage elongates the life of those slings and makes them more ready for inspection and just keeps them safe and your employees safe.

TONI NEARY: And tell me a little bit, what type of industries are you working with on your rigging storage solutions?

ERINN WAGGONER: We work with every industry that has a crane, has a forklift, auto, aerospace, defense sector. Any company that is doing heavy-duty manufacturing, that's where we specialize.

TONI NEARY: So the idea of a storage product leading to a whole business efficiencies might sound strange to some people. Not to me, of course. I'm a rigging storage nerd. I'm kind of a nerd about everything. But for the non-nerds out there, talk a little bit about how your product design makes it easier for workers to get their job done and done right.

ERINN WAGGONER: Well, as companies go through their five S journeys, you've probably been in a facility that has a shadow board where they're hanging their slings and and trying to keep them up and out of the way. But our products allow for lift points, forklift pockets where you can actually move all of your product to where it needs to be.

We can put them on casters. We offer 26 different SKUs right now of rigging storage, and that came about from work that we did with MSC in a large space and aeronautics customer.

TONI NEARY: And the industries that you're serving are pretty heavyweights, literally, right? Automotive, aerospace, defense, they're creating and handling multi-thousand pound components. So talk to me about construction. How do you build products that are really housed to work in those kinds of facilities?

ERINN WAGGONER: Strong Hold's not just a name, it's actually what we do. We build shop tables, but we build shop tables that hold 50,000 lbs. We build rigging storage that holds 20,000 lbs. We build heavy-duty product. And that's what we pride ourselves on. Nothing leaves our facility with our name on it that we don't stand behind. Our 12 gauge product comes with a 99-year warranty.

TONI NEARY: And that's insane. And I know we talked before, your facility is all set up with your own product as well, and that's really how it came to fruition. So I want to talk a little bit about customization, because I know this is huge, right, that individuals come through, see it, and say, “Hey, I want that”. Talk a little bit about how you're meeting your customer needs because you truly are customer-driven.

ERINN WAGGONER: Customization is in our DNA, and what we try to do is take that voice of the customer, build product lines, and then implement those into our regular ready to ship. We offer 75 SKUs that ship in two days. So we do have a good stock unit, but this is a great example of, rigging storage, is a great example of how we go to market.

MSC gave us a call and said we have a space and aeronautics customer who has a need. We sent our engineers down. We worked with them. We designed specifically what they needed. And in doing that, we got a lot of great voice of customer and realized this is a market that's being underserved. There's a real opportunity for us here to grow, and it really shows how we take that customization, our ability to do things for the customer and translate it into a day in, day out product.

TONI NEARY: And I think it's amazing to look at the versatility of what you're doing. But I was more astounded by your estimated delivery dates. So your standard product, let's talk about how long before that ships as well as your custom projects.

ERINN WAGGONER: Yes, standard product. We have a quick ship program with 75 SKUs that leaves our facility in two days. So it's stocked, ready to go out the door. Customized product, we can actually ship in 3 to 4 weeks. That's incredible in our industry to be able to take something from ground up, design it out the door, and it's because we have a very flexible and agile workforce here that can turn product around really quickly.

TONI NEARY: You design, validate, test products and then have them out to market in just a matter of weeks. Why is testing such an important part of your service and why do your customers count so much on that?

ERINN WAGGONER: If you're going to say that your product holds 50,000 lbs., it better hold 50,000 lbs. You don't ever want to put anybody in danger. And again, we service heavy-duty industry. These are not things that you're going to bump with a forklift and break a handle off of. So testing is of utmost importance if you're going to put that claim out there for not only safety but for respect of your customers and the understanding that you deliver what you say you're going to deliver.

TONI NEARY: Now, a little bird may have told me that based in Kentucky, you've also designed, validated and potentially tested your own bourbon. Is that true?

ERINN WAGGONER: We do have, we do have our own bourbon label. It's, it's a family label here. And it's quite good. It's quite good. We select it every year and it's a good homage to the owner's family and their legacy.

TONI NEARY: So I love the fact that you're doing a lot with custom products for your customers. Obviously a private-label bourbon as well. Tell me a little bit more about your favorite things, about being a part of the Strong Hold family.

ERINN WAGGONER: To me, it's the ability to be agile, to take something from an idea to an actual physical product in the market in such a short turnaround is amazing. I've had wonderful opportunities to do business in the Fortune 500 world, but you're very aware when you're dealing with some of that it can take a long time. And since we are a smaller company, the ability to make a decision, move with it, try something, go fast, facilitate our customers' happiness is awesome. And I think that's what drew me here and that's what keeps me here at Strong Hold.

TONI NEARY: And I love that because I think that's really what I took away from our first conversation, is just an amazing organization doing amazing work with amazing people. Erinn, thank you so much for joining us today.

ERINN WAGGONER: Thank you, Toni. It's been a pleasure.

TONI NEARY: It was great spending time with Erinn today. And if you enjoyed our conversation as much as I did, make sure to click subscribe so you don't miss any upcoming episodes. To find out more about this amazing veteran-owned, American-made rigging storage organization, go to www.mscdirect.com/stronghold. Thanks and we'll see you next time on Tooling Up.

Narrator: Want more insights and ideas to improve the efficiency and productivity of your operations? Check out the Tooling Up video playlist to hear tips that can take your company to the next level. And subscribe to our channel so you won't miss out.