Preventative Hose Maintenance

Drew Swanton

Parker Store Mgr.


Determining whether or not to change out an old hose on a fluid system sounds like it should be something straightforward, if the hose leaks replace it right? Obviously, but why wait until it leaks to repair or replace? I know a lot of people go by “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” But let me ask you this, if you saw exposed wire on your vehicle tire, how quickly would want to replace it? Hopefully right away, the same goes for hoses.

Should be able to get another 5,000 miles out of this bad boy

While working at the retail counter I have been exposed to a lot of different examples of hoses that should have been replaced well before they were slapped on my counter in a leaky, oily mess.  A small leak on a hydraulic circuit can lead to many different problems; potential pump failure if the leak goes unnoticed for a period of time, bad hysteresis, and of course the oil spill itself can be very damaging and sometimes costly to clean up.  So how do we know when to do preventative maintenance on a hose? Really the only and best way is a physical examination.

Whoa! Wrong physical.

Because you should do a physical inspection, and I can’t reiterate this enough, by no means inspect the hose while the system is running. If you do have a leak, even if it is a pin-prick, and you run your hand over a system that has thousands of PSI working pressure you can cause great bodily harm and even death.  While examining your hose you should check for any signs of exposed wires (or fiber), places where the hose is rubbing, rubber that is cracked, flaking or decayed, and rust on the ends where the hose is connected.  Preventative maintenance can save you time and money, because nobody wants to have a machine down while on the job, particularly your customer who you just emptied 5 gallons of hydraulic oil on their lawn.

OK, so maybe that’s more than 5 gallons

So how often should you check your hoses? Well again this depends on several factors; how often do you use the machine? Where is the machine kept? Do you have it exposed to the weather outside or is it protected in a garage away from the sun and elements? These factors all contribute to hose longevity. If you are finding that certain hoses wear out quicker than others it might be a good idea to get nylon, plastic, or steel hose wrap to protect it even further to get the most out of your hose. If you aren't sure you should replace your hose take it off and bring it down to one of our Parker store locations, and our professionals will be sure to take care of you.

Parker’s E-Z Form Is Amazingly Flexible

Drew Swanton

Parker Store Mgr.


If you haven’t heard about this new product from Parker, you will find that it is amazingly flexible. We are now stocking the Parker E-Z Form™ at our South Portland and Lewiston, Maine, and Weymouth, Mass. Locations.

We are very excited to offer this new state of the art industrial hose, which comes in sizes from 1/2” to 4” ID.  This is a general service hose with an amazingly flexible and non-kink style. Literally you can tie this in knots and it won’t kink!

No kinks, no problems… who’s going to untie it though?

The E-Z form™ hose is perfect for use on mobile and industrial equipment; it’s specifically engineered to handle oil, air, water, fuel and some coolants. This hose is designed for applications that require the most intense bends without affecting full flow rates.  The secret of the flexibility comes from the special corrugated Greek cover, where the grooves in it allow for the extreme bends.

Groovy.

We carry both series that Parker offers in house, the general service (7395) and oil resistant/fuel transfer hose (7219). With length availability ranging from one foot to a three hundred foot reel, we can make sure you have the right hose and length for the job. This hose is a great replacement for expensive factory pre-formed hoses that are usually inherent with tight bend applications.  It also can save you time from ordering by replacing the pre-formed hose with a cut-length of E-Z Form™.

For more information about this product or any general questions please contact me!  E-mail or phone is great- you can even fax us.

The Parker Store Blog Is Up & Running Again

Welcome back to The Parker Store blog of The Hope Group. For new readers, my name is Drew Swanton and I will be writing a few words on a regular basis about things happening at The Parker Stores of New England. For returning readers, I am the new writer. Our previous writer, Lori, after receiving a lot of training here in New England with us has moved on to Tennessee for Parker. So, now you are stuck with me.

Since this is my first post I’m going to start off with a little background information about myself. I’ve been with THG Corporation going on four years now and I started pretty much at the bottom.  I was the shipper and receiver working out of our branch in Lewiston. When I first came into the position I had just finished working for a bank, and needless to say my expertise in the field of fluid power was little to none, but nonetheless I was happy to be working. As far as job duties were concerned I was the shipper but after all I was working in a hydraulic hose shop and was very visible to customers so learning to make hose assemblies was naturally the next step.

After working for a few years at Lewiston, the position of store manager opened up in our South Portland branch and I was happy to take advantage of that opportunity. I’ve been here for a year now and it’s amazing how fast you learn when you need to. Everything I did in Lewiston was just a small part of what this company does and can do. Being successful here has all come down to hard work, a desire to learn and grow. So continuing with that trend my next jump after shipping and receiving to managing a fluid power store was to try blogging… It was an obvious choice.

Next issue will be a lot less about me and a lot more about you. I want you to feel free to write to us if you have a question, or to just chat. Write dswanton@thehopegroup.com. Thanks.

Drew Swanton

Parker Store Mgr.


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The Hills of Tennessee

The time has come. Parker has called me up and I will officially be leaving the The Hope Group.  I will be moving on to cover a new territory in Tennessee.   It is truly a bittersweet feeling.  The last 8 months I have spent working with The Hope Group has made them feel like my family.  This entire experience has been challenging, rewarding, and helped me grow professionally in ways that I probably don’t even understand yet.

Reflecting on my time with The Hope Group I am thankful to have been given the opportunity to work for a company that so strongly believes in its employees and who gave me the freedom to make mistakes and go out on my own to learn how a true salesperson lives day to day life.  I have been given the opportunity to learn the ins and outs of a successful Parker distributor, all the while being under a complete umbrella of support. 

For every cold call made, door shut in my face, lead followed up on, quote generated, sale completed, and question that arose, which I had no idea what the answer was, The Hope Group was there to guide me along the way.  The team around here has taught me what it takes to be a trusted and respected salesperson.  Be honest, listen, have timely follow through, find the customers pain point and try to alleviate it, and when possible anticipate their needs before they even recognize that it is a need.  The Hope Group has reinforced the concepts Parker taught us in basic training and showed how to apply the tools I have to real world applications. 

As the door closes on this chapter of my career in sales, it is because of this experience that I can open the next door with confidence.  The Hope Group has shown me what success looks like and where passion and hard work can get you.   I appreciate every minute spent here and as I get ready to move on, I won’t say goodbye, but see you later.  This is just the beginning of what I hope to be a very exciting sales career. 

Lori Wessels

Parker Hannifin
Product Support Specialist


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Complete Solutions

Recently at The Hope Group we had the pleasure of having two representatives of Parker Hannifin’s Tube Fittings Division stop in for a visit.  One of the presentations that they gave was about Parker’s new facility/product line to support CPS, Complete Piping Solutions.  The CPS product line is a perfect example of how The Hope Group and Parker are similarly aligned in their business objectives.  Providing full system solutions is the goal of both companies, keeping the value of what we do at a high level and the dirty word commodity out of everyone’s mouth.

There are a hundred different manufacturers of fittings, hose, etc…, and there are a thousand different distributors that make sure these products are put in the hands of the end user.  So, how do you set yourself apart and show the customer that you are the person to buy from?  Value. You need to show the value of your services to the customer.

Having the ability to provide complete system solutions is a prime example of adding value to any customer’s project.  Parker’s Parflange F37 product range includes certified components capable of providing non-welded piping systems up to 273 mm with wall thicknesses to 25 mm (10" x 1"). This product line is supported domestically by the new state of the art CPS facility located in Houston, TX, which is one of the only facilities in the world with the ability to cold bend and manufacture 10 inch piping assemblies.   The Hope Group’s sales and engineering team work alongside the team at Parker to determine out how they can best utilize this unique technology to support its customer’s initiatives.   

Innovative systems such as the one described here show Parker’s dedication toward continuous improvement and the quick adaptation of these new technologies show why distributors such as The Hope Group continue to be successful. 

Lori Wessels

Parker Hannifin
Product Support Specialist


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Gatekeeper! (How to be the Key Master)

Me: Good morning, how are you?
Gatekeeper: Good, how may I help you?
Me: I am here to see John Smith please.
Gatekeeper: Was he expecting you?
Me: I left him a voicemail letting him know I would be stopping in.  My name is Lori Wessels with The Hope Group on behalf of Parker Hannifin, if he has a couple minutes please?Gatekeeper: Sorry, it’s company policy, you need an appointment.  Would you like to leave something for him?
Me: Thank you, if you could give him this I will give him a call to follow up next week, thank you.

This topic was bound to come up sooner than later.  The “Gatekeeper”; who they are, what they do, and how they make my job a little more challenging.  That isn’t fair to say 100 percent of the time, if used properly, the gatekeeper can provide you with valuable information that you can utilize in eventually getting past them. 

Over the last couple of weeks while making sales calls on behalf of The Hope Group I have done my fair share of “drop-ins” aka cold calls. Many times scenarios like the one above ensue.  What I have had to learn to adapt to is how I can use what this person has to offer to get as much information as I can. 

It should go without saying that being polite and putting on a smile must be your starting point.  Be honest, I can’t pretend I have an appointment if I don’t, but by giving them the information I do have such as the person’s name, their department/title, letting them know I left a voicemail gives the illusion that the relationship is more established than it actually is. If the person is unavailable (unwilling) to meet with me, I ask follow-up questions, listen to the cues given (if any) by the gatekeeper.

Me: You know I have had a hard time getting a hold of him; is there a time of day that he is typically at his desk?

Gatekeeper: He only works until 3:00.

By gathering this information and asking these types of questions not only are you able to strengthen your relationship with the gatekeeper, who ultimately can help you get in the door, but you are increasing your chances of getting the person you are looking for on the phone.  It allows for better call preparation.  If I know he only works until 3:00, I can assume that any time after lunch is probably pretty busy for him; morning might be a better time to try and reach him. 

Information pertaining to the person you are trying to reach isn’t the only thing the gatekeeper has to offer.  They have a wealth of information about what the company does as well.  If I don’t know much about what a potential customer does, I can ask them about the business in general to get a better idea of what they do. I may find out that they know the name Parker Hannifin, and from what they know they do order some fittings, tubing, hose, valves etc...  In addition as I tell them more about what I do, there have been instances where I discover I should be trying to meet with a whole different person/department than what I originally thought. 

It is universally true that sales people dread the gatekeeper.  However, they will always exist and it is how you learn to adapt and utilize the person that is in front of you that will ultimately help you to get in front of the person that can help turn a target account into a customer. 

Lori Wessels

Parker Hannifin
Product Support Specialist


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Independence - My Interpretation

In the spirit of the 4^th of July and celebrating our nations independence I thought about how that word applies directly to the direction my career has taken.  Outside sales requires a heavy reliance on the support system around you, but just as much it is about learning how to hone your independence.  I am quickly learning how much of my week is dependent on me.  How I choose to take that freedom and turn it into something that equals success is part of my new daily challenge.

The freedom of this career is a big part of what drew me to it. I like that I am going to get out of each day, week, or month, what I put into it.  In order to make each day as productive as possible I started looking at my personal life to see how I would most effectively mix my professional life into it.  Knowing that I am not a great morning person I realized that by scheduling the majority of meetings in the morning gave me more motivation to get my day going and start with a high energy level that would carry me through the day.  On days when I have more meetings in the morning, and do follow-up work in the late afternoon, I feel as if I accomplish more than when the schedule is vice versa.  This isn’t always realistic based on potential customer schedules, but having that self awareness is helpful on the “off” days as well to keep focused and on track. The worst thing I could do is feel like I am taking advantage of the freedom entrusted to me. 

I have been given independence in how I spend time creating my schedule, what calls I prioritize, and how I take it upon myself to continue to improve my product and industry knowledge.  To be successful in all of these aspects there needs to be a certain degree of self motivation, of fight, to want it and to give 100 percent for every opportunity.  If I don’t want to go on meeting; if I don’t want to make the phone call, there is nobody looking over my shoulder to make sure I do. However, that is one of the greatest revelations I have had since starting this, is that I want to do it, everyday.  The sense of freedom, trust, respect, and support that I feel from Parker and The Hope Group is what gives me the ability to be independent and (fingers crossed) successful at the same time. 

Lori Wessels

Parker Hannifin
Product Support Specialist


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