Technological Improvements & Customer Input
March, 2019
Evolving customer needs, technological improvements, and customer input are just a few factors that lead manufacturers to the decision to improve a product. At CANTEX, we value what our customers tell us, so we continually seek to make changes when the end-users believe we can improve any of our PVC electrical products. We also pay close attention to construction and technological changes in the industry that necessitate different functionality to make sure we are meeting customer needs. Improvements to our PVC electrical products help keep customers happy and help us to continue to outperform the competition.
For over 60 years, the PVC electrical product engineers at CANTEX have stayed ahead of the industry by continually seeking ways to improve product designs for better functionality. They strive to insure that our products exceed industry standards and provide the best solutions for specific applications. CANTEX engineers recently made three such product improvements to our PVC electrical base spacer, intermediate spacer and our ½ and ¾ inch male terminal adapters.
We heard from several customers last year that although certain design features of our PVC spacers performed better than our competitor’s products, they wanted a stronger and more durable product. As a result, CANTEX design engineers implemented tests and began to improve the design for strength and durability. They managed to make these improvements while maintaining the existing capability and cost advantages of our PVC spacers.
The new designs for both the PVC base and intermediate spacers included the following improvements:
- Strengthening the webbing and cross beams to improve strength and rigidness
- Significantly improving the crush test rating while maintaining the lower cost advantage
- Adding ¼ inch to each side of the base of all trade sizes for better stability, while maintaining the rebar hole design advantage
Also based on customer input, CANTEX engineers decided to improve our ½ and ¾ inch PVC male terminal adapters. Customers had indicated that our old PVC male terminal adapters were difficult to use in tight spaces and when used for multiple connections close together, so the following changes were made:
- Ridges were added for an enhanced grip and easier handling in tight spaces while maintaining the lower cost advantage
- The hexagon shape was removed from the sides for a better fit in tight spaces and when used close together for multiple connections
At CANTEX, we listen to our customers ideas for improvement, because we know that customers are often the best innovators, since they don’t limit their ideas based on what they think is possible! They simply think of better ways to solve their problems. Please be sure to pass on product improvement information to customers, especially those who may have expressed that they preferred a competitor’s product in the past. Those improvements just may be exactly what your customers are looking for and turn into business.