Chamber tours Elk River, Inc.

Elk River engineer Jason White simulates a bucket escape using
several of the the company's fall protection and safety devices
during the recent Chamber of Commerce Existing
Business and Industry tour.

    Cullman's Elk River, Inc., belongs to a somewhat unique group among businesses in that the company's products are held to a higher standard than most. As well they should be, for when most products fail, their owners often return them for a refund or a replacement product.
    However, as Pat Clemmons, co-owner of Elk River and head of Elk River's customer service department stated at a recent Chamber of Commerce Existing Business and Industry tour of the Cullman facility, if an Elk River product fails "someone dies."
    Like the products they produce, representatives of Elk River are no-nonsense about their purpose. They will gladly tell you that the fall protection and safety equipment they sell is designed with one thing in mind: saving lives. The nature of their business means that quality control is of the essence, and the company's commitment to providing a quality product comes not only from an admirable work ethic, but from an entirely different place as well ... a conscience.
    "We have a philosophy here at Elk River," said Pat Clemmons. "We are in the safety business. We have to look at ourselves in the mirror each morning, so we're not going to put out an inferior product."
    Another major difference between Elk River's product line and those of many industries is that their product is designed to work only once.
   "We've had people call and say that one of our harnesses has saved their life and they want to send it in and have us replace it," Clemmons said. "But, it did what it was supposed to do; they're designed to work only one time."
    "We make a quality product, and it's considered to be a high-end product. We make more economical products, too, and they work. But to those who feel our products are too costly, we ask 'what price do you put on a life?'"

One reason products like fall protection harnesses, shock-absorbing lanyards and the like are intended to be used only once is that when a person wearing the gear falls from any distance, the stress placed on the nylon and polyester webbing, seams, metal d-rings and other components is incalculable. While the harness might actually work again following such a fall, it is not a certainty, and when it comes to one's life, certainty is most definitely a good thing. Without a fall during their lifespan, Elk River products have a service life of five years, which, as Clemmons noted, is the industry-wide standard.

    To insure that each of the 3,000 products in the Elk River line meet and exceed the industry standards, the company has a battery of rigorous tests that products must undergo. One such test for harnesses involves a fall from a 36-foot tower while supporting a weighted dummy, nicknamed "Elvis" by Elk River employees.
    "All of our products have to stand up to at least 5,000 pounds of force," said Mark Conover, Regional Sales Manager for Elk River. "In addition to meeting or exceeding ANSI (American National Standards Institute) and OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration) standards, Elk River is also third-party certified, which means that an independent company comes in and tests our products at random.
    " Twenty of our products are sold in Europe and also meet the CE European standard." Elk River also holds the ISO 9001: 2000 certification.

Cullman Airport manager Bob Burns admires "Elvis", the weighted
dummy used to test Elk River's fall protection gear.

Elk River sells its line of fall protection gear, body harnesses, occupational safety gear, confined space rescue and retrieval equipment, back supports and worker positioning gear directly to distributors in the U.S. and overseas. Locally, their products are sold through Werner's Trading Company and Fastenal Industrial Supplies in Cullman. Elk River also owns two Canadian subsidiaries, Jelco, a manufacturer of leather safety goods and equipment aimed at the utility industry; and Alubox, a manufacturer of custom shipping and carrying cases.
A safety vest on display in the corporate offices of Elk River.	Elk River employs approximately 100 persons at their Cullman facility, which includes corporate offices, the warehouse and manufacturing branches and Bear Creek, Elk River's in-house graphics and screen printing group. Elk River also has a sewing plant located in Athens, Alabama, near the Elk River from which the company derived its name. Headed by CEO Philip Clemmons, the company was founded in Cullman and Athens in 1988 as the Elk River Safety Belt Company. As safety standards changed and body harnesses became the norm, Elk River shortened its name to keep with the times. In the next year, Elk River plans to merge fully with its subsidiary Jelco and offer their products through the Elk River catalog. "We certainly appreciate Elk River for hosting this tour,' said Chamber of Commerce President Sonya Hembree. "I've toured this facility three times in the past years and I learn something new every time. It truly is a fascinating place." To learn more about Elk River, visit them on the web at www.elkriver.com or contact the Cullman Area Chamber of Commerce.	Pat Clemmons displays one of Elk River's body harnesses.

At left, engineer Jason White explains the methods used to test lanyards, harnesses and other fall protection equipment at Elk River's 36-foot drop station. Above, Bob Burns, Don Morgan of the City of Cullman Industrial Development Board and Cullman County Economic Development Director Randall Shedd listen on as Pat Clemmons explains the safety harness industry and the methods employed by Elk River.