President's Message

By Bill Putnam

Welcome to the winter edition of our Ropecord News. This is the time of year for reflection and review of the past year and planning ahead for 2023 in our businesses and lives. The same is true for the Cordage Institute. The year was a nice return to near normal for CI with regularly scheduled, in-person meetings taking place in June and October, along with a virtual meeting last January. The organization continues to be strong and healthy financially. We have added some new members and appreciate them as well as our Associate Members that help sponsor our meetings. The Covid-based difficulties of navigating conference rescheduling and having two annual conferences in one fiscal year are behind us, hopefully forever. Even with those issues, our budget came through healthy for 2022 and continues to look prudent and strong for our 2023 fiscal year. I would like to thank the efforts of the board and Pete Lance for helping navigate the challenges over the past two years and keeping the organization on track and financially stable.

We appreciate those that were able to attend the Fall Technical Meeting held on October 12-13, 2022. The Technical Committee had a very active schedule that will be reported later in the newsletter. The schedule included productive meetings of CIRTS, 8 technical subcommittees and task groups, and the full CI Technical Committee. As always, we thank member companies and attendees for allowing participation in these technical groups as it is the strength of our association. Many committees need additional members and chairs, and we encourage your participation. 

A big thank you to the Associate Members who sponsored this meeting:

• Avient Protective Materials
• Hailide America, Inc
• Honeywell
• I-Coats N.V.
• Kuraray America, Inc.
• Nexis Fibers
• Teijin Aramid
• TP Industrial Yarns B.V.

The CI Board of Directors met in conjunction with the Fall Technical Meeting on October 12, 2022. Key actions taken by the Board included approval of a complete revamp of the CI website. The new site is scheduled to be launched during the first quarter of 2023. Much of the work will be on the back end to allow increased functionality and security. The work will also allow us to make additional improvements to the layout and view for our members and the public. More news will be coming as this develops over the next few months.

The golf tournament held during the Annual Conference will now be named “The Sim Whitehill Memorial Golf Tournament” in honor of the long-time member, passionate golfer, and Past President of the Cordage Institute, who passed away in August 2022. We will continue to honor the legacy of Gale Foster through the Gale Foster Award of Merit. Rollin Stirman, who passed away in September 2018, will be honored as the recipient of this award during the 2023 Annual Conference.

One of the newer committees of CI is the Life Cycle Management Subcommittee, chaired by Koen Van Goethem. The issue of life cycle management continues to have importance to our members as new requirements are being developed around the globe. The subcommittee plans to develop a standard or guideline on life cycle management.

We have welcomed two new members since the annual meeting, Cancord Ropes, Inc. and Phenix Engineered Textiles, both as regular members.

The Winter Technical Meeting will be held virtually on January 31, 2023 and February 1, 2023. Details are included in this newsletter. These meetings are open to all members.

Planning is also underway for the Cordage Institute’s 2023 Annual Conference, and below are a few highlights:

• The Cordage Institute Annual Conference will be held on May 16-18, 2023 at the Cheyenne Mountain Resort in Colorado Springs, Colorado.
• The program will feature technical working group meetings, a meeting of the Technical Committee, the annual business meeting, a technical seminar, the annual golf tournament, award presentations, and plenty of opportunities to network with the top management of major manufacturers and suppliers in the industry.
• During the technical seminar on Thursday, May 18^th, members are invited to present technical information to the membership.

Comments or suggestions on any of the initiatives we are undertaking, or should be considering, are always welcome. You can send feedback to Pete Lance or any of the board members. Thank you for your continued support and participation.

I wish you all good health and happiness during this holiday season and into the New Year. Take an extra moment to appreciate your family, friends and business associates.

Please mark your calendar for the Cordage Institute Annual Conference on May 16-18, 2023 at the Cheyenne Mountain Resort. The Cheyenne Mountain Resort is a scenic 10-mile drive from the Colorado Springs Airport and sits at an elevation of 9,570 ft above sea level. Enjoy the onsite lake, tennis courts, spa, and golf with awe-inspiring views at the base of the Front Mountain Range.

If you need an adventure, learn about Colorado’s past while viewing millions of years of erosion and geological wonders below ground at the Cave of the Winds. Explore miles of trail above ground with towering dusty-red formations that frame the view to Pikes Peak at the Garden of The Gods park. Make new friends at the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo while feeding elephants, giraffes, and birds. Feed yourself in one of the “Friendliest Cities in the US,” Manitou Springs; or learn what it takes to be the best in the world at the US Olympic and Paralympic Museum, which is not to be confused with those training to serve with the best at the US Airforce Academy.

The program will feature technical working group meetings, a meeting of the Technical Committee, the annual business meeting, a technical seminar, The Sim Whitehill Memorial Golf Tournament, award presentations, and plenty of other networking opportunities.

Be on the lookout! More information on the conference and program will be sent to members and posted on the website in early 2023.

Want to get an early start on your travel plans? Use the below buttons to view the tentative schedule and reserve your hotel accommodations.

We are seeking engaging and educational technical presentations for our next Annual Conference on May 16-18, 2023 at the Cheyenne Mountain Resort in Colorado Springs, Colorado. The presentations, which will be given during the Annual Technical Seminar on Thursday, May 18th, should cover timely and noteworthy topics related to fiber ropes, cables, chains, and other synthetic tension members. 

Please send your abstract with your name, affiliation, phone number, and postal address to info@ropecord.com by January 18, 2023. 

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On October 12-13, 2022, the Cordage Institute held a Technical Meeting at the Courtyard Philadelphia South at the Navy Yard. The event consisted of Technical Subcommittee and Task Group meetings and a group dinner. The dinner was filled with fun, food and laughter as friends were able to meet in person and catch up. A meeting of the full Cordage Institute Technical Committee also occurred, and reports from each Subcommittee and Task Group were provided.

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The next meeting of the Cordage Institute’s Technical Committee will be held virtually on Tuesday, January 31, 2023, and Wednesday, February 1, 2023, via Zoom.

The meetings will begin on both days at 7:00 a.m. PST | 9:00 a.m. CST | 10:00 a.m. EST | 4:00 p.m. CET. The agenda and meeting times will be confirmed based on how much time each subcommittee and task group will need for their meetings.

Please mark your calendars for these meetings. Once subcommittee and task group meeting times are finalized, an invitation with information on joining the meetings will be sent to members. In the meantime, please reach out to the CI office if you have any questions.  

Samson, the strongest name in rope, is pleased to announce the addition of two new members to our Senior Leadership Team, Carolyn Rawle and Chad Hislop. 

Carolyn Rawle joined the team in May 2022 as VP of Operations. She will oversee manufacturing, supply chain, customer service, safety, and manufacturing engineering leadership in this role. Carolyn comes to us with over 15 years of senior leadership experience and, before joining Samson, was the Director of Operations with Inland Tarp & Liner in Moses Lake, WA. Prior to that, she spent ten years in England with British Gas gaining customer-centric experience as Operations Services Manager and Deputy Area Dispatch Manager for almost 90,000 customers. 

Chad Hislop joined our team this month as VP of Engineering and R&D and will oversee our engineering, product development, and lab leadership. He brings 21 years of mechanical engineering and senior leadership experience from Genie Industries in Seattle, WA. At Genie, Chad led engineering and product management teams globally, holding various roles, including Director of Engineering and, most recently, Senior Director of Product Management. 

Christian Rheault, Samson CEO, states, “I am excited to have Carolyn and Chad on our Senior Leadership Team. I am confident their backgrounds and experience will positively add to our dedicated team.”