Atlas Polar is currently hiring for a Product Support Technician/Technologist in our Truck Mounted Material Handling division.

The job involves hydraulic, mechanical, and electrical troubleshooting of mobile equipment and testing of cranes and other equipment. The position includes training of operators and technicians, and communication (written and verbal) with customers, dealers and suppliers. The position also has responsibilities documentation, specifically drawings, projects, and purchasing.

Those interested in applying should have a diploma in mechanical engineering, excellent communication and organizational skills, experience related to the position, knowledge of hydraulic equipment, and skills in troubleshooting. The position requires some travel within Canada.

Full details are available in the job posting.

The February, 2011 issue of Home Improvement Retailing magazine asked a selection of industry leaders to predict how the home improvement sector will fare in the coming year.

Among the leaders they consulted is our own Bob Parr, President of Atlas Polar. In his remarks to the magazine, Bob talks about the difficulties faced by the building supplies industry in the poor economic climate of the past couple of years. Companies were forced to adapt to new circumstances and, he notes, most survived and are now stronger.

Given their newfound strength, these companies are starting to buy equipment again and Bob predicts a 5-10% increase in business for Atlas Polar this year. Atlas Polar is helped, undoubtedly, by the fact that we offer our own in-house financing programs to help customers who might have difficulty with the tighter lending rules at most banks. Here’s the link outlining some of our financial plans for customers.

Although Atlas Polar faces price pressure, Bob believes that we have been and will continue to be successful at facing those challenges by communicating with our customer base about the tremendous quality of our equipment. The HIAB cranes, Moffett forklifts, Multilift hooklifts, Mixveyor concrete conveyors, and other equipment we sell is premium equipment, but our customers understand the added value in buying these top-of-the-line machines—longer life, lower maintenance costs, and better overall performance. We must also be able to show the value-added benefits of the Atlas Polar after-sales and service support network provided with this first-class equipment.

The entire article is available here in PDF format.

Atlas Polar has a new job opening in Inventory Control.

The job involves soliciting quotations and writing vendor purchase orders, liaising with all departments, developing new vendor sources, and maintaining and updating the vendor ISO Performance Log. Other responsibilities include: negotiating with vendors, sourcing alternate products that can fit form and function standard components, and working and providing assistance to the company Health and Safety Committee.

The successful candidate will be mechanically inclined and have the ability to read CAD drawings, have good communication and computer skills (including AS400 and PC base), and have 2-3 years of experience in purchasing and expediting.

Full details are available on the Job Postings page.

Most people probably assume that employee and workplace safety are fairly recent innovations, but volume 4 of HIAB Method magazine proves that this is not the case. As far back as 1963, the idea of training and safety aids for drivers of large trucks was being discussed in Sweden, and by 1966, a Road Transport Vocational Council had established 14-week training courses.

The courses included driver training on a practice track, with special emphasis on trailer work (including testing on backing up with a two-axle trailer.) After completing classes, the driver was given a 5-week placement with a trucking firm. All in all, it sounds like a comprehensive program and it was solidly backed by HIAB.

Atlas Polar is another company that knows the value of workplace training. We offer complete crane training courses at our Toronto office, at customer sites, and at various authorized HIAB dealers across Canada.

To learn more about Atlas Polar crane training, visit our Crane Training page.

Get a Quote on a HIAB Crane

The November/December 2010 issue of On-Site Magazine includes a feature article called “Choosing the Right Crane for the Job.”

The article opens with a discussion of knuckle boom or articulated cranes—more specifically, HIAB articulated cranes. I was interviewed for the article and talk briefly about the history of HIAB cranes in Canada and then move into a talk about the versatility of knuckle boom cranes. I also noted about the importance of crane operator training and crane maintenance.

You can see the full article in the attached PDF. To read more about the many models of HIAB articulated cranes that Atlas Polar distributes, see our HIAB Truck Crane page.

When you have questions about Atlas Polar products, you need timely answers.

At Atlas Polar, we take tremendous pride in the excellent service we offer our clients. Your salesperson is always available to help you, but when you need assistance with a specific issue—scheduling maintenance, technical support, parts, billing—we want to ensure that you find the right person, right away.

We have a complete list of our team members on our Contact Us page, and we have just added a new PDF for you to print and keep handy. Refer to this list anytime you have a question or need product support or maintenance. We are always just a phone call away!

You may remember our announcement, in late summer, about our new logo. We refreshed our logo to give it a more modern and streamlined feel. We also added our new tag line, “It’s all about quality.”

This tag line reflects our corporate philosophy. We believe in selling quality products, which is evident in all of our product lines. HIAB truck mounted cranes, Moffett truck mounted forklifts, and Multilift hooklifts are all top performers with excellent reputations for durability, ease of use, and safety. Our concrete conveyors—including the first-ever front-mounted Mixveyor — are equally well known for performance, long life, and safety features.

Our commitment to quality includes customer service. We pride ourselves on offering courteous, responsive service across our entire company.

We are pleased to show off our new logo and tag line on our new sign, located outside our head office in Toronto. Looks great, doesn’t it?

As we said when we first told you about our new logo in the summer: “We are excited to introduce our new look and we look forward to delivering on our promise of quality in both products and service.”

On October 30th of this year, Larry Schnittker officially retired from Atlas Polar. It is a sad time for all of the employees as Larry was a fixture of our team and definitely a lively part of any meetings.

Larry was a member of the sales staff for a full 25 years at Atlas Polar, covering the Western Ontario region. His background in truck body sales and managing a truck body manufacturing division served him well at Atlas Polar, where he was a very successful sales representative , helping to make HIAB cranes, Moffett truck mounted forklifts and Multilift hooklifts well recognized and
respected brands in Western Ontario.

I reached Larry in his car, on his way to meet with a customer. It just so happens that Larry still meets with customers, many of whom he considers friends as well as business partners. I asked him for a few comments about his time with Atlas Polar. He said: “I liked the contact with people and I enjoyed putting a deal together…creating truck packages for customers that would help them with their business deliveries.” He also had kind words for his colleagues: “I don’t think you could find a better group of people that would gel like they do at Atlas Polar.”

After being on the road for so many years, Larry admitted that he’s looking forward to spending some quality time at home with his wife, Nancy. Nancy is also enjoying the change and has a long list of chores ready and waiting. Larry has started retirement busy with grandkids’ hockey games, repairing truck equipment and more plans on some car traveling in the New Year.

All the best Larry!

Atlas Polar’s Hydrorake Division, which produces automated trashrake cleaning for hydroelectric dams and irrigation systems, is currently seeking an experienced technical outside salesperson.

Atlas Polar is an industry leader in the development of innovative solutions for waterway cleaning and control. Products in the Hydrorake Division include: the Hydrorake trash rake, used in water intakes, hydroelectric dams, and fish processing plants; Hydrobrush systems, used in fish monitoring and transfer facilities; and stop log lifter systems.

The ideal candidate for this position has the requisite technical knowledge and at least five years of experience in outside sales, preferably in a construction environment. This person also has experience working on long-term projects and has worked with government, contractors, consultants and engineers. A driver’s license is required and the job includes extensive travel.

The technical outside salesperson will have many responsibilities, including: performing cold calls and seeking out other applications for our products; meeting sales targets and project deadlines; assisting with marketing by attending trade shows and making sales presentations; and providing support, troubleshooting, training, and part sales for the products.

Get a Quote on a Mixveyor

A recent article on the Concrete Products website highlighted the first-ever 52-ft. Atlas Polar truck-mounted telescopic concrete conveyor to be used in the U.S. (The conveyor can be seen in the photograph that accompanies the article.)

With the 52-ft. conveyor and the seven-axle spec on its mixer, the West Virginia Independent Central Supply Company can transfer loads of 9-yards plus.

Concrete delivery at sites in West Virginia can be challenging because of the uneven terrain in many parts of the state. With the their new Atlas Polar concrete conveyor (just delivered at the beginning of October), Central Supply operators have been able to extend their mix placement reach, making the job of delivering concrete easier and making customers happier.

Atlas Polar is pleased to hear positive reviews after the 52-ft. conveyor was used by Central Supply in one commercial site and several residential sites. We’ve heard similar good reports from the Canadian ready-mix operators who have installed the 52-ft. model.

To learn more about our concrete conveyors, including our Front Discharge Mixveyor, visit the Atlas Polar Mixveyor Concrete Conveyor page.