News

Last chance to register for our Safety Seminar

Thu, 10 May 2012 15:00:00 GMT

Don't wait, register now for our 1/2 day safety seminar being held in Coquitlam, BC Tuesday May 15th.

Skeans Safety Seminar May 15th

Thu, 03 May 2012 18:18:00 GMT

SKEANS Safety Training Seminar

Safety is a key factor in any workplace. As employers, it is our responsibility to maintain a safe and healthy workplace for our staff and visitors. In conjunction with Ross Controls and Leuze Electronics SKEANS is offering a free half-day seminar to help our customers learn more about some of the products that SKEANS can offer to improve the safety of your business, people and equipment. Topics and presenters.....

Presenter: JOHN MURPHY of LEUZE ELECTRONIC TOPICS of discussion: Current applicable standards Safeguarding requirements Types of Hazards Guarding solutions Verifying results to Safeguarding solutions
Presenter: DAN HENMAN of ROSS CONTROLS TOPICS of discussion: FLUID POWER SAFETY FOR MACHINE GUARDING Ross controls "Introduction" Control Integrity does not end with the Wire - Are you sure your safety circuits are safe? Lockout/Tagout (LOTO) - Energy Isolation Alternative Lockout - Increase Productivity while making your machines more safe Fluid Power Risk Assessment - Awareness of Fluid Power Safety Concerns

Date / Location:

TUESDAY MAY 15, 2012

8:00am to 12:15pm

Best Western - Coquitlam Inn

319 North Road Coquitlam, BC

Schedule of events:

Registration 8:00-8:30

Coffee & Muffins served

Leuze Electronic 8:30-10:15

15 min networking break

Ross Controls 10:30-12:15

Space is limited, first come first served, so sign up early to secure your spot

Please RSVP to skeans@skeans.com or call Tannis Michalsky @ 604.777.4247 ext 241

Canucks for Kids - Jeans Day

Thu, 26 Apr 2012 22:37:00 GMT

We are proud of our staff for more than 70% participation in "Canucks for Kids - April 26th is Jeans Day" Team

Another devasting fire in BC's Forest industry

Tue, 24 Apr 2012 16:21:00 GMT

The people of Lakeland Mill in BC's Northern city of Prince George are in the thoughts and prayers of everyone at SKEANS today after an explosion resulted in a fire that leveled the Sawmill on Monday night. This is the second such tragedy in BC's Forest Industry in a few short months.

Taken from CBC News:

1 dead and 24 injured in Prince George Sawmill Explosion

Cause of the explosion and fire at Lakeland Mill is not yet clear

One person has been killed and 24 injured when an explosion and fire ripped through the Lakeland Mills sawmill in Prince George, B.C. on Monday night.

Emergency crews rushed to the scene after the explosion engulfed the mill at about 9:45 p.m. PT, shaking nearby homes and businesses.

Flames at the sawmill, located about one kilometer outside the city, were reported to have shot more than 60 metres in the air at one point, according to witnesses.

For the full story.... please click here http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/story/2012/04/24/bc-prince-george-mill-fire.html?cmp=rss

Welcome Fin Donnelly MP

Tue, 20 Mar 2012 15:13:00 GMT

Today at Skeans we welcome our Federal MP Fin Donnelly, who has been invited by the "Mining Suppliers Association of British Columbia", of which Skeans is a member, to tour our facility. The purpose of his visit is to see SKEANS capabilities and explore our ability to support and benefit the economic growth and needs of the Mining Industry.

Monnier SS Filters and Regulators

Tue, 20 Mar 2012 15:18:00 GMT

Monnier is now offering a line of miniature particulate filters, coalescing filters, regulators, and filter/regulators in 316 Stainless Steel. Designed to withstand caustic solutions, harsh operating conditions and other demanding applications, the Monnier Stainless Line is ideal for Food preparation and packaging, pharmaceutical, natural gas, offshore and waste-water treatment. See our Pneumatics Products FRL pages for more information and direct supplier links for the 316SS products.

BC Coal Industry Overview for 2011 released

Tue, 20 Mar 2012 15:46:00 GMT

Yesterday the Ministry of Energy and Mines released it's 2011 BC Coal Industry Overview. Featuring several SKEANS customers and a lot of information regarding Coal Mining in BC we have posted a link to the publication here for our readers.

Link: British Columbia Coal Industry Overview 2011

Happy Leap Day - Here's some Leap Year 101

Wed, 29 Feb 2012 16:00:00 GMT

A leap year is a year containing one additional day in order to keep the calendar year synchronized with the astronomical or seasonal year. Because seasons and astronomical events do not repeat in a whole number of days, a calendar that had the same number of days in each year would, over time, drift with respect to the event it was supposed to track. By occasionally inserting an additional day or month into the year, the drift can be corrected. In the Gregorian calendar, the current standard calendar in most of the world, most years that are evenly divisible by 4 are leap years. In each leap year, the month of February has 29 days instead of 28. Adding an extra day to the calendar every four years compensates for the fact that a period of 365 days is shorter than a solar year by almost 6 hours.

Some exceptions to this rule are required since the duration of a solar year is slightly less than 365.25 days. Years that are evenly divisible by 100 are not leap years, unless they are also evenly divisible by 400, in which case they are leap years. For example, 1600 and 2000 were leap years, but 1700, 1800 and 1900 were not. Similarly, 2100, 2200, 2300, 2500, 2600, 2700, 2900 and 3000 will not be leap years, but 2400 and 2800 will be. Therefore, in a duration of two millennia, there will be 485 leap years. By this rule, the average number of days per year will be 365 + 1/4 − 1/100 + 1/400 = 365.2425, which is 365 days, 5 hours, 49 minutes, and 12 seconds. The Gregorian calendar was designed to keep the vernal equinox on or close to March 21, so that the date of Easter (celebrated on the Sunday after the 14th day of the Moon—i.e. a full moon—that falls on or after March 21) remains correct with respect to the vernal equinox. The vernal equinox year is about 365.242374 days long (and increasing).

The marginal difference of 0.000125 days between the Gregorian calendar average year and the actual year means that, in 8,000 years, the calendar will be about one day behind where it is now. But in 8,000 years, the length of the vernal equinox year will have changed by an amount that cannot be accurately predicted. Therefore, the current Gregorian calendar suffices for practical purposes.

There, now you know everything you ever wanted, or didn't want, to know about leap years. Thanks for visiting Skeans. Look forward to our March Pneusletter coming soon.

Above information from Wikipedia

Devasting fire Babine Forest Products Burns Lake, BC

Mon, 23 Jan 2012 15:56:00 GMT

Our thoughts and prayers go out to the workers and families of Babine Forest Products in Burns Lake, after a devastating fire takes the life of several works and injures more.

Happy New Year

Wed, 04 Jan 2012 16:18:00 GMT

We would like to take this opportunity to thank all of our customers, new and old, for your business in 2011 and we look forward to a bigger brighter year in 2012. We hope everyone has a safe, happy and fulfilling New Year!

December Pneusletter

Thu, 02 Feb 2012 16:37:00 GMT

Skeans Pneusletter Issue09

Issue 10

December 2011

Seasons Greetings from SKEANS

SKEANS would like to take the time in this holiday pneusletter to wish all it's customers, suppliers, and friends a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

A Season of Giving *SKEANS and the United Way* SKEANS has always believed that giving back to those less fortunate or in need is what the holiday season is truly about. In 2011 the "SKEANS Employee Charity Fund" donated $ 12,060 to various charities in Western Canada including the United Way, which received $ 4,843 in donations from SKEANS. Movember For the 3rd year in a row SKEANS took part in "Movember". Beating our previous efforts, we are proud our team raised an amazing total of $ 2,872 this year. These vital funds will go towards raising awareness for men's health, specifically Prostate Cancer, and will aide in the fight against this deadly disease by funding research and new treatments to one day eliminate the number one male cancer in Canada. We are also proud to report that Canada came in first place around the world this year for the most donations with a whopping $36.9 Million, in second was Australia with $23.7 Million, and third the UK with $23.5 Million. Congratulations Canada! *Canadian Blood Services* SKEANS has been working with Canadian Blood Services for several years now, and this year we broke all previous records with an annual total donation of 15 units of blood. Our goal for 2012 is 20 units and we hope our staff will take up this challenge. Thank you to those SKEANERS who have helped save a life!

Winter is Here - Compressor Room Preparation It's that time of year again, and everyone is scrambling to prepare themselves for the long harsh winter experts are predicting. Have you made the necessary preparations to your compressor room to get it ready for the cold? When was the last time you had it serviced? SKEANS is here to help make sure your compressor room survives the freezing temperatures with some helpful tips: Check the condition of your air dryer filter elements and replace them if necessary Check the condition of your desiccant. You can send SKEANS a sample of your desiccant to have it analyzed and we will return the results to you. Alternatively you can call our service department for dew point testing Make sure electronic drains are kept from freezing
SKEANS services and provides parts for ALL makes/models of air compressors and desiccant or refrigeration air dryers. If your equipment fails or needs replacement, simply call us and we will get you running again quickly. Our factory trained technicians will service your equipment and leave you detailed written reports.

• A Season of Giving by SKEANS Employees

• Winter is Here - Compressor Room Preparation

• Year End Customer Satisfaction Survey

• Seasons Greetings!

Pneus Bites

How can we SERVE YOU better in 2012?

SKEANS is offering you the chance to win a $50 Gift Certificate (of your own choosing) for simply answering the following questions and emailing them to skeans@skeans.com.

Send us your answers and good luck!

Have you visited SKEANS new website? If so, did you find it useful? What would you like us to improve?
How could SKEANS better serve your needs next year?
Any new products you would like us to offer?
Do you feel your company gets "value" from SKEANS' products and services? If not, what can we do better?

Seasons Greetings!

SKEANS wishes everyone a Merry Christmas and we're looking forward to another great year doing business with you all in 2012!

SKEANS has a large inventory of High Quality 1/4" Dia Activated Alumina (desiccant) in two grades, ready to ship from stock.

Call us now for service or to order your new desiccant! 800.663.0419

Coquitlam: 604.777.4247 | Prince George: 250.564.2201 | Kamloops: 250.828.2344
Edmonton: 780.463.8400 | Calgary: 403.279.6644 | Winnipeg: 204.633.9699

This is a service of skeans.com. We practice permission based marketing. If you do not wish to receive these e-mail notices please click the 'Unsubscribe' button below. This will remove you from our list of recipients.

Winter is here

Tue, 06 Dec 2011 15:53:00 GMT

Movember

Mon, 05 Dec 2011 23:03:00 GMT

During November each year, Movember is responsible for the sprouting of mustaches on thousands of men’s faces, in Canada and around the world. With their “Mo’s”, these men raise vital funds and awareness for men's health, specifically prostate cancer. We are proud to advise that our very own Mo Skeaners team is once again on board with their support of this valuable cause and has already raised over $1200! Keep up the growing boys! If you want to donate to the Mo Skeaners team, please click on the following link to donate directly on our team page. Mo Skeaners Team Donation page

UPDATE: 12/5/11 Our Mo Skeaners raised over $2800 for this important cause, awesome!! HUGE thanks to all who donated to our team :)

Remembrance Day Closure

Mon, 07 Nov 2011 19:48:00 GMT

A reminder to our customers and suppliers that all of our offices will be closed Friday November 11th in observance of Remembrance Day. We will reopen for normal business hours on Monday November 14th. Thank you.

October Pneusletter

Mon, 07 Nov 2011 20:33:00 GMT


Issue 09 October 2011
Greetings from SKEANS SKEANS is excited to showcase its newly formatted bi-monthly 'Pneusletter'. Every two months our subscribers will receive industry news, supplier product updates, helpful ideas, application tips, along with everything you need to know about how SKEANS is working to help you.
FLUID POWER SAFETY
SKEANS is pleased to announce it will be carrying the Ross Safety Valve, to add to it's selection of automation safety products.		• Fluid Power Safety: Ross Safety Valves • SKEANS Automation Safety Products • SKEANS welcomes two new members
In the past few years there has been rapid growth in the fluid power safety products sector. Fluid Power Safety is an important puzzle piece in the overall safety of any application and any environment. Even with "step one" security measures such as light curtains, area scanners, safety PLC's, there is always the possibility of a valve malfunctioning. These accidents can result in serious workplace injuries or even death. Skeans is here to help your "step two" workplace safety efforts with CAT 4 Ross Safety products. By performing risk assessments Skeans can confidently offer you fluid power safety solutions that integrate with your current category standards.	These solutions include Lockout Valves, Stainless Steel Lockout Valves, Air Dump/Release Valves, 4-way Double Valves, CAT 3+ and 4 Safety Clamping Devices, and control reliable Hydraulic Double Valves. All Ross safety products are third party certified and self-monitoring. Not only do these products offer a safer environment but their lockout and stopping times are half that of other valves, meaning increased plant productivity for the user. If you don't have adequate safety products in your facility or need to expand your existing "step one" measures, don't forget Skeans has a full range of light curtains, area scanners, PLC's and machine guarding that can facilitate improvements of your total workplace safety procedures. To see the full line of Ross Safety Valves and fluid power safety solutions please visit Skeans website today or ask us for a Ross Safety 510 bulletin.	PNEUS BITES Earlier this month Skeans made it's annual appearance at the BC Hydro 2011 Power Smart forum trade show at the Vancouver Convention Center. Skeans showcased it's energy saving products including its compressor room solutions such as leak-free Transair Piping, Mattei Rotary Vane Compressors and Gardner Denver's Variable Speed Compressors. The forum had a record breaking 1,200 delegates and 125 speakers form across North America and we were excited to showcase our 'greener' side. 'NEW 'SKEANERS' Historically October has nearly always been a people 'growth' month at Skeans and this year has been no exception. Adam Chandler joins our CRP Service team. Adam comes to us with a mechanical background and we are looking forward to his expertise and abilities to help us manage our ever growing compressor and dryer service clientele. Also, Chad Skeans re-joins us after completing his education at UVIC. Chad will spend the next couple of months working his way through various Corporate Headquarter departments, before finding his permanent new posting in our Prince George division.
If you would like to receive a Safety Audit please contact UBSafe Inc. @ 604.205.9080 or email them at safety@ubsafe.ca today!
AUTOMATION SAFETY PRODUCTS
*Skeans also provides automation safety products from Leuze, Horner, and Frame World*
Skeans has always believed that a safe workplace environment is crucial to the operation of any successful company, and prides itself in offering some of the latest technologies in Automation Safety Products. In the electrical automation division Skeans offers Leuze, a company specializing in Sensors, Light Curtains, Area Scanners, and Control Relays. Leuze is known for its reliability and efficiency, and produces products that have the highest durability rating in the industry under the toughest conditions. Leuze has just released two new safety products; the MSI100 safety Controller and the MC3x Magnetically Coded Sensor. The MSI100 offers a quick, easy and affordable control for light curtains, safety interlocks, and E-Stop buttons without the complexity of using a PLC. The MC3x Magnetically Coded Sensor contains specially combined reed contacts that are activated without contact by the coded magnetic field of the actuator.	Also in the safety group is the Horner Safety Programmable Controls. The Horner OCS is a compact all-in-one solutions with controller, graphics and a built in interface with mass storage for industrial applications For machine guarding Skeans offers the Frame World Structural Aluminum Extrusions and Guards that provide a complete system allowing for quick and easy design and assembly of machine bases, frames, stands, guard assemblies, material handling fixtures, and robot safety fencing. If you would like to view all of the Skeans automation safety products, or if you would like to know more about workplace safety, please visit the Skeans website @ www.skeans.com or call your local Skeans branch today.


Coquitlam: 604.777.4247 \| Prince George: 250.564.2201 \| Kamloops: 250.828.2344 Edmonton: 780.463.8400 \| Calgary: 403.279.6644 \| Winnipeg: 204.633.9699

Part number change on selected Eaton Hansen Couplings

Tue, 25 Oct 2011 22:36:00 GMT

As a part of the ongoing integration of the Hansen^TM and Gromelle^TM product lines with the Eaton business in terms of both information systems as well as product offerings, a select number of conflicting part numbers have been uncovered . To resolve these part number conflicts a select number of traditional Hansen and Gromelle part numbers have been changed. This change is effective immediately. Please note that the conflicting non-coupling Eaton part numbers have not change. There is no changes to fit, form, and function on any of the parts.

In order to differentiate the outlined part numbers and to provide uninterrupted support, the letter “E” has been added as a suffix to some Eaton Hansencouplings. For example, Eaton Hansen part number “12” will now become “12E”.

When ordering these products from Skeans, you will notice the use of the letter "E" on a select number of items, please update your records to reflect this change to ensure there is no confusion with your warehousing or usage records.

Two new Skeaners today

Mon, 03 Oct 2011 17:13:00 GMT

Historically October has nearly always been a people 'growth' month at Skeans and this year we are getting our October growth off to a dual start. Today Adam Chandler joins our CRP Service team. Adam comes to us with a mechanical background and we are looking forward to his experience and abilities to help us manage our ever growing compressor and dryer service clientele. Also today Chad Skeans re-joins us after completing his education at UVIC. Chad will spend the next couple months working his way back through our various Corporate Headquarter departments before finding his permanent new posting in our Prince George division.

Welcome 'home' Chad and welcome aboard Adam!

Skeans Safety Meeting

Tue, 25 Oct 2011 22:37:00 GMT

Safety is in the forefront of many business's focus these days, and with that in mind Skeans Coquitlam manufacturing facility recently expanded it's safety committee and has established a Fire Safety program. This past Friday we conducted our first full fledged fire drill where the Coquitlam Fire Department attended. After our fire-drill we held an onsite Fire Extinguisher training session which nearly all employees took part in. Fire Safety officer "Kim" taught us about the four most common types of fires we would find both at work and in our homes. We learned about the most common types of extinguishers and which is the best to have on hand. All participants had the opportunity to unlock and discharge a fire extinguisher over a 'learning fire'.

Safety conscience company's are doing everything these days to protect the health and welfare of their business and their staff. Thank you to the Coquitlam Fire Department and to the Safety Committee for arranging this valuable training.

2011 Grand Fondo

Tue, 25 Oct 2011 22:39:00 GMT

Congratulations to Tim Skeans for his participation in the 2011 RBC Vancouver to Whistler Grand Fondo. 7,000 riders take to the highway, riding from downtown Vancouver to Whistler mountain. This 140km ride with elevation gains of 2,400 meters is a real challenge for mind and body. This is the 2nd year of the event and Tim's 2nd time completing this challenge.

Application Tip: Reducing Bounce

Wed, 14 Sep 2011 22:17:00 GMT

Working in Applications Engineering we receive a lot of “what if?” or “what about?” style questions. In this article, we are going to take a closer look at 3-position rotary actuators. Customers, as well as PHD, like utilizing these units for their versatility in automation applications.

The one problem with a 3-position unit is the bounce at mid-position with loads at the upper end of the kinetic energy range on specified units. This bounce comes from the compressibility of air. Normally this isn’t a problem in many applications, but there are customers that do not like the visual perception while units settle to the mid-position. Here are a couple of suggestions that can provide a solution.

The first is to have a single valve on each full rotation position and one on the mid-position. When moving to the mid-position, energize all three valves. This method limits the bounce considerably.

Another option would be to incorporate a spring loaded shot pin at the mid-position, using cylinder with external support to extend before rotating to the mid-position.

PHD also offers 3-position air/oil tandem rotary actuators. Customers still have the flexibility of using pneumatics to drive the unit and the control of hydraulic fluid. With fluid not being compressible, this reduces the mid-position bounce considerably.

We hope this helps for the next time you are asked about using a 3-position rotary on future applications.

Courtesy of Malachi Huber, PHD Inc.

SKEANS New Image

Thu, 25 Aug 2011 21:55:00 GMT

SKEANS is proud to present its new and improved company website and logo! For years SKEANS has always been a recognizable brand, with our clients always identifying with our famous green “S”. When customers saw this they knew they were getting quality customer service, unmatched expertise, and products they could rely on.

So why change something that isn’t broken?

In today’s day and age, moving forward and keeping ahead of that competitive edge means adapting to a constantly changing environment, and looking good while doing it. Customers have become more demanding, and expect quality service to be at their fingertips… literally. Creating and maintaining an online presence has become so important that companies who have failed to realize this too late, are no longer around.

SKEANS knows the importance of providing our services and products in the most convenient and efficient way possible, and for the past few months SKEANS has been developing our new company website along with an online marketing campaign. As Western Canada’s leader in pneumatic and electrical automation, we want everybody to know about us!

Our new website has been organized and set up so that the customer should be able to find the specific product they are looking for in 3 clicks. We’ve added improved SEO tactics to drive the most qualified traffic to the new website, and added new resources to help companies learn more about the unique services we offer and how they can save customer’s money.

To top it all off, SKEANS gave a modern ‘facelift’ to the company logo. SKEANS realized that changing the iconic “S” would never work, and decided it was best to utilize a strong brand reputation. The new font adds a sleek and forward moving look, which signifies SKEANS commitment to moving forward with all its customers and their projects. We dropped the tagline to indicate that SKEANS is one unified organization, one giant family, regardless of its numerous locations and divisions. Gradient coloring was added to the SKEANS “S” to create depth and give it that eye-catching look. A modern look tied in with the proven SKEANS brand that represents 40+ years of consistency, quality, customer service, and expertise.

In the ‘Resources’ tab you can find all of SKEANS new marketing collateral that has been re-designed to meet our customers needs and to match our new image.

We hope you enjoy using the new website, and look forward to hearing from you soon!

FPDA Conference

Wed, 31 Aug 2011 22:29:00 GMT

Skeans will be attending the fall FPDA conference and meeting Sept 6th - 9th in Scottsdale, AZ

MAC Global Distributor Meeting

Thu, 25 Aug 2011 22:01:00 GMT

Once again this year SKEANS’ technical sales force will be attending the annual 4-day meeting Sept 15th - 18th. This meeting assembles the MDN global sales force to discuss new products, new markets, and successful solutions to customer challenges. SKEANS’ team of 10 sales professionals will bring back ideas from networking, application demonstrations and roundtables to help our customers be more productive and profitable. Please call your local SKEANS’ branch and ask our representative what they learned to help you.

Kit Abuan

Wed, 14 Sep 2011 22:19:00 GMT

We are pleased to announce Kit Abuan re-joined our Edmonton staff effective early August as an outside sales person. Kit used to work for us three years ago. Now he comes back to take over his former sales territories in the Edmonton area.

Kit was the Regional Sales Manger of one of our major competitors. He left them and decided to come back to the best pneumatic & automation company in Western Canada. Today, Kit is mature, energetic and has 3-years experience from one of our competitors.

For the past few weeks, we have been injecting the MDN “DNA” back into him, and training him on our new EAP product line.

Please join us in welcoming Kit back to the SKEANS Family!

Pneusletter - July