This year marks the 100th anniversary of BRADEN, part of the PACCAR Winch family of brands. To celebrate, the company hosted a three-day event bringing together suppliers, OEMs, distributors and other special guests.
According to a press release:
Attendees from around the U.S. and globally from Canada to the United Kingdom, Belgium, Abu Dhabi and Malaysia were provided with an overview of the company’s strategic outlook, including operations, engineering, sales and marketing. The event culminated with tours of PACCAR Winch manufacturing facilities in Okmulgee and Broken Arrow, Oklahoma.
Altogether, the program set the tone to push the envelope with future innovations over the next 100 years at BRADEN, tying together customer-driven engineering with equipment integration, quality assurance protocols, serviceability and overall value. The focus is on developing fitments and custom configurations to support a growing range of needs across key industries including utility, oil and gas, trailer and towing, construction, forestry, drilling, marine and military.
On the plant tours, guests could see the company’s dedication to continuous improvement and quality control through industry-leading practices. PACCAR Winch is investing in capital improvements as well as process improvement initiatives to improve worker safety and minimize physical strain while maximizing efficiencies and reducing waste. Those in attendance were offered an up-close look at new tooling and fixturing, advanced CNC machining and wireless coordinate measurement machines for more versatile and faster inspections, reduced part transit and enhanced troubleshooting capabilities.
Since 1924, BRADEN has been at the forefront of performance engineering and innovation, committed to manufacturing the highest quality winch, hoist and drive solutions in the industry. “Our patent history goes back to the early days of Braden Steel and Winch Company,” said Jim Braden, vice president of sales and marketing. “Our question has always been, ‘How can we align and deliver the best value for our customers?’”
“All our products and services are designed to enhance the company’s reputation for providing unsurpassed customer satisfaction through superior quality and delivery of premium value, across the entire PACCAR Winch family of BRADEN, CARCO and Gearmatic brands,” he said.