Long Beach, California — September 11, 2015 — They came, they saw … and they were impressed. Although technically up and running since February, the official US opening of Wedge Clamp Systems came at a recent luncheon event at the company’s new Long Beach, California headquarters.
A group of visitors including car dealers, collision centre owners and insurance company representatives showed up to sample the canapés and marvel at the full displays showcasing the new (to the US), lightweight, portable anchoring, measuring and pulling tools that form the Wedge Clamp System.
“They all loved it,” says Peter Allan, Wedge Clamp’s Chief Operating Officer for the United States. “Some very important insurance people were here today, including reps from three of the major insurance companies, AAA, Allstate and
Mercury.”
In its 30-year history, BC-based Wedge Clamp has concentrated on its home market of Canada and such farther-flung countries as Russian and Japan. But new company owner Bill Hatswell and his Craftsman Group of Companies has
targeted the United States as Wedge Clamp’s ripest market. It’s a large market made even more attractive by the low Canadian dollar and resurgent U.S. economy.
“We have systems in maybe 20 or 30 shops in the whole country,” says Allan. “On the whole, very few people have seen or heard of it. Wedge Clamp is very new to the States.“
A statement from Wedge Clamp notes that compared to benchtop repair systems, the Wedge Clamp System is lightweight and affordable, and stores in much less space because many components hang on the wall.
“The usual complaint is they want to maximize their floor space, and only use their rack systems 10 to 20 percent of the time,” says Allan. “With Wedge Clamp you can use 100 percent of the space 100 percent of the time.”
Allan also notes that the so-called express shops dealing in relatively light damage represent a particularly rich sales opportunity.
“They get cars with what looks like minor damage, but once they pull the bumper or quarter panel, they often discover there’s been frame damage as well. They don’t have a rack system to fix it, and they don’t want to have to flatbed it to another shop. So now instead of the high cost of buying a rack, they can use the Wedge Clamp EZE Tie Down system.”
In addition to its California address and Richmond, BC head office, Wedge Clamp has a facility in Suzhou, China. The company’s recent growth comes with an expanded product lineup including distribution of the Eclipse laser frame-measuring system and the Stat-Gun anti-static paint preparation tool.
For more information, please visit wedgeclamp.com.
