Northern Strands Rigging Division is a full-service facility operating out of Saskatoon and Regina with the ability to fabricate custom chain and wire rope slings up to 1-1/2”. We have a vast inventory of synthetic lifting slings, chain hoists, lever hoists, shackles, trolleys, winches ,tuggers , and other general rigging hardware. Our network of suppliers and in-house expertise is leveraged for the benefit of our customers.

Capabilities:

• Northern Strands has Saskatchewan’s largest inventory of
  wire rope available from 1/16” to 2” in standard sizes and
  5.5mm to 26mm in metric sizes.
• Large selection of rigging products.
• Distributor for some of the largest world class
  manufacturers in our industry including The Crosby
  Group, Gunnebo Johnson, Thern, Unitex and Vitali.
• Crane rope inspections.
• Assistance in the development of rigging and lifting
  plans for your job.
• Technically trained sales staff. We have the answers to
  your questions.
• Certificate of compliance for rigging products. Safe and
  approved for every job.
• Custom built products. i.e. material baskets, chain and
  wire rope slings, etc.
• Vertical and horizontal test bed services.

Here is the link to our Rigging webpage on the Northern Strands website:

http://www.northernstrands.com/wire-rope-rigging.aspx 

Northern Strands is proudly Saskatoon, Saskatchewan owned and operated.

In order to fully understand the importance of the regular application for wire rope lubrication during the working life of stranded or full locked coil hoisting ropes, it is first necessary to analyze the function of any such lubricant.

a) Each wire in any wire rope construction must remain as free as possible from adjacent wires so it can move to accommodate its allocated share of the varying rope tension it has to endure.  This is especially important when the rope is performing at high speed and/or under the high wire contact stresses encountered during hoisting.  Rope design is intended to minimize inter wire frictional contact but only by good lubricating practices can this effect be fully accomplished.

b) The majority of hoist ropes utilized in shafts are subject to corrosion from one cause or another. Shaft water containing a high salt content, chemical fumes, and upcast shafts producing condensation, are among the more notable causes.  Regardless of the cause, it is essential to guard against or retard the certainty of corrosive attack on the steel.  Experience has shown that the application of galvanized wire is only partially successful because the finish soon wears off. Therefore, it is clear that in-service lubricants must possess the following qualities:

a) Penetrate easily into the rope.
b) Displace moisture from the internal and external surfaces.
c) Provide good corrosion protection both internally and externally.
d) Be resistant to emulsification.
e) Possess good rope adhesive properties.
f) Resist removal by mechanical forces.
g) Possess good anti-wear properties.
h) Be compatible with the lubricant already employed during rope manufacture. 

It should be pointed out that in the case of full locked coil and many plastic enhanced hoisting ropes, in-service lubricant is confined solely to the outside wire. This is because the inner rope is already sealed off with adequate lubrication. 

Without lubrication during the working life, wire ropes may suffer from premature withdrawal from service:

1) Premature wire breaks occurring in the ropes and caused by internal and/or external corrosion.

2) Premature wire breaks occurring at the strand interstices due to lack of proper inter strand movement.

3) Strand displacement, loose wires, and rope waving, leading to loss of cross section stability. Additionally, the correct lubricant is of key importance during rope manufacture.  Through a German study (see chart below), it is proven that the proper lay-up lubricant can have a great effect on rope life. 

The chart depicts:

• Wire rope un-lubricated
• Wire rope lubricated, but with general lubricant not designed for wire ropes
• Standard lubricant designed for wire rope wires
• Wire rope application-specific lubricant Plastic enhanced

Northern Strands is an official supplier of Kirpatrick Lubricants in Canada.

Northern Strands is proudly Saskatoon, Saskatchewan owned and operated.

Northern Strands and it's employees recently received a letter of thanks and appreciation from Winsafe  Corp. regarding the launch of the SaskPower Poplar River Boiler Maintenance Work Platform (BMWP).  Northern Strands Suspended Access and Training divisions were instrumental in the successful launch of the BMWP.

Below is the testimonial letter from Winsafe:

"I would like to take a moment to thank you, Northern Strands, and the Northern Strands team for their contributions to the recent successful first launch of the SaskPower Poplar River Boiler Maintenance Work Platform (BMWP).

As you may be aware, while in transit to Saskatchewan, a number of training, certification, and documentation requirements were conveyed to us. Ray Nemethi’s efforts on the ground while our team was in the air were instrumental in making it possible for our employees to be able to perform work at the SaskPower site and to be in a position to successfully perform the launch. It clearly tooka great deal of coordination in a short period of time, and we are very thankful for those efforts.

Also, Ryan Green was able to travel to our hotel in Assiniboia on equally short notice to provide Fall Arrest and Confined Space certification training. We were impressed with his presentation and teaching skills and are likewise thankful for his efforts and his flexibility.

This project carries a very high profile and has been of significant importance for both of our organizations. The efforts put forth by Ray, Ryan, and other behind-the-scenes members of the Northern Strands team are certainly solid reminders of why we are pleased to be partnered with you."

What a great testimonial letter from Winsafe!   Thank you Winsafe!

Northern Strands is proudly Saskatoon, Saskatchewan owned and operated and are the official supplier of Winsafe products in Canada.

Northern Strands delivers presentations on Safety with Rigging at the Agrium Safety Fair.  These presentations included aspects of rigging inspections, examples of rejections and the do's and don'ts of rigging safety.  Northern Strands provided a test bed to perform breaks on lifting slings as part of the presentation.

The test bed demonstration:

New web and wire rope slings ( 3/8 x 6ft and 1” 1ply and 2ply ) were supplied for demonstration. Agrium also supplied Northern Strands with 10-12 used wire rope and web slings in varying degrees of degradation. All new slings were benchmarked to have breaking load 5 x Working load limit. All new slings broke above this benchmark. The used slings broke all over the map. Some of the new slings were given a knot and then tested with an expected 50% reduction in breaking load. Slings with knots were 40% to 60% of benchmark. Hitches were also tested ( Choker style ) there were consistent breaks near calculated load. We did have a number of eye breaks on new web and wire rope slings but above projected breaking point.

Approx. 300 people attended the presentations and were very interested in the demonstration results

Some of the comments overheard were along the lines of: Who'd of thought...I didn't know that...great to see what we only read about before....guess we don't do that anymore.

The comments were very positive and it's very likely Northern Strands will be asked by Agrium to give additional presentations on Safety with Rigging at the Agrium Safety Fair next year. 

Northern Strands is proudly Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada owned and operated.

The Northern Strands Group of Companies was proud to show it's support of the Children's Wish Foundation Saskatchewan at the 2nd Annual Chris Getzlaf Charity Golf Tournament.   In 2014 The Northern Strands Group of Companies employees raised $10,000 for Children's Wish Saskatchewan and helped grant the first ever Super Bowl Wish granted in Saskatchewan!  We were very fortunate to meet Jared at the tournament.   

 Jared's heart felt Wish Profile is attached below...   

Wish Profile - Jared (2).pdf (290.83 kb)

Jared was the main focus of the event, being the first Super Bowl wish granted in Saskatchewan.   They played Jared’s football highlight video which ended in a chorus of clapping.   Jared was an amazing football player.   Jared really appreciated the fact that we came down to meet him.   We had many excellent conversations with him.   We had so much fun talking football with him that our guys almost missed the T off!

Here is a picture of our guys at the Chris Getzlaf Golf Tournament with Jared and some great comments below.  

Jeff Caswell(Left), Curtis Witt(middle), Nathan Reed(right), Jared(bottom)

Curtis Witt

“It was very nice to meet Jared and his family. When I got to talk with Jared briefly about football, any name I would mention, he knew exactly who I was talking about. It’s great a football fan such as Jared got to go to the Super Bowl. He really enjoyed it”.

Jeff Caswell

“The Children’s Wish Golf Tournament was a great experience to be part of! Jared and his family are such great people to talk and share stories with.  It was really uplifting to hear their story and stories from other families about how the Children’s Wish Foundation helps and contributes to make their lives a little easier. The celebrities that were in attendance were a class act too! Everyone involved in this event deserves great praise for their efforts in making such a wonderful day and experience for the children and their families, as well as the golfers taking part in the day.”

Nathan Reed

"The 2nd Getzlaf and Friends golf tournament was a fantastic experience.  It was great to see the Children's Wish Foundation being supported by such a great group of sponsors, celebrities, and volunteers.  Meeting Jared's family and hearing about their Super Bowl Wish experience first-hand made me proud that the NS Group of Companies would support such a cause."

We saw first-hand what a difference Jared’s Wish made in his life.   Both Jared and his family were very grateful.  

The Northern Strands Group of Companies employees will continue to proudly support our charity of choice, The Children's Wish Foundation Saskatchewan.

The Northern Strands Group of Companies includes Northern Strands, Fortis Mining Engineering and Manufacturing and Certified Mining and Construction Sales and Rentals.