October 2006

HAVE YOU GOTTEN A WAGNER CUSTOMER NUMBER

On October 30, Wagner will institute a tiered pricing system which differentiates between customers with a Wagner customer number and those that do not. Non-Wagner customers will pay a 10% premium on all Wagner manufactured products -- i.e. handrail brackets, flanges, ells, disks and end caps.

When you call Wagner for pricing or to place an order, our customer service reps will confirm your information so that you receive the appropriate pricing.

If you use www.shopwagner.com, you must log-in to view your price -- the non-Wagner customer price will be displayed for comparison. If you do not log-in, you will only see the MSRP on our standard products.. If you have not yet created a shopwagner user id and password, click here.

WAGNER HOLIDAY SCHEDULE

Please note that Wagner will be closed for the following holidays:

• Thanksgiving: November 23 and 24
• Christmas: Friday, December 22 and Monday December 25
• New Year's Day: Monday, January 1.

'TIS THE SEASON

With Halloween this week and Thanksgiving only a few weeks away, can the next big holiday be too far behind? That's right it's almost time for Festivus!

The Festivus celebration was made famous in a December 1997 episode of the television program “Seinfeld” titled “The Strike”. In that episode, the fictional Frank Costanza, played by Jerry Stiller, tells of how he invented the holiday when his children were young and he found himself in a department store tug-of-war with another Christmas shopper for a doll. “I realized there had to be a better way,” Frank recounts.

According to Mr. Costanza, the Festivus tradition begins with a bare aluminum pole, which Frank praises for its "very high strength-to-weight ratio." The unadorned aluminum pole is displayed in opposition to the commercialization of highly decorated Christmas trees, and because the holiday's creator, Frank Costanza, "find[s] tinsel distracting."

In 2005, The Wagner Companies decided to have a little fun and we began to produce Festivus Poles using aluminum pipe with a manufactured base and sell them online at www.festivuspoles.com. The rest, as they say, is history. 2005 Sales were beyond expectations and the web site received close to 100,000 visits in the period leading up to the Dec. 23rd holiday.

Was 2005 a fluke and will 2006 be a bust? Too soon to tell but if we and our customers have as much fun with this fictional celebration as last year, we will consider it a success.

CALL FOR PHOTOS

The Wagner Companies is beginning work on its 2007 Master Catalog to be published in January 2007.  The purpose of our Call for Photos is to show Wagner products in a wide variety of completed projects throughout our catalog and other media advertising including the Wagner web site, product brochures, trade show graphics and future advertising. 

The Wagner Companies will acknowledge your photo whenever it is used. 

Images should be high-quality digital images, prints, or color slides.  Additionally, all images must be:

• Minimum of 300 dpi resolution
• Full color
• Clear and in-focus
• Attractive shots with no visible flaws
• "Releasable" – The photographer must be willing to give Wagner rights to reproduce the image.

For more information, visit www.wagnercompanies.com/photos.aspx. 

RISE/RUN ANGLE CALCULATOR

Need to determine a stair angle without resorting to trigonometry? Wagner now has an online Stair Angle Calculator. Enter the rise and run (or rises and tread depth) to determine your stair angle. You can view this tool byclicking here.

INDUCTION BENDING

Induction Bending is accomplished by heating the material and forcing the bend to a preset radius. Since no special tooling is required, induction bending is a precise and cost-effective method of custom bending pipe or tube for architectural, industrial, commercial and specialty applications in small or large quantities.

• Bend any center line radius between 12" and 48".
• For tube sizes from 1.50" through 5.00" OD.
• Wall thick nesses of .120" or greater work best.
• Can be bent up to 180 degrees.

FUTURE TRADE SHOWS

• Milwaukee Builders Association January 4-7 in Milwaukee, WI
• International Builders Show February 7-10 in Orlando, FL
• NOMMA METALfab February 28-March 3 in Destin, FL.