New Pigger Beth Powell will present at the American Institute of Professional Geologists Marcellus Shale Conference April 13 and 14, 2011 in Pittsburgh, PA.

“This is a chance to review regulatory schemes and industry best practices that impact the drilling and hydrofracturing processes,” Beth says. “We have the knowledge, experience and products to help the operators who manage liquids and have to deal with secondary containment problems and state regulations.”

Click here to see the full Conference program (this opens a PDF).

Visit us online to see our wide range of PIG® Products that are of particular interest to shale gas operations.

Click here to see an informative recent Time magazine cover story about shale gas.

Woo Hoo!

Plant Engineering magazine has announced the Product of the Year 2011 Winners, and New Pig was named and named and named again. One Gold and two Bronze!!

THOINKS to everyone who makes this possible! The list of product awards keeps growing, and the real winners are customers who keep getting new ways to help keep their workplaces clean and safe!

See below for details on the award winners.

Maintenance Tools and Equipment

Gold Award: PIG® Oily Water Filter Bucket

The PIG® Oily Water Filter Bucket is an absorbent-filled bucket that can be used indoors or outdoors to capture up to five gallons of hydrocarbons from collected water/oil mixture and allows filtered water to pass through. Seven alternating layers of PIG® Oil-Only Mat Pads and PIG® Oil-Only Pillows help to disperse collected liquids for uniform saturation and fewer change outs. The hose fitting on the top of the container lid accepts 3/4″ drainage hoses, while the 3/4” connection on the bottom of the container accepts a self bailer, drain plug, another drainage hose, or it can be used as a free-flowing drain.

Fluid Handling

Bronze Award: PIG® Drum Latching Lid

The PIG® Latching Drum Lid with FM-approved plugs converts a 55-gallon steel drum into a safe storage container for oil-or solvent-soaked materials. This lid easily attaches to new or reconditioned drums and features FM-approved plugs, making it ideal for use with flammable or combustible solids. The latching lid satisfies NFPA 30 venting requirements. And, the latching lid helps to comply with 40 CFR 262.34(c) for Satellite Accumulation and 40 CFR 264.1086(c)(1)(ii) to prevent VOC emissions and 40 CFR 264.173 requiring haz-waste containers to be closed.

Maintenance Products

Bronze Award: PIG® Absorbent Valve Wrap

The PIG® Absorbent Valve Wrap is designed to soak up nuisance leaks in valves, flanges and other oddly-shaped pipe components. Cinch-able straps and a sewn-in double stack of oil-only mat make it easy to catch drips anywhere – indoors or outdoors, and it’s UV-resistant for up to 12 months. Two sheets of highly absorbent 100% polypropylene PIG® Oil-Only Mat soak up and retain oils and oil-based liquids, including lubricants and fuels, without absorbing water, and the non-permeable clear poly back helps prevent pollution by keeping absorbed liquids from leaking though.

A recent profile of New Pig plays up how we hit the funny bone, but it includes the important point that comedy can only take you so far in our business. Here’s one of the great quotes from Executive VP (and occasional blogger) Doug Hershey:

“We don’t take ourselves too seriously, but we always knew we had to have high quality. If we were funny and had bad products or lousy service, it wouldn’t work.”

Right on, Hersh! A great example of our serious side is our new web page The Stories Behind the Inventions, which highlights the rigorous development behind innovations such as our non-absorbent dikes and drain covers, our lids and funnels, and our containment bags and valve wraps.

Having said that all that … also check out this website dedicated to the proposition that everything should taste like bacon!

Hey! They like PIG® Sheet!

I’m talking about the independent judges who chose the 2010 New Products of the Year for Occupational Health & Safety Magazine.This second annual contest attracted a new high of 42 products in 17 award categories.

“Our New Product of the Year contest recognizes innovation, quality, and excellence in customer service by many leading manufacturers in the safety and health industry” said OH & S Editor Jerry Laws

Yeah, baby! We’re honored.

Here’s more info about our latest award winner:

PIG® Sheet allows a user to form custom liquid control and containment devices for areas where space is awkward or limiting. The steel mesh core is coated with pliable PVC that can be reshaped without cracking to provide the moldability of metal and the corrosion resistance of plastic. PIG® Sheet can attach to magnets for connection to metal surfaces.

TheWiseMarketer.com recently noted the following (NOTE: The site requires registration):

(emphasis added below)

Through studies across 36 countries, researchers have validated warmth and competence as being universal dimensions of human social perception, and found that warmth includes traits such as friendliness, helpfulness, sincerity, trustworthiness and honesty, while competence is reflected by traits such as intelligence, skill, creativity, efficiency and effectiveness…

But some highly successful brands such as Zappos and USAA instinctively employ warmth and competence principles in building legendary brand loyalty, Malone reported: “Despite this, the ‘warmth and competence’ model – and its business potential – have remained largely unknown outside of the field of social psychology. But brands now have the opportunity to consciously apply this model to build more durable and lasting customer relationships.”

ConGRUNTulations to Zappos and USAA for being recognized for those qualities. I hope and believe that New Pig is seen that way as well!

P.S. I know you’re just as curious as I was what comes up first when you search the word “WARM” at newpig.com. Here you go.

I’m here with a Pigalog® cover for the second post in a row because this one received some rare recognition. In fact, it’s recognition that’s about as rare as it gets for catalogs.

The cover below was named one of the 10 best catalog covers in the past 10 years! It appeared on The Big Pigalog® 2009.

Granted, this is a subjective list from one person’s perspective. But the list was in MultiChannel Merchant, the leading trade magazine for catalogs, and the judge is Glenda Sasho Jones, who’s been one of the top catalog consultants for a long time.

Just how long, you ask? Well, get this: Glenda was already a big name in cataloging in 1999, when she published her first list of the Top Ten Catalog Covers. New Pig made that list as well! This was the cover:

We’ve come a long way, piggy! Or at least, that’s what our Creative team tells me when they compare the design and layout of the two covers.

It’s satisfying and humbling to have an expert say that we’ve excelled over the years. The other two companies with covers on both of the Top Ten Covers lists are little outfits called Lands’ End and Patagonia—maybe you’ve heard of them. We’re proud to be in their company.

But what’s really nice is what Glenda Sasho Jones says about the companies whose covers she selected: “They take risks. They’re different. They’re bold and dramatic. They’re extremely relevant to their customer. And most of them generate an emotional response.”

Yes! That’s what we want. We want customers to notice and enjoy how much we care about serving them—and that starts with being noticed, period. We’re glad that we have some catalog covers that do the job!

Just about a year ago, I blogged about our winning the “Academy Award of Cataloging” in our category for the eighth time in a row.

Well, make that nine years in a row. We won again. The official name of the honor is: Gold Award, Industrial Supplies, 25th Annual Multichannel Merchant Awards. Here’s the cover of our winning catalog (which you can browse in its entirety online) :

And just for the sake of accuracy, I failed to mention last year that we had an earlier stretch of winning the award five years in a row.

Yes, we’re grateful for the recognition, but only because of what it reflects about New Pig as a whole: We reach for the highest in our work, which is helping solve leak and spill problems. This means product development, accounting, fulfillment, information technology—every area. We strive to serve our customers as well as any company on the planet. If that means having to find space for awards for catalogs that are judged to be informative, well-organized and maybe even stylish—then we’ll find the room!

P.S. If you want to see what the pig on the cover is using as a hiding place, click here.

On our web site now is the statement below, a brief summary of a tremendous amount of discussion, study, planning and activity both behind us and ahead of us. We’re all hopeful for success from the latest efforts to limit the damage in the Gulf region.

The oil spill in the Gulf region has potential for tragic environmental consequences. As a leader in leak and spill prevention and cleanup for over 25 years, New Pig Corporation is committed to doing everything in our power to assist in containing, controlling, and cleaning the oil-spill related problems. In addition to our Tipton, PA headquarters, New Pig Corp has a facility based in Mobile, AL, located less than four miles from the U.S. Coast Guard Unified Command Center that is coordinating spill response and recovery efforts. That means we have a team of over 65+ dedicated associates right in the heart of the recovery effort at all times.

We will continue to produce and supply a full range of absorbent booms, mats, and other products throughout this crisis. We are working hard to provide uninterrupted supply for our long-standing customers based on usual demand levels. In addition, New Pig has ramped up production of inventory of existing products to maximum levels and is developing new, targeted spill cleanup solutions that we can quickly make available in high volumes to aid in the cleanup effort.

While it may not be possible to immediately fulfill extraordinarily large product orders, we will make every effort to get the right products to the people and places that need them in the shortest possible time.

For orders, service and tech support, call 1-800-HOT-HOGS® (468-4647).

Click here to see New Pig in our local TV news, including the manufacturing of PIG® Spaghetti Booms, which are among the most effective ways to respond to oil spills on water.

The story mentions that spill response in the Gulf of Mexico could mean business for New Pig, but believe me, our first thought is how to help the people and the environment in this situation. When you see devastating photos of the fire at the drilling rig and of the oil spreading, and when you see people working so hard to contain the damage—it’s not about us, it’s about mourning the loss of human, animal and plant life, and it’s about protecting livelihoods in fishing, tourism and other industries.

Well, we did it for the 20th, 21st and 22nd times.

Yep, we won three more Product of the Year Awards from Plant Engineering magazine! Click here to read about all of this year’s winners, including these three PIG® products:

Maintenance Products, Gold Award

PIG BLUE® Absorbent Mat uses its polypropylene and cellulose blend to increase absorbency and disperse liquid evenly. Containing 70% recycled fibers, the mat’s FiberFusion technology adds strength to the cellulose and absorbency to the polypropylene. The mat meets the NFPA 99 standard for static decay and won’t burn when exposed to flame.

Maintenance Tools and Equipment, Silver Award

PIG® Sheet allows a user to form custom liquid control and containment devices for areas where space is awkward or limiting. The steel mesh core is coated with pliable PVC that can be reshaped without cracking to provide the moldability of metal and the corrosion resistance of plastic. PIG® Sheet can attach to magnets for connection to metal surfaces.

Fluid Handling, Gold Award

The PIG® Vapor-Control Latching Drum Lid helps to convert a 55-gallon drum into a safe collection container for hazardous waste. A nitrile gasket lid with a 5-inch port reduces vapor and odor emissions during and after waste disposal. The lid features latching handles that open with one-hand operation.

All right!!!!

What can you say? Hats off to our Product Development Piggers BUT they are the first to point out that these successes demand snout-standing efforts from across the company: Purchasing, Manufacturing, Customer Service, you name it.

We don’t care about awards just for the sake of winning awards. We appreciate them because they help tell us when we’re on the right track in serving customer needs. And they help us tell our story—that we’re the world’s leading experts in addressing workplace leaks, drips and spills. So if you have a workplace leak, drip or spill, seek us out!

Now we have to find some shelf space for these new additions to our collection. It’s a good problem to have!

P.S. Quick quiz: Which company has won more Plant Engineering Product of the Year Awards than New Pig? Watch for a future post with the answer.