United Kingdom - GSF (www.gsfslides.com), the UK’s leading supplier of purpose-engineered high strength drawer slides, is launching its range of cold-drawn steel drawer slides in the US market at the FDIC show in Indianapolis (April 7th- 12th).  These slides are purpose-engineered to be resistant to damage caused over time from vehicle vibration and movement, and models are available that will carry a phenomenal 1,300 lbs at 78” 100% extension.  Jon Lye, GSF’s founder and Managing Director told us:

“Overloading of drawer slides is a common problem.  If you are buying a fire truck to last you 10 or 20 years, who knows what your stowage needs are going to be a few years down the line.  Absolute strength is one thing, but different slides have different capabilities to withstand torsion and lateral forces, as well as the ability to withstand the dynamic forces imposed when a fire truck corners and brakes or drives over a bumpy road.  The firemen may not notice it the first time they take a vehicle on the road, but eventually a wrongly-specified slide will fail.”

Firefighters all around the world are renowned for demanding the very best from their equipment.  They know better than anyone that people’s lives depend on their essential gear performing flawlessly every time, from simple straps and buckles to the fire trucks that have to provide quick and easy access to vital life-saving tools.  The drawer slide or tip down-drawer is usually taken for granted, however if it fails to open or close at a fire scene then lives will be put at risk. 

It seems to matter whether a slide is produced from cold-rolled steel sheet or cold-drawn steel bar.  The cold-drawing process has a more permanent re-forming effect on the crystalline structure of the steel, resulting in a better “shape memory”.  This is why increasingly ball bearing slides constructed from cold-drawn steel bar are the specification of choice for slides used on vehicle based applications.

GSF’s launch at Indianapolis’s FDIC show follows hard on the heels of the launch of GSF’s new website (www.gsfslides.com) which looks set to become one of the most authoritative sources of information on drawer slides and all thing related to linear movement.  The site provides comprehensive details on the company’s products and what slides should be specified for different applications.

Jon continued:

“We are very excited to be launching our products at the FDIC show.  There is a lot of engineering technology that goes into solving certain linear motion problems.  What we are setting out to do with these products and our website, including our new ultra-high precision roller bearing slides, is to demonstrate that a drawer slide is not just a drawer slide.  We always love a challenge!”

Enquiries:

Alec Don - adon@gsfslides.com          

Jeremy Binnington - Jeremy@gsfslides.com
GSF Slides
tel: +44 1691 770303
fax:  +44 1691 776900
email:  info@gsfslides.com
www.gsfslides.com

Editor’s notes:

GSF is the UK’s leading supplier of telescopic ball bearing slides and slide and tilt (“tip-down”) systems.  Founded in 1995, the Company offers possibly the single largest range of high performance drawer slides available in the market, having recently (November 2007) added the T-Race range of ultra-high precision telescopic slide products to its portfolio.  GSF products are used extensively in the fire, defence, train, aero and marine industries to name a few.  Over 5,000,000 slides from the core product range have been sold worldwide.

In January 2008 the Company launched its new website which is designed to provide the most comprehensive and authoritative product listing and guide to drawer slide availability and selection available on the web (www.gsfslides.com).

GSF is exhibiting at FDIC 2008 (booth 6270 in the dome) in Indianapolis (April 7th to 12th 2008).