N E W D E V E L O P M E N T S I N S Y N T H E T I C R O P E T E C H N O L O G Y

Continued on next page

Sometimes it’s the simple ideas that lead to the best solutions. While attending a conference called “The Front-End of Innovation,” Greg Mozsgai, research and development manager, learned of ideas used in the technology industry to stimulate innovation. While implementation varies from organization to organization, the central idea is to set aside a period of time on a regular basis for staff to explore whatever ideas they want—the key being idea generation. For some, it’s a group brainstorm scenario where ideas compete for attention, are winnowed down to a select few, then scrutinized to explore feasibility. In the software industry, “hack-a-thons” become opportunities to explore alternate methods of attacking problems, with groups of developers working collaboratively to write code that solves tricky problems. Looking at how other industries, such as tech, generate new ideas and solve problems, led at Samson to start Innovation Days.

IMPLEMENTATION AT SAMSONImplementation for an engineering-driven organization in the textile industry needed to be a little different. It began as one day (24 hours) a quarter, set aside for the engineering staff to pitch any idea they wanted to explore. There are few rules, except that the following morning, the participants are required to present their findings to the group. There are no bad ideas, just ones that don’t work out as planned. Even those can identify areas of exploration that don’t need to be investigated further, or perhaps the idea needs to be honed to a finer point before more time is spent on development. As Dr. Rafael Chou, vice president of development notes: “Ideas are more often evolutionary rather than revolutionary.”

Innovation Days with Samson’s R&D Team: Creative Ideas Deliver Real Solutions

COLLABORATIVE INVESTIGATION Often an idea is pitched that appeals to others in the group. The teams then focus on one idea in order to bring multiple perspectives to the investigation. Not every idea is going to lead to a successful solution—failures are common. But it is often initial failures that lead to the best solutions.

O C T O B E R 2 0 1 6

FEATURE: Innovation Days at Samson ............................1

NEW PRODUCTS: K-100™ Update .....................3

Terry Crump Honored at ITS 2016 Gala .................4

BEHIND THE LION: Samson Volunteers Build Star Park ...................5Curtis St. Julien Retires After 38 Years .....................5

There are no bad ideas, just ones that don’t work out as planned. Even those can identify areas of exploration that don’t need to be investigated further, or perhaps the idea needs to be honed to a finer point before more time is spent on development. As Dr. Rafael Chou, vice president of development notes: “Ideas are more often evolutionary rather than revolutionary.”

FEATURE: Innovation Days at Samson: Creative Ideas Deliver Real Solutions

RESULTSAt the end of the day, one of the most important aspects of Innovation Days is greater team cohesion and an increased collaborative spirit among peers. Every member of the team has the potential to raise an idea that could benefit the group and Samson as a whole.

At the end of the day, probably the most important aspect of Innovation Days was greater team cohesion and an increased collaborative spirit among peers.

WHAT’S THE CONSENSUS?With three years of Innovation Days on the books, the benefits have been apparent. Ideas have been explored and shared. Collaboration has increased, and there is a strengthened sense that everyone contributes to the team. Innovation Days will continue at Samson.

AGILE Lifting System is designed to match the strength and light weight of Samson’s proven synthetic rope slings—but with a form factor similar to round slings. A continuous length of high-performance synthetic rope is looped multiple times within critical length tolerances, organized to maintain balance internally, and finished with a sheath that protects the line from outside damage.

2

Samson AGILE Sling // 2016 // NextGen AD7” x 4.875” Horz. // E&P

Dyneema® is a registered trademark of Royal DSM N.V. Dyneema is DSM’s high-performance polyethylene product.

FOR DETAILS VISIT SAMSONROPE.COM OR STOP BY OUR BOOTH AT OTC #2771

AGILETM

LIFTING SYSTEMSamson’s Next Generation Heavy-lift Synthetic Sling

Lift capacity: 50mt - 4000mtClean, easy to handle designCustom design support

FOR DETAILS VISIT SamsonRope.com

Innovation Day kickoff; September 2016

O C T O B E R 2 0 1 6

2

Crane Experts Converge at Samson The Crane Certification Association of America (CCAA) held its 2016 Fall Educational Conference in Bellingham, Washington. The purpose of the Association is to promote crane safety, improve the certification profession, and address the subject of crane safety in governmental forums. This year, Samson hosted a portion of the conference, marking the first time a component manufacturer has been a host. With K-100 synthetic hoist lines’ rapidly growing acceptance by the crane industry, the opportunity to learn from the developers of the new rope for this very critical application was welcomed.

In addition to the educational conference’s regular slate of learning sessions, attendees benefitted from an entire day at Samson in Ferndale, Washington. Attendees participated in a tour of the manufacturing facility and quality control lab, where they witnessed first-hand how rope is made (from raw fiber to a finished product) and tested to ensure quality and performance specifications. The balance of the program consisted of hands-on training from Samson technical experts on rope construction, fiber characteristics, rope inspection procedures, splicing, and Timco synthetic sheaves.

According to the participants, the day was a huge success. Learning the proper use and care of synthetic hoist lines directly from those who design, test, and manufacture this critical component was appreciated by those whose job it is to keep crane safety at the forefront.

O C T O B E R 2 0 1 6

SYNTHETIC CRANE HOIST ROPE: K-100™ Update

What is K-100™?

Training the rope after the K-100 installation in Doha Qatar.

Installing the inboard eye on an RT880E.

Where in the World is K-100™?Since its release, K-100 has been installed as optional equipment on Manitowoc Crane’s Grove line and retrofitted to mobile cranes in a number of markets across North America, Hawaii, Germany and Qatar. Recently, Terex approved K-100 for use on their truck mounted, rough terrain and boom truck cranes. “We want to thank Terex for their foresight and support of our technology. This allows customers with diverse fleets more opportunity to leverage the benefits of K-100 in their operations,” said Michael Quinn, Samson director of new business development.

According to the Navy Crane Center, everyone has been very impressed with the performance of K-100 at both locations.

Samson’s K-100 is a high-performance synthetic crane hoist line designed specifically for mobile cranes. Initially developed with Manitowoc for their newest Grove series of mobile cranes, and now expanding to other manufacturers, K-100 is changing the environment of the mobile crane industry.

Samson leveraged fiber, coating, and rope construction technology to produce K-100. It’s made from a combination of high-performance fibers, including Dyneema®, which are stronger and lighter than similar materials. The K-100 hoist line is as strong as wire yet 80% lighter, has better bend fatigue performance and is non-rotational, and is much simpler to use. K-100 allows mobile crane operators to focus on the lifting, not the line.

CCAA participants review rope inspection procedures with Samson experts.

3

O C T O B E R 2 0 1 6

FEATURE: Samson’s Terry Crump Honored by ITS

Terry Crump Honored at ITS 2016 Convention Gala DinnerThe International Tug and Salvage (ITS) convention became a special memory for Samson’s Director of Sales for the Americas Terry Crump. With more than 600 in attendance, Terry was honored by Allan Brunton-Reed, chairman of the ABR Company, Ltd., at the event’s gala dinner, with a special award recognizing his contributions to and support of the tug industry and to the ITS and Tugnology conventions.

“As a long-standing supporter of our ITS conventions and Tugnology conferences, we were delighted to present Terry with one of our coveted silver Armada dishes before his retirement. We will miss his infectious grin,” notes Brunton-Reed. Tony Bon, former CEO and current advisor at Samson, commented: “Well deserved. You’ve been an influential figure in changing the way the tug industry operates.” Those at the gathering agreed that Terry has been a key leader in implementing the changes Samson has brought to the industry.

Congratulations, Terry—the honor and recognition from your peers is well deserved!CEO ANDREA STURM Wonderful and well deserved. Congratulations @Terry Crump!

CHARLOTTE WELLS Congrats Terry—what an honor to be recognized by industry leaders like those gathered at ITS. You’ve made your mark on advancing this industry.

ADRIAN EYRE Congrats TC. To be acknowledged by your peers at an event like this is something special. Great legacy to leave and for the rest of us to build on.

JOE LANDER @Terry Crump Excellent to be recognized for your work in our industry—job well done.

MICHAEL QUINN Congratulations Terry!! Well deserved for all of your contributions and hard work.

Terry Crump was honored May 26, 2016, for his support and contributions to the tug industry.

FROM LEFT: Garth Manson, ABR Company, Ltd. Managing Director; Terry Crump; Liz and Allan Brunton-Reed.

Samson’s Saturn-12: Proven to be the longest lasting, most durable tow rope on the market, outlasting other HMPE lines by 15–20%.

Just when you thought we couldn’t get BETTER, we did. Reformulated the coating for longer life Improved proprietary coating increases UV protection and maintains the reduction of internal and external abrasion.

Now with 100% Dyneema® SK78—the next generation of high-performance fiber— for even better performance and longer service life. SK78 improves cyclic bend performance and mitigates creep in long-term load situations.

IT ALL ADDS UP LONGER SERVICE LIFE = LOWER TOTAL COST OF OWNERSHIP.

SATURN-12™

Not all HMPE tow lines are CREATED EQUAL

Dyne

ema®

is a

regi

ster

ed tr

adem

ark

of R

oyal

DSM

N.V

.

Dyne

ema

is D

SM’s

hig

h-pe

rform

ance

pol

yeth

ylen

e pr

oduc

t.

We’ve got the numbers to prove it.

SamsonRope.com

4

S A M S O N I N A C T I O N U P C O M I N G E V E N T S

See Samson at these upcoming events:

C O N T A C T S A M S O N

EMAIL: CustServ@SamsonRope.com

ONLINE: SamsonRope.com

PHONE: 1.360.384.4669

FAX: 1.360.384.0572

MAIL: 2090 Thornton Street Ferndale, WA 98248 USA

TUG & MOORING > Tanker Safety Conference

November 15–16: London, UK > International Workboat

November 30–December 2: New Orleans, Louisiana

ARBORIST > Tree Care Industry (TCI) Expo

November 10–12: Baltimore, Maryland

Current News from Samson — Behind the LionO C T O B E R 2 0 1 6

T h e L a r g e s t V o l u n t e e r E v e n t i n F e r n d a l e H i s t o r y

Curtis St. Julien Retires After 38 Years with SamsonAfter 38 years, Curtis St. Julien retired from Samson on July 1, 2016. He started on June 12, 1978 at the AMCO plant in Lafayette, Louisiana, as a machine operator, quickly rising to a lead position during his time with Samson. He considered himself to be a jack-of-all-trades while at Samson—if something needed to be done, he would do it.Production Supervisor Chris Landry had this to say about Curtis: “Through small friendly jokes and pranks we bonded, but when we worked, we worked. He was always one to be trusted and counted on. Whenever I had something to do that was out the norm, I would call for Curtis… It was an honor to have met Curtis and a privilege to work with him. I thank Samson for bringing us together.”Two weeks after starting at the plant, Curtis married Alina, who currently works at Samson. They have two daughters, and have been blessed with five grandchildren. When asked what retirement will bring, Curtis says he’ll be knocking off projects from Alina’s “honey-do” list and his own list of projects around the house. He also plans to spend quality time with his grandkids. He loves to cook, and enjoys making his own version of hot link sausage for family and friends.Join us in thanking Curtis for 38 wonderful years of service. We congratulate him on his retirement, and wish him all the best.

RECREATIONAL MARINE > US Sailboat

October 6–10: Annapolis, MarylandUTILITY > Lineman’s Rodeo Expo ’16

October 13–14: Overland Park, Kansas

“It was an honor to have met Curtis and a privilege to work with him. I thank Samson for bringing us together.” — CHRIS LANDRY, PRODUCTION SUPERVISOR

Curtis St. Julien (second from the left) at a team meeting in the Lafayette plant.

Designed by Ferndale kids and built entirely by volunteers—that was the promise of Star Park. The community of Ferndale, Washington, rallied together and made it a reality. With the generous help of Samson’s 60 employees volunteering 240 hours, along with more than 300 other organizations and 2,200 volunteers, the build was accomplished from start to finish in six days (8,000 hours). Local restaurants and community groups donated food for the volunteers and local contractors lent their tools, time, and expertise to the project. Star Park Basics

• Star Park is located just south of Pioneer Park in beautiful Ferndale, Washington. It is a playground about 12,000 square feet in size.

• Built in six days, entirely by volunteers with guidance from Leathers and Associates.

• The park is split into two areas: one for kids under 5 years old and the other for kids 5–12.

• Many of the attractions of the park, such as the replica ferry, Mt. Baker and the bridge across the Nooksack were drawn from local landmarks.

• A majority of the park is made from recycled plastic lumber with more than 48,000 screws used in the construction.

• The park was funded with local donations and a grant from the Washington State Recreation and Conservation Office.

Additional photos available on the City of Ferndale website.

Star Park: Samson Employees Help Make It Happen

60 Samson employees donated 240 hours toward building Star Park

Samson VP Joe Mazzacano (kneeling) puts his woodworking skills to use

5