The Walkaround

Dennie Ortiz

Publisher

Goodbye 2020!

I think for the most part we would all agree that it is going to be a welcomed sight to see 2020 in the rearview mirror. This year has been full of unprecedented happenings changing the very nature of our culture and world.

I am very thankful for the tower’s innate possession of a resilience to adversity. So as we make our way to end of this year and I walk you around this issue, please read on … as reading and learning always makes for a great escape!

Hello Dolly! Or should I say hello dollies. Brian Riker leads us down the roadway on dolly usage; their usefulness and importance of their up-keep. He even suggests that in certain situations the dolly is a preferred choice for towing to that of a carrier.

Always looking to the future in our Tow Engineer department, Terry Abejuela discusses the potential use of Synthetic chain in our industry as well the current advantages of synthetic rope. His conclusion is synthetic rope is safer than traditional wire rope.

Drilling down on the importance of the implicit need for towing businesses to have written company policies in place, Randy Resch highlights the potential liability towers may face without one. He leads into this topic by describing an actual event in which a customer sustained critical injuries during a routine call and thereby the towing company was sued. While in the process of the court proceedings the focus fell on whether the towing company had in place a police and procedures manual. As Resch summizes “If you have no employee manual you are on the losing end of any lawsuit.”

Is it just me or does there seem to be a disproportionate number of rolled-over cement mixers in the world? Whether you agree or not this challenging type of equipment always makes for an interesting recovery. Jim Sorrenti’s article showcases Pepe’s Towing out of California using their ingenuity and their heavy-duty equipment to upright a mixer on a difficult piece of terrain.

If a tower knows one thing it is how to think outside the box. In our My Baby department we feature a very unique piece of equipment that was transformed by Missoula Montana’s Iron Horse Towing for use in many various applications. Be sure to take a look at this visually stunning and versatile rig.

Even amidst these unsettled times December is not only the time for holiday shopping but also a time to find end-of-the-year deals. Check our special section that features a December Deals page where our advertisers promote special savings. While we make our way into next year our “2021 Product Showcase” is a must see for towing business owners to catch what some of the industry’s top suppliers are offering.

We here at American Towman wish you all a very happy and healthy holiday season and please let us all wave goodbye and good riddance to 2020!

Dennie Ortiz Steve Calitri Brendan Dooley Randall Resch Terry Abejuela Jim “Buck” Sorrenti David Kolman Bill Simmons Mark Lacek Brian Riker Publisher Editor-In-Chief Editor Operations Editor Field Editor, West Field Editor, Northeast Chassis Editor Safety Editor Repo Run Editor Contributing Editor

Editorial Board

Tommy Anderson Dallas, Texas

Roy Carlson Saint Paul, Minn.

Debbie Collins Las Vegas, Nev.

Belinda Harris Greensboro, N.C.

Bill Johnson South Hadley, Mass. Ron Mislan Warren, N.J. Kurt Wilson Creve Coeur, Ill.

American Towman Staff

Gina Johnson Page Layout Artist

Dennie Ortiz Advertising Sales Mgr.

Ellen Rosengart Senior Account Exec.

Norma Calitri VP of Accounts

Henri Calitri Customer Service

Patrice Gesner Subscription Manager Peggy Calabrese Regional Advertising Sales Ryan Oser iMarketing Manager Emily Oz ATTV Producer

Steve Calitri President

American Towman Media Headquarters 2 Overlook Drive, Suite 5, Warwick, NY 10990 800-732-3869 or 845-986-4546

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Publisher dortiz@towman.com Editor-In-Chief scalitri@towman.com

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