Guard Industries, Inc.
Guard News                                Issue X                     July 2010
In This Issue
Wide Variety of Plastics Available
Asian BBQ is Shaking up American BBQ
Could Facebood Ruin Your Business
 
 
Tip of the Month
 
Straight Seams
 
Use a string or rod standoff to achieve straight seams. (see picture)
 
Pat Myrdal,
RTPO(C), FCBC
Straight Seams
guardbarsmall
Next Month's Tip
Double Lamination
 
 
Recipes Wanted
 
After May's Beer & BBQ article, we have received many comments that people enjoyed and are interested in more recipes.  We are adding a recipe sharing section and want to include you, our subscribers, favorite recipes.  So, email us those recipes and you may see your recipe with credit to you, in print over the coming months. 
 
 
Send recipes to: newsletter@guardmfg.com with "recipe" in the subject line.
 
 
Quick Links...
 
 
Guard Industries, Inc.
3333 Washington Blvd.
St. Louis, MO 63103
Phone: 800-535-3508
Fax: 314-534-0035
 
 
Join Our Mailing List  
Greetings from everyone at Guard Industries!  We hope you enjoy this issue of our newsletter.  
 
We have an Asian BBQ article with recipes you might enjoy trying and an important article about protecting your companies reputation in this day of electronic and social media. 
 
If you want to refer back to any of our past issues please click on this link to  view our archived newsletters.
Flexible Inner Socket
Wide Variety of Plastics Available From Guard Industries

 All Plastics                                      
Guard Industries stocks a very large inventory of a variety of plastics used in the orthotic, prosthetic & pedorthic professions.  Here is a listing and some of their common characteristics & uses: 

 
 
 
 
POLYPROPYLENE (Natural, Fleshtone & Colors)
It is the most widely used plastic in O&P.  It's rigidity makes it excellent for definitive sockets, body jackets, AFO's and upper & lower orthoses.
 
COPOLYMER (Natural, Fleshtone & Colors)
It's rigidity is similar to polypropylene but slightly flexible due to an ethylene additive.  It's also more suited for colder climates.  It has most of the same applications as polypropylene.  Some success is limited in applications like AFO's, if very rigid AFO is required.
 
LOW-DENSITY POLYETHYLENE
Is a lot softer, more flexible than polypropylene & copolymer.  It's uses would be for body jackets due to it's softer feel & flexible prosthetic inner sockets.
 
MODIFIED POLYETHYLENE
Is much stronger than low-density; it's also crack & tear resistant and has a wider range of working temperatures and working time.  Primary uses are for body jackets, flexible inner sockets and both upper & lower extremity orthoses.
 
HIGH-DENSITY POLYETHYLENE
Is a very rigid material and it's uses are limited to body jackets, knee & neck brace parts and anterior shells on KAFO's.
 
VIVAK® 
It's optically clear and has no smell when heated like UVEX (a similar plastic).  It is used for check sockets, burn masks (aids in healing to prevent scarring), sports protective masks and non weight bearing AFO's for patients that are bedridden or in a wheelchair.
 
DURAFLEX™ - Available exclusively through Guard Industries, Inc. 
Is a soft, semi-transparent pliable thermoplastic that combines comfort, durability and strength.  It's being used currently in both orthotics and prosthetic applications like flexible liners for AK, BK, AE & BE devices.  It doesn't contain silicon or latex, can be blister formed or draped with a seam, is crack & tear resistant.  It will not turn yellow over time, is hygienic and non-toxic.  It will not expand due to lotions or creams that patients use for donning & doffing.  It has excellent bonding properties as well.
 
Also is currently being used in orthotics as an inner boot inside of an AFO, by reducing the shear forces by introducing a layer between the skin & the hard thermoplastic shell.  It is also easier to maintain the foot in the desired position as the inner liner allows the foot to be encompassed in a 360 degree wrap.  It has also been incorporated in crow's to reduce shear by further immobilizing the foot & ankle in difficult cases.  One practitioner stated: "The inherent flexibility & moldable characteristics of the material have drastically improved both the ease of fabrication & patient donning".
 
FOOTFORM - alternative to SUBORTHOLEN®
Is a high strength, medium density molecular weight polyethylene, which offers ease of workability since it can be cold formed as well as thermo molded.  It is light weight and very rigid.  Primary use is for foot orthotics.
 
PROFLEX-S (with Silicon)
Is a soft flexible plastic with excellent bonding properties and is used primarily for prosthetic flexible inner sockets. 
 
PERFORMA PLUS
Is a tough weight bearing transparent plastic.  It is excellent for bubble forming rigid check sockets.  It can also be draped with a seam for more uniformity on those extremely long & large AK sockets.  It has very high impact strength, excellent combination of stiffness & non-breakability.  It will not crack or get brittle and break.  Easy edge finishing & grinding, provides excellent bonding, modifies quickly with a heat gun, allows for through-bolting and is very forgiving, no worrying about collapsing, cracking or dropping.  
 
 
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Asian BBQ Is Shaking Up American BBQ Traditions
At many barbecue competions across the country, the participants are bringing with them  ingredients that transform classic American BBQ into  bbq with an Asian twist.
 
Some of the ingedients they are using include: Korean powdered honey, for a sweet finishing touch on ribs, Indonesian palm sugar, used to marinate chicken and Phillippine tamarind powder, for a citrusy note in poultry.
 
We have all seen Teriyaki glazes with the bbq sauces in the grocery store but the latest development in Asian cooking is about trying to recreate the authentic grilling traditions of Asia.  People are having a lot of success with this on their outdoor grills and many food chains are incorporating these types of recipes into their menus.
 
One of the secrets to Asian bbq is in the marinating.  Most of the receipes we have found involve marinating the meet for 2-24 hours, with the longer times being preferable for the best flavor.
 
Below are a couple of recipes inspired by this new trend in bbq that you can try at home.
 
Grilled Chicken with Thai Hot Sauce
Ingredients
  • 1 head garlic cloves, peeled
  • 1 bunch cilantro stems, leaves removed
  • 4 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce
  • 4 tablespoons water
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
  • 4 chicken breasts, butterflied
  • 1/2 cup canola oil
Directions
  1. Add the garlic to the bowl of a food processor and pulse until finely minced. Add cilantro stems, soy sauce, water and salt and puree until semi-smooth. Pour marinade into a large plastic freezer bag and add the sugar and the pepper, then mix. Add chicken breasts, press out air and seal. Refrigerate for 4 to 24 hours.
  2. Prepare a gas or charcoal grill. Brush the chicken with oil. Over high heat, grill each breast 3 to 5 minutes per side, basting frequently with the oil and the marinade. When cooked through, remove from grill. Serve with hot sauce.
Thai Hot Sauce
  • 2 red jalapeno peppers (if unavailable, substitute 1/2 a very red bell pepper and 1 tsp cayenne pepper)
  • 2 green jalapeno peppers, roughly chopped
  • 1 green Serrano chile, roughly chopped
  • 1/2 head of garlic, cloves separated and peeled
  • 4 Tbls lime juice (2 limes)
  • 4 Tbls orange juice (1 orange)
  • 3 Tbls sugar
  • 2 Tbls fish sauce
  1. Place peppers and garlic into the bowl of a food processor and pulse until finely chopped.
  2. Add juices, sugar and fish sauce and pulse until smooth.
 
 
Singapore Beef Satay
Ingredients
  • 1.5 lbs rib-eye steak (about 1/2 inch thick)
  • 3 tablespoons light brown sugar
  • 2 tablespoons ground coriander
  • 1 tablespoon turmeric
  • 1-1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
  • 1-1/2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
  • 3 tablespoons fish sauce or soy sauce
  • 3 tablespoons vegetable oil

Directions

  1. Cut the steaks, including the fat, into 1/2 inch cubes and place them in a mixing bowl. Stir in the brown sugar, coriander, turmeric, cumin, pepper, fish sauce and oil. Marinate the beef in the refrigerator, covered, for at least 2 hours; 12 is ideal.
  2. Drain the cubes of beef, discarding the marinade. Thread the beef onto bamboo skewers, leaving the bottom half of each skewer bare for a handle and 1/4 inch exposed at the pointed end. Alternate between one piece of lean beef and one piece of fatty beef for the best flavor.
  3. Prepare a gas or charcoal grill. Over high heat, brush the grates with oil. Fold aluminum foil by thirds, like a letter, and place over the grill where the exposed ends of the skewers will rest (this will keep them from burning). Grill the sates until cooked to taste, about 2 minutes per side for medium.

Serve with Singapore Cucumber Relish; the tip of the skewer can be used to spear pieces of cucumber from the relish.



Singapore Cucumber Relish

  • 2 Kirby cucumbers or 1 medium-sized cucumber, cut in half lengthwise and seeded, and cut into 1/4 inch dice
  • 1 shallot, minced (2 to 3 Tbls) or 1 scallion, both white and green parts, minced
  • 1 small, hot chile, such as bird or cayenne pepper, stemmed, seeded and minced
  • 1 Tbls rice vinegar
  • 1 Tbls sugar
  • 4 Tbls orange juice (1 orange)
  • 3 Tbls sugar
  • Kosher salt, freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Combine all ingredients and toss. The relish can be made up to two hours before serving 

 
 
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Could Facebook Ruin Your Business?
By Wendy Gauntt, CIO Services
 

Warren Buffet said, "It takes 20 years to build a reputation and 5 minutes to ruin it." Nowhere could this idea be truer than on the Internet.

With lightning-fast speed, one negative post about your company on Facebook or other social media sites can travel to hundreds or thousands of potential customers or employees and ruin your reputation.

On top of the humiliation of "losing face" from negative online feed-back, you could lose customers, sales, and vendor relationships, too.

The Un-Truth

While some "company-bashing" comments might be warranted, here's the worst part: some are completely untrue. Obviously, there's no way to fact-check everything posted about your business. Most online comments about any business are actually just pure opinion.

Think negative online opinions on Twitter or Facebook will just blow over? Not likely.

Posting something online makes it available for anyone to copy and distribute instantly. So even if you delete the initial post, the same information may already be posted in 18 different places. Once something is online, it's pretty much there to stay.

 How Your Reputation Could Be Tarnished

There are four ways potentially damaging messages could be said about your company.

1. Competitors. It isn't difficult to hide your true identity online. All your competition has to do is pose as an "average Joe" and pretend to be your customer. Then he can post negative reviews, damaging comments, or horrible customer experiences that never happened. In a matter of minutes, he can make your loyal customers have their doubts about continuing to do business with you and ward off potential new clients.

When this happens to you, proving these comments are posted by your competition is no small feat. Even if you could prove who the culprit was, you wouldn't be likely to nail him. Since social media is a relatively new phenomenon, there is very little case law available. What is available pertains more to employees' social media activity than to your competitors.

2. Employees. Without intending to, employees could post or comment about confidential company information and put the business at enormous risk. Merely commenting on a project or a particular customer could cause the competition to steal business away, or could make the customer leave, upset that your employees are writing about their dealings with you for all the world to see.

Then there's the disgruntled employee. According to a recent survey by Deloitte, 74% of employees say it's easy to damage an employer's reputation using social networking sites (Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, etc.).

Recently, a bank sued one of their ex-vice presidents after he posted confidential company documents online. Allegedly, the documents exposed illegal activities. The law suit requested the forceful removal of the documents. The bank lost the case, saying that the website and the ex-vice president had a First Amendment right to keep the documents online. In addition, the judge pointed out that taking down the documents would do little good, since they could have been copied and re-posted by other sites.

3. Employees' "Friends" And Family. Turns out it's not just employees you need to worry about...but their circle of friends and family, too.

In a recent U.S. court case, a restaurateur was quoted in a newspaper article as saying that he treats his employees with "dignity and respect." When the father of a former employee read this article online, he was not too happy. He left a comment that the company had been sexually harassing his daughter and that the owner condoned the behavior.

The company looked for justice by suing the father for defamation, but the case got thrown out. The reason? The court sited these comments as opinion and not applicable to defamation laws.

4. Customers. Social media and other online chat have made it easier than ever for customers to let the world know about negative experiences with your company. Of course, the best thing to do is work diligently to keep your customers happy and avoid this issue altogether. But just one "minor" incident can send a bad vibe to all your prospects at the speed of light online.

Though you can't prevent customers or competition from posting whatever they want, you can have some control over what your employees do.

How To Prevent Online Company Bashing

First, make sure you have a computer use policy. In it, you can dictate what employees can and cannot do online and include a section on banning any conduct that could damage your company's reputation.

Second, monitor your employees' activity online. Newer content filtering appliances allow business owners to keep an eye on where their employees are going and even what information they are posting online. This may seem like a "big brother" tactic, but it's also a smart way to protect yourself. You may be surprised at how much time your staff spends online each day-statistics tell us the average employee spends as much as 2 hours a day online for personal reasons.

A Special Offer for Guard Friends and Family

 If you'd like to find out whether you are at risk, CIO Services has extended a special offer to Guard customers and friends: call by August 31st and receive a free consultation on protecting your reputation. You can have them review or begin writing your computer use policy, help you develop a plan for monitoring negative online comments or review your firewall for other Internet threats. Don't miss out - call CIO at 314-414-8400, and be sure to let us know you are a Guard customer!

 

 This article has been reprinted from the April 2010 edition of TechZest, a publication of CIO Services. CIO Services provides IT consulting for small and midsize businesses in the Saint Louis Metro area. For more information, visit their website at www.cioservicesllc.com.

Flexible Inner Socket
A Few Uses of Guard Plastics
Plastic Uses
Flexible Inner Socket
Thank you for your time.  We hope you have found this newsletter to be helpful and informative.  If you have any suggestions for future articles or any tips that you would like to share with our readers, we would love to hear from you.  Our goal is to exceed your expectations with each of our products and the delivery of our service.
Sincerely,
 
James D. Barnes                                    Steve Hall
President                                               Account Manager