Page 50: of Marine News Magazine (July 2012)

Over the years, Patterson improved its product by listening to the needs of the end user. The resulting winches ? led by its most famous entry, the YoYo Barge winch ? boast increased safety and reduced maintenance requirements. At one time, the ratchet was the only choice for making barge connections. Then came the winch. Patterson?s patented YoYo winch, designed to make barge connections safer, faster, easier is, according to Patterson, completely different from anything else on the market. Its single-stacking design eliminates springcoil, fouling, and uncontrolled spooling, working 50% faster than ratchets. Operation is simple and safe, with a patented double-dog design that allows easy maximum line tensioning. And the YoYo?s contained springcoil eliminates injuries due to rope memory. Patterson even pushes an ?ROI? calculator that calculates the lifetime value of the winch to your bottom line. In June, David Grapes, CEO of Patterson Manufacturing took time to look back on the history?and the future? of the YoYo Barge winch, an innovative product that is changing the industry. According to Grapes, the YoYo was invented in 2002 and Patterson received its  rst order in 2006. He continues, ?Our  rst really big order, from American Electrical Power, came in 2009. That happened after we made a few modi cations and  ne-tuned the design after testing. AEP had been using ratchets and winches, but once they saw the YoYo, they knew this was the technology they needed.?Grapes says that the idea for the YoYo evolved from within his  rm. ?One of our employees thought our customers might be interested in a YoYo power winch, and we talked to AEP about it. The people at AEP were very interested, but what they really wanted was a manual winch, for barges. We expanded the idea from there, and everybody in the industry has embraced it. What?s funny is that several of our customers have asked if we could create an electric winch using the YoYo design.? Because customers were open to the idea of a completely new winch design, Patterson started by making up a prototype and sharing it with some customers and then listened to their feedback. Those conversations provided the basis for modi cations until Patterson had a formula that the customers really liked. Grapes adds, ?It was de nitely a process.? Patterson then asked a customer to track and test the YoYo for two years?an unusual amount of time for a beta test ? but both wanted to get it just right. Key metrics such as ease of use, time savings, injury reduction rates, ROI, and savings were all compiled. In the end, Grapes says that they?d  gured out they could literally save millions by switching to the YoYo, and the deckhands loved the product. This resulted in an order of 400 units in 2009. Since then, they?ve bought thousands more. Grapes points to the ongoing popularity of his innovative winch as proof of its utility. ?Right now, all of our biggest customers are using it, including two of the biggest towing companies in the industry. They all saw the value inherent in the design. Their cost of ownership is vastly reduced, and then the speed and safety aspects of the winch make it Patterson?s YoYo Winch July 201250 MNMNJuly2012 Layout 50-58.indd 50MNJuly2012 Layout 50-58.indd 507/10/2012 12:55:16 PM7/10/2012 12:55:16 PM