A Promise to Ranchers that is Long Overdue.

 By Janelle Hulme.

 Long overdue working cattle is undoubtedly dangerous. From a sprain because of a slip or fall to serious injuries from being trampled, crushed, or on the receiving end of a powerful kick, it is easy for incidents to occur. In many cases, no one is to blame, however, of the hundreds of incidents that occur on ranches every day, many could have been avoided if safer cattle handling equipment were in place.

In an industry that has turned a blind eye to operator safety for far too long, it is time for cattle equipment manufacturers and leaders in the industry to take a stand and make safety a top priority.

As a global leader in the cattle handling industry and cattle equipment innovation, Arrowquip decided that enough is enough, and has revealed its new brand promise that puts safety above all else:

If you are injured with Arrowquip equipment, we will give you your money back.

“We’ve always been deeply passionate about safety,” said Arrowquip CEO, Andrew Firth. “Over the last few years, we have grown a lot as a company and have really had to identify where we want to go in the future, who we want to be, and how to remain true to who we are.”

For years, ranching families have settled on cattle equipment and handling practices that are “good enough” because it is the way they’ve been doing it for years, and it gets the job done. At Arrowquip, just “good enough” doesn’t cut it, because ranchers deserve better.

“If you’re working cattle and get injured using an Arrowquip product, and it requires medical attention or a medical procedure, we will give you a full refund and you will get to keep your equipment. No questions asked,” said Firth.

“We’re dealing with life and death. That is why it’s so important to us. In our industry, everyone has a story of being injured working cattle and it doesn’t have to be that way.”

The cattle management industry is tough on the best of days. In the most brutal weather and adverse working conditions, ranchers are out tending to their livestock. These hard-working people think about their cattle and families first, and themselves last.

“Sometimes safety takes a lower priority because injuries have become part of the industry. It’s the way it’s always been,” said Arrowquip’s CIO, Jerry Langrell. “We have come to accept that we all get injured at some point. We need to make a commitment to reduce injury around cattle handling.”

When getting the job done is daunting enough on its own, and the weight of feeding a world that often seems to be against ranchers is on their shoulders, they deserve peace of mind. Ranchers shouldn’t have to worry about getting injured with their cattle handling equipment.

“Many companies have great, creative visions, but they are only marks on paper with no consequences,” said Firth. “This brand promise holds us accountable to our vision: through our network of partners, we create safe cattle management experiences,” a purpose statement that is echoed throughout the company, and a part of what that they do, every day.

Since 1988, Arrowquip has been dedicated to making ranchers’ lives safer by striving to provide them with a “limitless cattle handling experience.” A company built by ranchers, Arrowquip has stayed true to its vision by continually improving and innovating the equipment it brings to the market, with a goal to better the daily lives of ranchers all around the world.

“This is why the company has become what it is today,” said Firth. “This new brand promise ensures that as we grow and become a larger company, we don’t lose who we were when we started.”

Cattle ranching is a multi-generational industry with many operations being passed down through the family. When you have a mix of new, young handlers and older, experienced ranchers involved, safety needs to be a top priority.

“These are families, not individuals,” said Langrell. “We don’t want to react to what has happened. We want to predict everything that could happen and mitigate that to the best of our ability.”

Langrell added that being able to understand the situation and events and the “near misses” will help mitigate and address any future risks. Beginning with a review of all cattle equipment currently on the market, the company will also continue to review all consumer feedback and take it into sincere consideration.

“Our role is to ensure our customers are front and center and that we’re making decisions that matter to them and are in communication with them to make sure that the problems that are in the industry are being solved,” said Langrell. “If there is a problem that hasn’t been solved, we aim to solve it.”

Similar to how Arrowquip currently conducts customer service through its Client Care Team, the company will do what it takes to make the customer happy.

“We hope this causes the customer, the people using our products and having cattle management experiences, to ask questions of their other suppliers, ask questions of other people that are building cattle management products to help them improve and force the industry to change,” said Firth.

As cattle equipment manufacturers, it is past time that safety is brought from the sideline to its rightful place at the forefront of the industry.

“We firmly believe that safety is number one in our industry. It has to be,” said Firth. “We hope that other market leaders in the industry follow us and create similar promises and similar commitments to really make a difference.”

Ready for safer cattle handling? Visit arrowquip.com for more details.