Southwire Company Challenges Contractors to Channel Their Inner DEVO

Southwire Company Challenges Contractors to Channel Their Inner DEVO

"RipThatChip" Video Makers Can Win an Apple® iPad and a MacBook Air® laptop

CARROLLTON, Ga., Nov. 7, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Can you Rip It real good? If so, Southwire Company wants you to make a video that could earn you a cool prize.

(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20121107/CH07906 )

Earlier this year Southwire teamed up with DEVO, the iconic 1980s Punk/New Wave band, on a remake of the classic song "Whip It." The result was a video that encourages electrical contractors to "Rip It," promoting Southwire's SIMpull Rip CHIP(TM) disc, an amazingly simple breakthrough that can help contractors save time, while eliminating the need to use a knife to remove the stretch wrap placed around wire reels to keep them clean, dry and secure during shipping. You can watch the "Rip It" video by clicking http://www.southwireanddevo.com/, or by visiting the Southwire channel on YouTube.

The "Rip It" video has received significant social media attention and now Southwire is inviting amateur video makers to get in on the act. The Rip It!Video Contest asks participants to create their "RipThatChip" video from 10 seconds to 2 minutes in length, then post their video on their personal YouTube channel. Participants are permitted to submit multiple contest entries. All video entries should be entitled "RipThatChip."

The Rip It! Video Contest will run from October 1, 2013 until January 31, 2014, and Southwire will select one winning video following the end of each of October, November, and December during that period. The creators of each of those winning videos will receive an Apple® iPad. Then, during February 2013, Southwire will select one grand prize winning video, and the video's creator will receive an Apple® MacBook Air® laptop. The Rip It! Video Contest is open to contractors, their employees, and family members over the age of 18. Contest runs October 1st to December 31st. No purchase is necessary.

Visit www.southwireanddevo.com for the full set of contest terms and conditions.

"We had fun working with members of DEVO on the "Rip It" video and went to several job sites to tape work crews. The feedback has been great and we want to give other contractors the chance to get in on the act," said Jack Carlson, President of Southwire's Electrical Division. "The Rip CHIP disc is a fun and effective addition to our packaging that we launched earlier this year that is making life easier for contractors on job sites across the country."

Southwire's "Rip It" video features original DEVO band members Mark Mothersbaugh and Gerald Casale, who recorded the remake in Los Angeles earlier this year. A number of electrical contractors have starring roles in "Rip It," singing the song and doing a DEVO-inspired dance in DEVO-style hard hats, while at the same time demonstrating how to use the SIMpull Rip CHIP disc.

DEVO exploded on the music scene when MTV gave "Whip It" significant airplay during the cable network's early days. While the song only reached number 14 on the Billboard charts, its role in the changing musical scene of the times is reflected in the fact that VH1 named "Whip It" as one of the top 100 songs of the 1980s. The song appeared on Freedom of Choice, thegroup's second and best-selling album, which reached platinum status. DEVO is known for sarcastic humor and post-modernist dress that includes yellow jumpsuit stage costumes, black turtlenecks and red stacked "energy caps."

Some wire companies wrap their cuts and parallels as a quality control step to protect the wire and cable. However, it can often take several minutes to remove the plastic before the installer can start the job. Southwire listened to its customers who said that cutting away the stretch wrap wastes time and it can lead to knife injuries. Electrical contractors will tell you one of the biggest hassles at the start of a wiring job is removing the layers of stretch wrap placed around reels. The Southwire SIMpull Rip CHIP disc is a simple breakthrough that was designed to mitigate or eliminate this hassle and significantly reduce the number of injuries relating to removal of stretch wrap from reels.

The SIMpull Rip CHIP disc is bright green and is attached to a nylon cord, that, when pulled, easily and quickly cuts through the protective stretch wrap covering the wire or cable. The SIMpull Rip CHIP disc helps remove the shrink wrap in under 30 seconds and decreases the likelihood that a worker will be injured or will damage the wire while using a knife to cut the shipping plastic.

Southwire SIMpull Solutions(®) products and services have racked up a variety of industry awards from various sources that recognize the products as being a smarter, faster, safer and more efficient way to handle the wire installation process. The SIMpull Rip CHIP(TM) disc has already started rolling out from Southwire service centers to job sites around the country.

About Southwire Company
A leader in technology and innovation, Southwire Company is one of North America's largest wire and cable producers. Southwire and its subsidiaries manufacture building wire and cable, metal-clad (MC) cable, FlatWire Ready(®) products, cord products (including Tappan(TM) sound, security, and communication cables through Tappan Wire & Cable Inc.), utility cable products, industrial power cable, OEM wire products, SCR(®) copper and aluminum rod, and continuous casting technology. Southwire also supplies MAXIS(®) wire and cable installation tools to the commercial, industrial and utility construction markets. To learn more about Southwire's products, community involvement, and its vision for a sustainable Southwire, please visit Southwire on the web at www.southwire.com.

SOURCE Southwire Company

Photo:http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20121107/CH07906
http://photoarchive.ap.org/
Southwire Company

CONTACT: Rick Lyke, Eric Mower + Associates, +1-704-916-6152, rlyke@mower.com

Web Site: http://www.southwireanddevo.com


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