Traction Technologies of B.C. says it will begin very limited sales in September of its new air-powered winch tie-down and automatic tensioning system. This latest version, trademarked ‘Cinch’, is an evolution of the firm’s original
tie-down safety system which won the Telus Innovation Award in 2005. Since then field testing and customer feedback have produced further product refinements. It will eliminate the need for operators to use a pry bar to tighten load straps and it will continually apply a pre-set pressure for the duration of the trip. This pressure can be set from zero to over 2000 lb to meet any load requirements.

This tie-down safety system was designed to eliminate the significant number of driver injuries occurring while securing loads using conventional winches and to eliminate accidents caused due to load shift. Conventional winch-tightened straps have been measured to lose 50% of their tension during the first hour of a trip, Traction claims.

The Cinch automates the entire securement process. It consists of an enhanced winch which is mounted to the side of a trailer. It appears at first to simply be a traditional winch, and is in fact installed just as a normal winch would be. A small air-powered drive system is affixed to the winch and mounted to the underbelly of the trailer. This then becomes the tie-down system. The drive runs off pressurized air, and as long as air is provided to
it, it will always apply a holding force to the cargo. The force at which it holds the cargo is varied by setting the air pressure before putting on the tie-downs. The higher the air pressure, the more holding power you will get.
You can adjust the power of the system, up or down, depending upon your cargo needs.

Production will be very limited until 2007. For more information call 888-372-7676.