Archive: May 2016

What Cicadas, Marathons and BLM Automatic Clutch All Have In Common…

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We recently read an article in The Washington Post, “Billions of Cicadas Will Ascend Upon the Northeastern United States as Another 17-Year Cycle Concludes.” In addition to introducing us to the website Cicada Mania, the article got us thinking: At BLM, we are like cicadas. Just because you don’t see the cicadas while they’re hibernating, it doesn’t mean they’re not evolving and moving forward, getting ready to come out from hibernation to do their thing.

Maybe you’re not familiar with cicadas? The cicada is an interesting insect, “best known for the songs sung by most, but not all, male cicadas.” According to Cicada Mania, the cicada life cycle begins as a rice-shaped egg deposited in tree limb grooves. The egg hatches and the cicada feeds off of the tree until it grows and falls off of the tree to the ground, where it digs to find roots to feed on. The cicada remains active underground, tunneling and feeding for up to 17 years, depending on the species. There are many different species of cicadas, all hibernating for different periods of time. One breed of cicadas hibernates for 17 years before coming out and serenading us, announcing its presence to the world. In general, their hibernation process prepares the cicada for success once it emerges into the world.

Regarding the activity that’s going on underground while a cicada is hibernating, the same is true about BLM Automatic and our automatic clutches: Just because you may not see us or hear about BLM Automatic clutches all the time, it doesn’t mean we’re not there for you, ready to “come out and make our presence known” when you need us. Our clutches are, in fact, working behind-the-scenes every single day, all around the world. They’re often needed, and given more opportunities for visibility, after tornadoes or major storms. But whether or not you see or hear about them, BLM Automatic clutches are always prepared to do the jobs at hand. At the same time, BLM employees are working behind the scenes, too. So, you may not be thinking about clutches — or us — all the time, but you can rest assured knowing that just like the cicadas, we are busy doing our thing. We’ve been in business since 1932, designing and manufacturing centrifugal clutches for all types of small and large applications, and we have been, and continue to be, in this business for the long haul.

And since we’re being so philosophical in this blog post, we’d like to point out that this type of thinking also applies to marathons, where going the distance takes time and commitment. There’s no rushing or immediate sense of urgency because, as a marathon runner, you are trained and prepared. There’s planning, consistency and persistence that takes you to the finish line. At BLM, we are like marathon runners, too, and we are NOT at all like sprinters. We are here for the long haul, consistently designing and manufacturing centrifugal clutches for small and large applications, and we’ve been in business for almost 85 years – that’s five 17-year cicada cycles! A very long time!

Whether you’re running a marathon, or you’re a cicada ready to emerge after a long hibernation, or you’re an automatic clutch ready to do your job, remember: Good things take time, and there’s a lot of work and preparation going on behind the scenes!