Larger Equipment is Not Always the Best Choice
August 14, 2014
I recently spent some time on the phone with one of our customers who operates what most would describe as a small production line for shaped, extruded food products. I…
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Exceeding Expectations: Putting the Customer First
August 7, 2014
During a recent trip to visit prospective clients, I was reminded how important customer relations were to business. Without customers, there is no business, so as a collaborator…
Consistent, Quality Ingredients Lead to a Growing Business
July 31, 2014
In my interactions with our customers who are in the business of selling extruded whole soybeans or ExPress® soybean meal, I often hear some of the following comments:…
Durable Equipment and Parts Give You a Better Product and Better Return on Investment
July 17, 2014
During my frequent visits to food and feed plants in Latin America, I often encounter under-performing extruders due to the replacement of factory parts with locally-made, copied parts.…
Investing in “The Most Important Issue Under the Sky”
July 10, 2014
Mr. Ding Xuedong, chairman of China Investment Corporation (CIC), has made an important announcement. He says China’s $650bn sovereign wealth fund is shifting its focus to invest more…
Extrusion and Proper Cleaning
June 19, 2014
Extrusion is becoming an exciting business, especially in the part of the world where I come from – Nigeria. From my experiences in Nigeria, I have learned that…
Extrusion Bolsters Food Security in Africa
May 27, 2014
If you are in the extrusion business in Africa – or anywhere else for that matter – this paper published in the April edition of Food Technology (www.ift.org)…
Do the Math On ExPress® Soybean Meal
April 22, 2014
Dr. Nabil Said and Dr. Dave Albin have written many blogs on the benefits of ExPress® soybean meal in regards to feeding efficiencies and digestibility advantages versus standard…
Small-Scale Fish Feed Extrusion
March 11, 2014
A Mozambique tilapia farm is for sale: www.undercurrentnews.com/2014/02/11/mozambique-tilapia-farm-looks-for-new-owners/ The owners, Emvest, want to sell Deep Water Produce and its cage farming site on Lake Cahora Bassa in Tete province,…
Moving Your Business From “Good To Great”
March 4, 2014
My favorite business strategy book is by the author Jim Collins and its title is Good To Great. I read it first, maybe 8 years ago, and I…
Money is All You Need…?
December 24, 2013
Finding the money to fund equipment and raw materials purchases is the biggest obstacle in the path of African agribusiness enterprises. Yes, you have heard me say this…
Actually, There IS a Way to Convert Fish By-Products into Useful Products on a Small to Medium Scale
December 3, 2013
NOAA Fisheries recently published an article on “Feeds of the Future” about sustainable ways to produce ingredients for aquaculture. As stated in the article, as fish farming increases,…
Consortium of U.S. Universities Boosts Support for Soybean Growers in Africa
November 26, 2013
The University of Illinois has received a $25m federal grant to lead a consortium of universities and non-governmental organizations to improve soybean value chains in Ghana, Mozambique, Zambia,…
Opportunities and Challenges for Africa’s Food Industry
November 5, 2013
Africa’s domestic feed market will increase threefold from USD 313 billion today to USD 1 trillion by 2030, says the World Bank. Agribusiness banker Rabobank agrees, but says…
Key Growth Question: Where Can I Add Value?
October 1, 2013
Recently I visited a customer of ours named JSC Lazarevskoye in Russia. You can read more about this company as an Insta-Pro Success Story here. This article is…
TOM D WIP – Lean Manufacturing’s Enemy
September 24, 2013
Lean manufacturing is a concept that has been around for a while and has become the go-to buzzword over the last several years. Every company wants to create…
USDA Support Organic Farmers
September 3, 2013
In my last blog, “The Specialty Niches That Are Becoming Mainstream” I spoke to the end-user markets driving specialty food niches such as “Organic”, “Natural”, “Non-GMO”, “Free-Range” and…
Market Changes Drive The Need For A New Extruder
July 23, 2013
After over 40 years of producing High Shear Extruders, why would Insta-Pro enter into the Medium Shear Extruder industry with the Insta-Pro MS3000 Medium Shear Extruder? The reason…