90-day Ex-Im Financing Successes
May 25, 2017
It has been about 9 months since Insta-Pro started offering 90-day terms on parts and equipment orders to our international customers. In that time, several of our customers…
Category: Business Strategy & Finance
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Trials and tribulations of African food processors
April 27, 2017
Much of the food that we eat has been processed by small & medium enterprises, often family-owned. It is no different in Africa. The food giants are present,…
Adopting New Technologies Due to Customer’s Need
March 16, 2017
As I traveled throughout countries in Southeast Asia attending seminars, meeting with prospective clients and speaking at USSEC & WISHH seminars, I met many different kinds of people.…
Hidden Losses At An Extrusion Plant And How To Avoid Them: Part II
March 9, 2017
As mentioned in Part I, we will be discussing the management of hidden losses. This is what my father and greatest mentor calls Management By Walking Around, MBWA.…
Hidden Losses At An Extrusion Plant & How To Avoid Them: Part I
March 2, 2017
There can be many times where, as a manager, you find yourself looking at your revenues wondering why the numbers are not adding up as you had projected.…
Value Stream Mapping: How? Part II
February 23, 2017
In last week’s blog, we covered what value stream mapping is and what its purpose is to an organization; to highlight problem areas or inefficiencies to improve. Below…
Value Stream Mapping: What and Why? Part I
February 16, 2017
Lean manufacturing is still a big part of business, but it has become second nature in most places and lost some of its original effect. Buzzwords and phrases…
What Capacity Does My Plant Need?
February 2, 2017
I often receive RFQ’s for new extrusion plants. This, aside from a business card or an email, is the first step in the process of acquiring a new…
Preparing for Equipment Start-Up: What to Plan For
January 26, 2017
So you recently became the proud owner of new equipment. You heard a lot of positive feedback, saw how it works and how it produces high quality product,…
Food Grade vs. Sanitary Design
January 5, 2017
Our extruders may be best known for processing feed ingredients, but several customers are producing products for human consumption. These products can include things like fortified blended foods…
Adding Value to Available Crops
December 29, 2016
Recently I had the opportunity to tour a cotton extrusion and pressing plant in Texas. I really enjoyed the trip because in Latin America most of our processing…
Purchasing Equipment? Some Questions to Ask Your Supplier..
December 22, 2016
In today’s global marketplace, agribusiness companies are faced with a multitude of suppliers and a range of technologies. Extruders are no different. Offered by manufacturers from all seven…
Cost Cutting Measures Can be Costly to Your Business
December 15, 2016
Management of costs is critical for every business, it is important to identify the areas where cost cutting is done responsibly and without adverse impact to the overall…
Investors Looking for Growth Markets Should Stay & Invest in Africa, Not Go Home
December 1, 2016
Recent times have been tough in Africa. The financial markets went gloomy months ago. Africa’s economic growth will fall to 1.4% this year, says the IMF. Growth was…
Customer Support from a Customer
November 10, 2016
Having worked for a former customer, an equipment supplier’s commitment to their success means a lot because customers experience many challenges related to their equipment. Knowing that I…
Farming “Hotspots” Quantifiably Turning Country Air into City Air
October 27, 2016
If you’ve ever traveled by a large animal farm, chances are you’ve encountered the smell of ammonia. Excess nitrogen from protein in feed which is more than required…
Financing Your Project – Letters of Credit
October 6, 2016
For many of our international customers, Letters of Credit (L/C’s) can be a useful tool when financing their equipment project and provide many protections for the buyer and…
Project Justification: When is it Time to Call it Quits?
September 15, 2016
At the end of the day, the main goal of a business is to bring in more money than it spends. Plain and simple. It takes due diligence…