In 1776 the Colonies declared their independence from the control of another country. A lot has happened since that time. The United State grew from a small group of east coast states to fifty states spanning across the entire continent of North America and beyond. The US became a world power in the process. But recent developments in technology have made a drastic change in communication and business and US companies must now compete in a world-wide market.
Many items once manufactured in one country are now being partially built in several countries and assembled in yet another country. The car you drive could have parts and assemblies on it that were all made in different countries. The US has gone from an agrarian society to a manufacturing society and now appears to be shifting yet again to a services society. Many worry that a services society will be hard-pressed to support our ever-growing population. Yet there are still companies that design, manufacture, and assemble all their products right here in the US. With the help of lean manufacturing practices and a dedicated workforce, they are able to compete in a world market.
To compete in this arena, and do it well, takes a lot of hard work and commitment. That is what companies like New England Machinery (NEM) do every day. There are no cutting corners or taking shortcuts, the end result would cost the company its reputation. On this, there are no compromises. The company sells bottle unscramblers, and bottle cappers that can compete with any in the world and stand out. NEM is an independently woman-owned company. NEM is not dependent upon assemblies coming in from another country. The assemblies are all manufactured and built right here in Bradenton, Florida. So when the US celebrates Independence Day this 4th of July, it is the companies like NEM who continue to support the independence of US workers and their families.
The author, Marge Bonura, is the Director of Sales & Marketing for New England Machinery, Inc. (NEM). NEM is a leading manufacturer of bottle unscramblers, cappers, orienters, retorquers, lidders, pluggers, pump sorter/placers, scoop feeders, hopper elevators and much more. The company has been in business since 1974 selling to the food, beverage, pharmaceutical, personal care, chemical, household products, automotive and other industries. For more information on NEM, visit their website at www.neminc.com.
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
Monday, June 28, 2010
Do Your Salespersons Educate?
One of the best ways for a salesperson to get my attention is by teaching me something I didn’t know. I love to learn new things. So if a salesperson comes in to my office and starts telling me about something new in the industry, a trend they just found out about, or how someone else was successful with a new ad campaign idea, I’m ready to listen. I think it is part of the salesperson’s job to educate while they impart their ‘sales pitch’.
However, there are two important rules to the ‘teaching’. One is that the ‘lessons’ must be real and factual. I’ve had salespersons tell me ‘facts’ that turned out to be untrue rumors. I don’t want to hear about this type of information. It is not only not helpful to me, but it can cause problems if I believe it only to find out later it was not true. Second, the salesperson must impart their ‘lesson’ in a friendly and helpful manner, never condescending. I don’t appreciate a salesperson telling me something as if I should already know it and imparting the feeling that they are superior for having the knowledge.
Salespersons need to partner with their customers. Become a team that allows the customer to improve in some way. I once had an ad salesman tell me about a great new promotional product he saw in his travels. His telling me about it, did not help in selling his ad (at least not directly), but it helped me find a new product to promote our company. I appreciated his input and realized he did it just to help me out. Another time, I had a salesperson trying to sell me a service that he was promoting at a very attractive price. I told him I would think about it. A few days later I was speaking with another salesperson about a totally unrelated product. I mentioned the service I was thinking about purchasing and the second salesman told me where and how I should further investigate the service before committing to the purchase. I was glad I had, as the service was being phased out everywhere, which I would not have known, (hence the really attractive price).
Successful selling is all about partnering, relationships, and really caring about your customers in all facets of their business, not just what directly affects the products you sell.
The author, Marge Bonura, is the Director of Sales & Marketing for New England Machinery, Inc. (NEM). NEM is a leading manufacturer of bottle unscramblers, cappers, orienters, retorquers, lidders, pluggers, pump sorter/placers, scoop feeders, hopper elevators and much more. The company has been in business since 1974 selling to the food, beverage, pharmaceutical, personal care, chemical, household products, automotive and other industries. For more information on NEM, visit their website at http://www.neminc.com/.
However, there are two important rules to the ‘teaching’. One is that the ‘lessons’ must be real and factual. I’ve had salespersons tell me ‘facts’ that turned out to be untrue rumors. I don’t want to hear about this type of information. It is not only not helpful to me, but it can cause problems if I believe it only to find out later it was not true. Second, the salesperson must impart their ‘lesson’ in a friendly and helpful manner, never condescending. I don’t appreciate a salesperson telling me something as if I should already know it and imparting the feeling that they are superior for having the knowledge.
Salespersons need to partner with their customers. Become a team that allows the customer to improve in some way. I once had an ad salesman tell me about a great new promotional product he saw in his travels. His telling me about it, did not help in selling his ad (at least not directly), but it helped me find a new product to promote our company. I appreciated his input and realized he did it just to help me out. Another time, I had a salesperson trying to sell me a service that he was promoting at a very attractive price. I told him I would think about it. A few days later I was speaking with another salesperson about a totally unrelated product. I mentioned the service I was thinking about purchasing and the second salesman told me where and how I should further investigate the service before committing to the purchase. I was glad I had, as the service was being phased out everywhere, which I would not have known, (hence the really attractive price).
Successful selling is all about partnering, relationships, and really caring about your customers in all facets of their business, not just what directly affects the products you sell.
The author, Marge Bonura, is the Director of Sales & Marketing for New England Machinery, Inc. (NEM). NEM is a leading manufacturer of bottle unscramblers, cappers, orienters, retorquers, lidders, pluggers, pump sorter/placers, scoop feeders, hopper elevators and much more. The company has been in business since 1974 selling to the food, beverage, pharmaceutical, personal care, chemical, household products, automotive and other industries. For more information on NEM, visit their website at http://www.neminc.com/.
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
How Important is Relationship Selling?
As a marketer I get bombarded on a daily basis by companies that sell advertising and promotional items. I do purchase these products from time to time, but certainly not on a daily basis. When I’m on a tight schedule, which is most of the time, I cannot spare even two minutes out of my day to take their phone calls, or visit with them in the lobby. I will usually open their e-mails and briefly glance at them, if there is something of interest in the e-mail I will move it to a folder for future reference, otherwise I will delete it.
So how do they get through to me when I do need their services? Relationships. When I need something, I first do my own research to know what it is I am looking to purchase. When it comes to advertising, I want to put my money where it will get the largest audience. If my research tells me there are two or three advertising opportunities that are equal in audience, price, and market, my decision would be to call the ad salesperson who has made an effort to start a relationship with me. The same goes for promotional items. Most companies that sell promotional items are resellers. They all can purchase them through the same manufacturers. So again, if all things are equal as far as price, availability, and service, I’m going to call the salesperson who has reached out to me repeatedly in the past. I may not always take their calls or visit with them often, but it is the ones that call me several times a year, send me e-mails at least every other month, and stop by my office, (preferably with, but sometimes without an appointment), that will be first in my mind to call.
Now, there have been salespersons who did all of the above, but failed in the service department after I placed an order. Those usually won’t get a second chance. So service, quality and price are important, but in order to get the chance to even quote me, I have to know who you are and have you in mind when it’s time to make a purchase. If you want to sell a product, you need to know your potential customers and keep your profile in their mind. They need to feel that you will be there when they need you.
The author, Marge Bonura, is the Director of Sales & Marketing for New England Machinery, Inc. (NEM). NEM is a leading manufacturer of bottle unscramblers, cappers, orienters, retorquers, lidders, pluggers, pump sorter/placers, scoop feeders, hopper elevators and much more. The company has been in business since 1974 selling to the food, beverage, pharmaceutical, personal care, chemical, household products, automotive and other industries. For more information on NEM, visit their website at www.neminc.com.
So how do they get through to me when I do need their services? Relationships. When I need something, I first do my own research to know what it is I am looking to purchase. When it comes to advertising, I want to put my money where it will get the largest audience. If my research tells me there are two or three advertising opportunities that are equal in audience, price, and market, my decision would be to call the ad salesperson who has made an effort to start a relationship with me. The same goes for promotional items. Most companies that sell promotional items are resellers. They all can purchase them through the same manufacturers. So again, if all things are equal as far as price, availability, and service, I’m going to call the salesperson who has reached out to me repeatedly in the past. I may not always take their calls or visit with them often, but it is the ones that call me several times a year, send me e-mails at least every other month, and stop by my office, (preferably with, but sometimes without an appointment), that will be first in my mind to call.
Now, there have been salespersons who did all of the above, but failed in the service department after I placed an order. Those usually won’t get a second chance. So service, quality and price are important, but in order to get the chance to even quote me, I have to know who you are and have you in mind when it’s time to make a purchase. If you want to sell a product, you need to know your potential customers and keep your profile in their mind. They need to feel that you will be there when they need you.
The author, Marge Bonura, is the Director of Sales & Marketing for New England Machinery, Inc. (NEM). NEM is a leading manufacturer of bottle unscramblers, cappers, orienters, retorquers, lidders, pluggers, pump sorter/placers, scoop feeders, hopper elevators and much more. The company has been in business since 1974 selling to the food, beverage, pharmaceutical, personal care, chemical, household products, automotive and other industries. For more information on NEM, visit their website at www.neminc.com.
Monday, June 21, 2010
How Important Are Values in Business?
A few years ago I purchased a new vehicle at a dealership that was 100 miles away from my home. There were at least a half dozen dealerships selling the same vehicle closer to my home, but at the time, this particular dealership made me the best offer for the exact same new car. When the car needed an oil change, the dealership sent me a coupon for a large discount on the oil change and my husband and I made a day trip to have it done there.
While waiting in the visitor lounge for the car to be ready, an elderly lady was addressed by the head of the service dept. He told her that her car was ready and after a complete check out, it only needed air in the tires. She asked if they had checked her brakes. He told her they had and the brakes were fine. She insisted that maybe the brakes might need to be changed. The service manager assured her that was not the case and the car was safe to drive without her spending money on new brakes. She left a happy customer. Several months later my car needed some minor repair and rather than drive the 100 miles, we took it to our local dealer for service.
While waiting for our car, there was another elderly lady waiting for her car in the lounge. In walked the service manager and informed the woman that her car needed a lot of expensive work done on it. She was upset and told them that she had just had some of that work done less than a year earlier and had not driven the car that much since. The serviceman insisted she needed the work done, at a very high price, and started telling her that she could get in a serious accident if the work was not done. He continued to use scare tactics to pressure her to agree to it.
I was struck by the difference in the two dealerships. I can tell you that the first dealership is still in business today and doing well even in a bad economy. The second dealership is long closed down. If a company does not stand on strong values, integrity, and honest dealings with its customers, it will slowly but surely erode away. I’m proud to work for a company that will (and has) turned away customers when we were not the right answer for their needs. We will tell a customer what other company they should contact to get the product they need when we know where to direct them. It is more important to us to have satisfied customers and good referrals than to take on a project that is out of our scope of expertise. Our sales team is instructed from management not to oversell a customer. Their directive is to sell the right product for each customer’s specific needs. Our standard of measure is “Would you sell that product to your mother if she had the same need?” If a company always does what is right by their customers, their customers will always be right beside them.
The author, Marge Bonura, is the Director of Sales & Marketing for New England Machinery, Inc. (NEM). NEM is a leading manufacturer of bottle unscramblers, cappers, orienters, retorquers, lidders, pluggers, pump sorter/placers, scoop feeders, hopper elevators and much more. The company has been in business since 1974 selling to the food, beverage, pharmaceutical, personal care, chemical, household products, automotive and other industries. For more information on NEM, visit their website at www.neminc.com.
While waiting in the visitor lounge for the car to be ready, an elderly lady was addressed by the head of the service dept. He told her that her car was ready and after a complete check out, it only needed air in the tires. She asked if they had checked her brakes. He told her they had and the brakes were fine. She insisted that maybe the brakes might need to be changed. The service manager assured her that was not the case and the car was safe to drive without her spending money on new brakes. She left a happy customer. Several months later my car needed some minor repair and rather than drive the 100 miles, we took it to our local dealer for service.
While waiting for our car, there was another elderly lady waiting for her car in the lounge. In walked the service manager and informed the woman that her car needed a lot of expensive work done on it. She was upset and told them that she had just had some of that work done less than a year earlier and had not driven the car that much since. The serviceman insisted she needed the work done, at a very high price, and started telling her that she could get in a serious accident if the work was not done. He continued to use scare tactics to pressure her to agree to it.
I was struck by the difference in the two dealerships. I can tell you that the first dealership is still in business today and doing well even in a bad economy. The second dealership is long closed down. If a company does not stand on strong values, integrity, and honest dealings with its customers, it will slowly but surely erode away. I’m proud to work for a company that will (and has) turned away customers when we were not the right answer for their needs. We will tell a customer what other company they should contact to get the product they need when we know where to direct them. It is more important to us to have satisfied customers and good referrals than to take on a project that is out of our scope of expertise. Our sales team is instructed from management not to oversell a customer. Their directive is to sell the right product for each customer’s specific needs. Our standard of measure is “Would you sell that product to your mother if she had the same need?” If a company always does what is right by their customers, their customers will always be right beside them.
The author, Marge Bonura, is the Director of Sales & Marketing for New England Machinery, Inc. (NEM). NEM is a leading manufacturer of bottle unscramblers, cappers, orienters, retorquers, lidders, pluggers, pump sorter/placers, scoop feeders, hopper elevators and much more. The company has been in business since 1974 selling to the food, beverage, pharmaceutical, personal care, chemical, household products, automotive and other industries. For more information on NEM, visit their website at www.neminc.com.
Thursday, June 17, 2010
How Well Do You Know Your Customers? PART II
In my previous blog I suggested that you find your customers’ ‘hot spots’, or personality likes so you know better how to market directly to them. I suggested you make a list up of the questions to ask them in order to find their personality types.
Once you have your list ask the individuals who are in the ‘front lines’ of communication with your customers to find the answers to as many of the questions as possible without making it sound like they are ‘digging’ for this information. The individuals in the ‘front lines’ include your sales force, your service technicians, your Customer Service personnel, your after market parts sales people, distributors, sales representatives, and any other individuals throughout the company who deal directly with your customers. Another method to getting the information might be to bring copies of the list in a questionnaire format to a trade show and offer a free gift to anyone who takes the time to complete the survey/questionnaire. It may take a year to get enough of the lists completed to allow you to start compiling the data.
With the compiled data you now have an idea of what your customers like. You will probably notice that there are different personality groups within the compilation. Your marketing will need to target each personality group with ‘triggers’ about what they like. So plan on different campaigns. Track the costs of each campaign and the results. Keep records of what campaigns worked well and what ones did not work. You will want to re-visit the successful campaigns again in the future, maybe with some slight updating to make them look fresh.
The author, Marge Bonura, is the Director of Sales & Marketing for New England Machinery, Inc. (NEM). NEM is a leading manufacturer of bottle unscramblers, cappers, orienters, retorquers, lidders, pluggers, pump sorter/placers, scoop feeders, hopper elevators and much more. The company has been in business since 1974 selling to the food, beverage, pharmaceutical, personal care, chemical, household products, automotive and other industries. For more information on NEM, visit their website at www.neminc.com.
Once you have your list ask the individuals who are in the ‘front lines’ of communication with your customers to find the answers to as many of the questions as possible without making it sound like they are ‘digging’ for this information. The individuals in the ‘front lines’ include your sales force, your service technicians, your Customer Service personnel, your after market parts sales people, distributors, sales representatives, and any other individuals throughout the company who deal directly with your customers. Another method to getting the information might be to bring copies of the list in a questionnaire format to a trade show and offer a free gift to anyone who takes the time to complete the survey/questionnaire. It may take a year to get enough of the lists completed to allow you to start compiling the data.
With the compiled data you now have an idea of what your customers like. You will probably notice that there are different personality groups within the compilation. Your marketing will need to target each personality group with ‘triggers’ about what they like. So plan on different campaigns. Track the costs of each campaign and the results. Keep records of what campaigns worked well and what ones did not work. You will want to re-visit the successful campaigns again in the future, maybe with some slight updating to make them look fresh.
The author, Marge Bonura, is the Director of Sales & Marketing for New England Machinery, Inc. (NEM). NEM is a leading manufacturer of bottle unscramblers, cappers, orienters, retorquers, lidders, pluggers, pump sorter/placers, scoop feeders, hopper elevators and much more. The company has been in business since 1974 selling to the food, beverage, pharmaceutical, personal care, chemical, household products, automotive and other industries. For more information on NEM, visit their website at www.neminc.com.
Monday, June 14, 2010
How Well Do You Know Your Customers? PART I
Last month I attended a marketing presentation about segmenting your customers. The presentation described how a company successfully identified their different customer segments and what specifically appealed to each group’s personalities. The company sold directly to consumers. They put a plan together to target the ‘hot points’ for each of the different consumer groups. The company planned their advertising to attract these groups and were quite successful in the process. They measured their success and the costs of each campaign so they would know if something worked, or didn’t work. This happened to be a large company that could afford to spend lots of dollars hiring telemarketers to better define their customers. I’m confident that most good marketers could successfully devise a marketing campaign that will attract their customers if they are first armed with the background data on their customers’ personalities. So, the difficult part is how do you find out all about your customers if you can’t hire telemarketers?
It will definitely take a lot longer to accomplish, but there are other ways. First make up a list of what you want to know. No matter what an individual is purchasing, even if it is machinery for their company, if all else is equal in the purchase (i.e. the items are apples to apples comparative in features, abilities and price), the individual will decide to purchase the brand that makes them ‘feel comfortable’. So your list of items must include what interests a person. People feel good when surrounded by their interests and likes. Great salespersons know this and know how to mirror this in their personalities. You can call it ‘bonding’, but people feel more comfortable in buying from someone they think shares their same interests. So add to the list questions that will assist you in finding out what they like. For example ask if they had an afternoon off which would they prefer to do, watch NASCAR racing, go to the beach, read a book, go shopping, play sports. If you’re not sure what questions to ask, purchase a personality test and see if you can use some of the questions on the test.
Visit this blog later in the week for Part II of this discussion.
The author, Marge Bonura, is the Director of Sales & Marketing for New England Machinery, Inc. (NEM). NEM is a leading manufacturer of bottle unscramblers, cappers, orienters, retorquers, lidders, pluggers, pump sorter/placers, scoop feeders, hopper elevators and much more. The company has been in business since 1974 selling to the food, beverage, pharmaceutical, personal care, chemical, household products, automotive and other industries. For more information on NEM, visit their website at http://www.neminc.com/.
It will definitely take a lot longer to accomplish, but there are other ways. First make up a list of what you want to know. No matter what an individual is purchasing, even if it is machinery for their company, if all else is equal in the purchase (i.e. the items are apples to apples comparative in features, abilities and price), the individual will decide to purchase the brand that makes them ‘feel comfortable’. So your list of items must include what interests a person. People feel good when surrounded by their interests and likes. Great salespersons know this and know how to mirror this in their personalities. You can call it ‘bonding’, but people feel more comfortable in buying from someone they think shares their same interests. So add to the list questions that will assist you in finding out what they like. For example ask if they had an afternoon off which would they prefer to do, watch NASCAR racing, go to the beach, read a book, go shopping, play sports. If you’re not sure what questions to ask, purchase a personality test and see if you can use some of the questions on the test.
Visit this blog later in the week for Part II of this discussion.
The author, Marge Bonura, is the Director of Sales & Marketing for New England Machinery, Inc. (NEM). NEM is a leading manufacturer of bottle unscramblers, cappers, orienters, retorquers, lidders, pluggers, pump sorter/placers, scoop feeders, hopper elevators and much more. The company has been in business since 1974 selling to the food, beverage, pharmaceutical, personal care, chemical, household products, automotive and other industries. For more information on NEM, visit their website at http://www.neminc.com/.
Wednesday, June 9, 2010
A New Product for Inspection-Rejection
New England Machinery, Inc. has offered an inspection/rejection station as an option for its cappers for many years. Recently, the company has recognized a need for a stand alone version of this system. The company took a great product and has now expanded its capabilities, by allowing customers to purchase the system for use on their existing production lines.
Customers can now purchase a stand-alone NEMIRS (Inspection Rejection System) to inspect for skewed caps, missing caps or foil liners. It can detect down bottles, or mis-oriented bottles. Depending on the inspection requirement, it can utilize simple photo eyes, proximity switches, limit switches, or vision system. The containers can be rejected using an air blow or, diverter arm, or pusher cylinder. The rejects can be divered to a table, collected in a bin, or transferred to an existing system. The self-contained, free-standing unit can be placed on the customer’s production line and is adjustable for different line speeds up to 450 cpm depending on the container size and inspection requirement.
This is a great example of a company taking its existing technology and opening it up to a whole new customer base. It allowed the company to help fill an industry need and at the same time, increase its product line.
The author, Marge Bonura, is the Director of Sales & Marketing for New England Machinery, Inc. (NEM). NEM is a leading manufacturer of bottle unscramblers, cappers, orienters, retorquers, lidders, pluggers, pump sorter/placers, scoop feeders, hopper elevators and much more. The company has been in business since 1974 selling to the food, beverage, pharmaceutical, personal care, chemical, household products, automotive and other industries. For more information on NEM, visit their website at www.neminc.com.
Customers can now purchase a stand-alone NEMIRS (Inspection Rejection System) to inspect for skewed caps, missing caps or foil liners. It can detect down bottles, or mis-oriented bottles. Depending on the inspection requirement, it can utilize simple photo eyes, proximity switches, limit switches, or vision system. The containers can be rejected using an air blow or, diverter arm, or pusher cylinder. The rejects can be divered to a table, collected in a bin, or transferred to an existing system. The self-contained, free-standing unit can be placed on the customer’s production line and is adjustable for different line speeds up to 450 cpm depending on the container size and inspection requirement.
This is a great example of a company taking its existing technology and opening it up to a whole new customer base. It allowed the company to help fill an industry need and at the same time, increase its product line.
The author, Marge Bonura, is the Director of Sales & Marketing for New England Machinery, Inc. (NEM). NEM is a leading manufacturer of bottle unscramblers, cappers, orienters, retorquers, lidders, pluggers, pump sorter/placers, scoop feeders, hopper elevators and much more. The company has been in business since 1974 selling to the food, beverage, pharmaceutical, personal care, chemical, household products, automotive and other industries. For more information on NEM, visit their website at www.neminc.com.
Monday, June 7, 2010
Keeping Your Machines Running
A few weeks ago I had the opportunity to visit some of our customers’ plants. It was a great experience. I always enjoy seeing the machinery running and producing products that I previously took for granted as I picked them off the store shelf. What was also interesting was the difference in the plants we visited. Some of them were exceptionally clean and well-maintained, others were maintained fairly well, and then there were the few that were poorly maintained. I was pleased to see that NEM’s equipment was still running well even in the poorly maintained plants.
Customer Service is always trying to convince these companies to allow us to service the machines on a regular basis. The companies believe that they can save the money they would spend on the service as it is not necessary when the machines continue to run. They don’t have the in-house capability of performing preventive maintenance and they won’t spend the money to allow the manufacturer’s to do it for them. In the long run they are actually costing themselves additional dollars. Poorly maintained machinery often does not reach its’ peak output performance, it costs more money to fix if it breaks down, and the time to repair broken machinery is lost production time, affecting the bottom line.
Our Customer Service Department put together preventive maintenance plans that are custom made to fit each customer’s needs and budgets. The service visits include a complete inspection and audit of the machinery, general maintenance, personnel training, and a written report. Depending on the level of service agreement, there will be discounts offered on wear parts, spare parts, or additional service. NEM’s PMMI Certified Trainers will familiarize the customer’s personnel in the proper operation, safety and care of the equipment, thus increasing productivity. The visit will conclude with recommendations on available upgrades and new products and the suggested on-hand spare parts to avoid unnecessary downtime.
I’m pleased that I work for a company that builds ‘work horses’ that seem to take neglect and some abuse in stride and keep on putting out the product. But I know these customers would be even happier with the machinery’s productivity if it were properly maintained. Don’t let your company be ‘penny-wise and pound foolish’. Make sure all your machinery is properly maintained on a regular basis.
The author, Marge Bonura, is the Director of Sales & Marketing for New England Machinery, Inc. (NEM). NEM is a leading manufacturer of bottle unscramblers, cappers, orienters, retorquers, lidders, pluggers, pump sorter/placers, scoop feeders, hopper elevators and much more. The company has been in business since 1974 selling to the food, beverage, pharmaceutical, personal care, chemical, household products, automotive and other industries. For more information on NEM, visit their website at http://www.neminc.com/.
Customer Service is always trying to convince these companies to allow us to service the machines on a regular basis. The companies believe that they can save the money they would spend on the service as it is not necessary when the machines continue to run. They don’t have the in-house capability of performing preventive maintenance and they won’t spend the money to allow the manufacturer’s to do it for them. In the long run they are actually costing themselves additional dollars. Poorly maintained machinery often does not reach its’ peak output performance, it costs more money to fix if it breaks down, and the time to repair broken machinery is lost production time, affecting the bottom line.
Our Customer Service Department put together preventive maintenance plans that are custom made to fit each customer’s needs and budgets. The service visits include a complete inspection and audit of the machinery, general maintenance, personnel training, and a written report. Depending on the level of service agreement, there will be discounts offered on wear parts, spare parts, or additional service. NEM’s PMMI Certified Trainers will familiarize the customer’s personnel in the proper operation, safety and care of the equipment, thus increasing productivity. The visit will conclude with recommendations on available upgrades and new products and the suggested on-hand spare parts to avoid unnecessary downtime.
I’m pleased that I work for a company that builds ‘work horses’ that seem to take neglect and some abuse in stride and keep on putting out the product. But I know these customers would be even happier with the machinery’s productivity if it were properly maintained. Don’t let your company be ‘penny-wise and pound foolish’. Make sure all your machinery is properly maintained on a regular basis.
The author, Marge Bonura, is the Director of Sales & Marketing for New England Machinery, Inc. (NEM). NEM is a leading manufacturer of bottle unscramblers, cappers, orienters, retorquers, lidders, pluggers, pump sorter/placers, scoop feeders, hopper elevators and much more. The company has been in business since 1974 selling to the food, beverage, pharmaceutical, personal care, chemical, household products, automotive and other industries. For more information on NEM, visit their website at http://www.neminc.com/.
Thursday, June 3, 2010
The Container Closure Experts
There are many companies that sell container closure equipment. If you take into consideration the various types of closures and means by which they are applied, it is no wonder that there are so many different companies offering products to handle container closing. Invariably, however, each company specializes in one or two types of closing methods. This is fine for these companies. They stay with what they know best.
Once in a while, though, one company will innovate. They perfect a method for one type of closure and then look to take on another challenge. New England Machinery (NEM) is just such a company. They started with single head cappers and very quickly moved into multiple head rotary chuck cappers. They later mastered lidding, plugging, overcapping, pump sorting/placing, servo capping and more. The technology they discovered while developing one type of closing method often transferred to other closing methodologies. Due to their strong Engineering background, the company was able to amass a full line of container capping/closing products. Dealing with all types of closures, NEM has perfected the art of cap sorting. They have developed several methods of sorting the caps (lids, plugs, pumps, etc.) and know just which method is best suited to meet each customer’s individual needs. NEM knows that a ‘one size fits all’ product line does not work in the packaging industry. With over 35 years of experience designing and building packaging machinery, NEM ‘knows their stuff’. In fact, other packaging machinery engineers have admitted ‘borrowing’ some of NEM’s ideas ‘because they work so well’.
Located in Bradenton, Florida, all of the design, manufacture, tuning, and testing is performed in the US. Utilizing lean manufacturing practices, NEM successfully competes in the world-wide packaging machinery market.
The author, Marge Bonura, is the Director of Sales & Marketing for New England Machinery, Inc. (NEM). NEM is a leading manufacturer of bottle unscramblers, cappers, orienters, retorquers, lidders, pluggers, pump sorter/placers, scoop feeders, hopper elevators and much more. The company has been in business since 1974 selling to the food, beverage, pharmaceutical, personal care, chemical, household products, automotive and other industries. For more information on NEM, visit their website at www.neminc.com.
Once in a while, though, one company will innovate. They perfect a method for one type of closure and then look to take on another challenge. New England Machinery (NEM) is just such a company. They started with single head cappers and very quickly moved into multiple head rotary chuck cappers. They later mastered lidding, plugging, overcapping, pump sorting/placing, servo capping and more. The technology they discovered while developing one type of closing method often transferred to other closing methodologies. Due to their strong Engineering background, the company was able to amass a full line of container capping/closing products. Dealing with all types of closures, NEM has perfected the art of cap sorting. They have developed several methods of sorting the caps (lids, plugs, pumps, etc.) and know just which method is best suited to meet each customer’s individual needs. NEM knows that a ‘one size fits all’ product line does not work in the packaging industry. With over 35 years of experience designing and building packaging machinery, NEM ‘knows their stuff’. In fact, other packaging machinery engineers have admitted ‘borrowing’ some of NEM’s ideas ‘because they work so well’.
Located in Bradenton, Florida, all of the design, manufacture, tuning, and testing is performed in the US. Utilizing lean manufacturing practices, NEM successfully competes in the world-wide packaging machinery market.
The author, Marge Bonura, is the Director of Sales & Marketing for New England Machinery, Inc. (NEM). NEM is a leading manufacturer of bottle unscramblers, cappers, orienters, retorquers, lidders, pluggers, pump sorter/placers, scoop feeders, hopper elevators and much more. The company has been in business since 1974 selling to the food, beverage, pharmaceutical, personal care, chemical, household products, automotive and other industries. For more information on NEM, visit their website at www.neminc.com.
Tuesday, June 1, 2010
The Packaging Industry – Still Growing Strong
At a time when most industries are shrinking, one industry has continued to steadily grow - the packaging industry. Granted, that growth has slowed in the past two years, but it is still moving in an increasing direction. When I first started in this industry over 10 years ago, there were approximately 600 small companies that manufactured packaging machinery. There are now over 1,000. What is amazing about this growth is that it has occurred during a time when quite a few larger corporations have bought up smaller companies, thus consolidating the number of companies in the business. Yet, the number has still grown.
In a way it is not so surprising. The packaging machinery industry is constantly changing. New packaging designs often require new process methods - that translates into new machinery. For example, a number of years ago, skin patches were invented as a delivery system for medication. Once the patches were approved for use by the FDA (in the US), they required new machinery to manufacture and package them. Similarly, thin edible strips that literally melt in your mouth were invented. Again, once this new drug delivery system received approval, it required new packaging and new packaging machinery.
While no industry is completely recession-proof, the packaging machinery industry will continue to thrive as long as there is a need for packaged consumer goods. An ever-increasing world population, will ensure the need for packaged consumer goods well into the foreseeable future.
The author, Marge Bonura, is the Director of Sales & Marketing for New England Machinery, Inc. (NEM). NEM is a leading manufacturer of bottle unscramblers, cappers, orienters, retorquers, lidders, pluggers, pump sorter/placers, scoop feeders, hopper elevators and much more. The company has been in business since 1974 selling to the food, beverage, pharmaceutical, personal care, chemical, household products, automotive and other industries. For more information on NEM, visit their website at www.neminc.com.
In a way it is not so surprising. The packaging machinery industry is constantly changing. New packaging designs often require new process methods - that translates into new machinery. For example, a number of years ago, skin patches were invented as a delivery system for medication. Once the patches were approved for use by the FDA (in the US), they required new machinery to manufacture and package them. Similarly, thin edible strips that literally melt in your mouth were invented. Again, once this new drug delivery system received approval, it required new packaging and new packaging machinery.
While no industry is completely recession-proof, the packaging machinery industry will continue to thrive as long as there is a need for packaged consumer goods. An ever-increasing world population, will ensure the need for packaged consumer goods well into the foreseeable future.
The author, Marge Bonura, is the Director of Sales & Marketing for New England Machinery, Inc. (NEM). NEM is a leading manufacturer of bottle unscramblers, cappers, orienters, retorquers, lidders, pluggers, pump sorter/placers, scoop feeders, hopper elevators and much more. The company has been in business since 1974 selling to the food, beverage, pharmaceutical, personal care, chemical, household products, automotive and other industries. For more information on NEM, visit their website at www.neminc.com.
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