This week New England Machinery is participating in the Tampa Bay Packaging Machinery Manufacturer’s Open House. A consortium of about a dozen companies all involved in the manufacture of packaging machinery have all opened our doors this week for visitors. It is a great opportunity for us to ‘show off’ what we do best. It allows potential customers, looking to put in a new packaging line, the opportunity to visit one geographic area and find everything they need.
We were quite pleased yesterday to be informed that of the four stops one of the groups had made that day, they liked ours the best. We, as a company, made a concerted effort to welcome our guests, let them know we appreciate their coming to see us, and allow them to see us in action, building the best packaging machinery in the world.
We’re excited to be a part of this program and look forward to hosting many more of our customers this week.
The author, Marge Bonura, is the Director of Sales & Marketing for New England Machinery, Inc. (NEM). NEM is a leading packaging machinery 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, February 27, 2013
Monday, February 25, 2013
Do You Offer Customer Service or Lip Service?
Wikipedia describes Customer Service as: “the provision of service to customers before, during and after a purchase.” Most companies are great at the before and during part of a purchase, but they fall down on the ‘after the purchase’ service. In the packaging machinery industry, the real need often comes after the sale. The new machine is now in place and the customer is counting on it to run properly. They purchased the machine to fulfill a specific need and want it to continue to do so for many years to come, not just for the immediate future.
In order for a machine to keep running for years, it needs proper operation and maintenance. Many of today’s production plants have scaled back their workforce to eliminate most, if not all, of their maintenance personnel. They are counting on their operators to keep their machines running properly and efficiently. The operators often don’t have the time, proper knowledge, and/or inclination to follow proper maintenance procedures. Here is where the OEM can step up and offer real Customer Service.
Create Maintenance Plans that allow the customers to purchase just the right amount of service to keep their machines in good working order. If they have well-trained operators that take excellent care of their machines, they may only need OEM service once a year or once every other year. If, however, they lack the internal capabilities to keep their machines in great shape, the OEM should offer them a ‘custom designed maintenance program’ that gives them just what they need in terms of training, machine maintenance, and/or repair. Set your goals to offer real customer service, not just lip service.
The author, Marge Bonura, is the Director of Sales & Marketing for New England Machinery, Inc. (NEM). NEM is a leading packaging machinery 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 order for a machine to keep running for years, it needs proper operation and maintenance. Many of today’s production plants have scaled back their workforce to eliminate most, if not all, of their maintenance personnel. They are counting on their operators to keep their machines running properly and efficiently. The operators often don’t have the time, proper knowledge, and/or inclination to follow proper maintenance procedures. Here is where the OEM can step up and offer real Customer Service.
Create Maintenance Plans that allow the customers to purchase just the right amount of service to keep their machines in good working order. If they have well-trained operators that take excellent care of their machines, they may only need OEM service once a year or once every other year. If, however, they lack the internal capabilities to keep their machines in great shape, the OEM should offer them a ‘custom designed maintenance program’ that gives them just what they need in terms of training, machine maintenance, and/or repair. Set your goals to offer real customer service, not just lip service.
The author, Marge Bonura, is the Director of Sales & Marketing for New England Machinery, Inc. (NEM). NEM is a leading packaging machinery 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, February 20, 2013
New England Machinery Offers Tiny Footprint Unscrambler
New England Machinery has just released information on their latest model unscrambler. The model NEHCP-32 is their smallest footprint unscrambler yet. This bottle unscrambler is ideal for pharmaceutical, personal care amenities, nutriceutical and any other product manufacturer looking to automate, but cramped for space.
The machine offers a space-saving footprint, including a fully integrated bulk supply hopper, elevator and orienting wheel. The design allows easy access to all sub-assemblies for container loading, and fast, efficient operation and maintenance. It offers an optional built-in ionized air rinser and is available using all FDA approved components.
New England Machinery has listened to their customers’ need for smaller equipment in tight locations. No other unscrambler manufacturer offers as large a selection of unscrambler models, each one carefully designed to meet the various needs of their customers. Visit their website at www.neminc.com to see more about their broad range of products.
The author, Marge Bonura, is the Director of Sales & Marketing for New England Machinery, Inc. (NEM). NEM is a leading packaging machinery 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.
The machine offers a space-saving footprint, including a fully integrated bulk supply hopper, elevator and orienting wheel. The design allows easy access to all sub-assemblies for container loading, and fast, efficient operation and maintenance. It offers an optional built-in ionized air rinser and is available using all FDA approved components.
New England Machinery has listened to their customers’ need for smaller equipment in tight locations. No other unscrambler manufacturer offers as large a selection of unscrambler models, each one carefully designed to meet the various needs of their customers. Visit their website at www.neminc.com to see more about their broad range of products.
The author, Marge Bonura, is the Director of Sales & Marketing for New England Machinery, Inc. (NEM). NEM is a leading packaging machinery 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, February 18, 2013
Tampa Bay Packaging Machinery Manufacturer’s Open House 2013 – Last Chance
Although I’ve mentioned it a few times before, this is the last chance to make plans to attend the Tampa Bay Packaging Machinery Manufacturer’s Open House 2013. This is truly a unique opportunity to travel to one geographic location and visit over a dozen manufacturers of various types of packaging machinery.
It is not surprising that numerous companies decided to take advantage of the beautiful weather, cultural depth, breathtaking sunsets, and friendly atmosphere of the Tampa Bay area to start or re-locate their businesses. Those of us fortunate enough to live here take for granted what many northerners dream about this time of year. While the north was blasted with blizzards last weekend, we walked around in shorts and t-shirts or were at the beach in bathing suits.
But during the week we are all hard at work building the best packaging machinery in the world. The week of February 25 through March 1, we are opening our doors to visitors. Come to Florida and visit the great companies that are all located within a 1-2 hour drive of each other. For more information on the event visit www.tampabaypackaging.com, or call New England Machinery at (941) 755-5550 to tell us you are coming. We are all looking forward to seeing you!
The author, Marge Bonura, is the Director of Sales & Marketing for New England Machinery, Inc. (NEM). NEM is a leading packaging machinery 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.
It is not surprising that numerous companies decided to take advantage of the beautiful weather, cultural depth, breathtaking sunsets, and friendly atmosphere of the Tampa Bay area to start or re-locate their businesses. Those of us fortunate enough to live here take for granted what many northerners dream about this time of year. While the north was blasted with blizzards last weekend, we walked around in shorts and t-shirts or were at the beach in bathing suits.
But during the week we are all hard at work building the best packaging machinery in the world. The week of February 25 through March 1, we are opening our doors to visitors. Come to Florida and visit the great companies that are all located within a 1-2 hour drive of each other. For more information on the event visit www.tampabaypackaging.com, or call New England Machinery at (941) 755-5550 to tell us you are coming. We are all looking forward to seeing you!
The author, Marge Bonura, is the Director of Sales & Marketing for New England Machinery, Inc. (NEM). NEM is a leading packaging machinery 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, February 13, 2013
Brainstorming – It Really Works
Recently I participated in an off-site five-hour brainstorming event. Our company was in the process of developing a new machine design and after repeated attempts to have meetings in-house that were not able to come to fruition due to interruptions, we took it off-site.
Our team was made up of seven of the key individuals who had experience in the design and building of this type machine. We met in a boardroom at a nearby hotel and were tasked with completing the design in five hours. The individuals came very motivated. They started discussing the new design ideas before everyone was even seated around the table. Within the first hour we had the design concept completed and started actually creating it in SolidWorks 3D.
The next four hours were spent refining the design and troubleshooting defects in it. Everyone was totally focused and all opinions were appreciated and considered. It was a really great experience that resulted in quite an accomplishment. Next time your company is in need of a new concept or difficult resolution to a problem, I highly suggest an off-site session attended by various individuals who might have good input to add to the mix.
The author, Marge Bonura, is the Director of Sales & Marketing for New England Machinery, Inc. (NEM). NEM is a leading packaging machinery 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.
Our team was made up of seven of the key individuals who had experience in the design and building of this type machine. We met in a boardroom at a nearby hotel and were tasked with completing the design in five hours. The individuals came very motivated. They started discussing the new design ideas before everyone was even seated around the table. Within the first hour we had the design concept completed and started actually creating it in SolidWorks 3D.
The next four hours were spent refining the design and troubleshooting defects in it. Everyone was totally focused and all opinions were appreciated and considered. It was a really great experience that resulted in quite an accomplishment. Next time your company is in need of a new concept or difficult resolution to a problem, I highly suggest an off-site session attended by various individuals who might have good input to add to the mix.
The author, Marge Bonura, is the Director of Sales & Marketing for New England Machinery, Inc. (NEM). NEM is a leading packaging machinery 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, February 11, 2013
Consider “A Day in the Life” of Your Employees
Every employee in every company believes that their job is the hardest at one point in time or another. They also occasionally feel taken for granted and/or under appreciated. Well, there is a cure for this. If your company has an in-house newsletter, consider writing an article in each issue devoted to “A Day in the Life” of one of your employees. Have your newsletter editor spend a day or most of a day following the employee and writing down everything they do.
The article should mention both the normal activities as well as all the unexpected interruptions, questions, assistance, emergencies and other tasks that take the employee away from his/her scheduled duties.
Once the article is published and read by the employee’s co-workers, they will have a greater respect for that employee and all he/she does for the company. It should also make the employee highlighted feel more appreciated and recognized for what they do. Keep writing these articles for as many different positions and employees as possible. It will encourage everyone to have more respect for each other and build camaraderie.
The author, Marge Bonura, is the Director of Sales & Marketing for New England Machinery, Inc. (NEM). NEM is a leading packaging machinery 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.
The article should mention both the normal activities as well as all the unexpected interruptions, questions, assistance, emergencies and other tasks that take the employee away from his/her scheduled duties.
Once the article is published and read by the employee’s co-workers, they will have a greater respect for that employee and all he/she does for the company. It should also make the employee highlighted feel more appreciated and recognized for what they do. Keep writing these articles for as many different positions and employees as possible. It will encourage everyone to have more respect for each other and build camaraderie.
The author, Marge Bonura, is the Director of Sales & Marketing for New England Machinery, Inc. (NEM). NEM is a leading packaging machinery 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, February 6, 2013
Trade Shows – It’s Your Party – Plan It Well
I once met a gentleman who was in charge of his company’s trade show exhibition. The company only exhibited at the one trade show per year and he was complaining on the last day of the show how horrible the show had been for them and that it was the organizer’s fault. I was quite surprised as our company had done very well at the show. The show-wide number of visitors had been higher than anticipated, so I did not understand why he did not do well. I started asking him some questions and the reasons became clear.
His company had failed to advertise or send out any pre-show mailers, e-mails, or contact potential customers in any way. They did not let their potential audience know they would be there. They were relying on individuals walking the show to come upon their booth and stop in. The booth itself did not prominently show the company’s name, nor was it obvious walking by what they were selling. Their sales force stood inside the booth talking with one another instead of standing by the aisles, speaking with visitors.
You would not throw a party and expect people to show up uninvited. If you did and someone came up to the party but was ignored by everyone at the party, they would most likely leave. Next time you plan for exhibiting at a trade show, make sure you go out of your way to invite everyone and anyone who might have an interest in your product. Display your company name in a highly visible place and make it obvious what your product is and why someone would want to purchase it. Before the show train your sales force to engage visitors as they walk by your booth. Plan your trade show presence as your would plan a party and you will be much more pleased with the results.
The author, Marge Bonura, is the Director of Sales & Marketing for New England Machinery, Inc. (NEM). NEM is a leading packaging machinery 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.
His company had failed to advertise or send out any pre-show mailers, e-mails, or contact potential customers in any way. They did not let their potential audience know they would be there. They were relying on individuals walking the show to come upon their booth and stop in. The booth itself did not prominently show the company’s name, nor was it obvious walking by what they were selling. Their sales force stood inside the booth talking with one another instead of standing by the aisles, speaking with visitors.
You would not throw a party and expect people to show up uninvited. If you did and someone came up to the party but was ignored by everyone at the party, they would most likely leave. Next time you plan for exhibiting at a trade show, make sure you go out of your way to invite everyone and anyone who might have an interest in your product. Display your company name in a highly visible place and make it obvious what your product is and why someone would want to purchase it. Before the show train your sales force to engage visitors as they walk by your booth. Plan your trade show presence as your would plan a party and you will be much more pleased with the results.
The author, Marge Bonura, is the Director of Sales & Marketing for New England Machinery, Inc. (NEM). NEM is a leading packaging machinery 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, February 4, 2013
Successful Selling of Capital Equipment
There are hundreds of thousands of items that can be and are purchased online every day. The seller is not even required to see or speak with the buyer. The item is posted on a website with a description, price and availability. The buyer chooses the item, gives their payment information and the item is shipped to them. All done simply and easily.
Capital equipment sales are a whole other story. These are larger and more expensive. The items must fulfill specific needs for the buyer. They often have unique requirements as well. The buyer needs to feel that the goods they are purchasing will meet all their requirements and expectations and that the seller will be there to help them through the entire process of research, procurement, installation and startup. There must be a strong level of trust and a ‘partnership’ formed between the seller and the purchaser. This cannot be done over the internet or even over the phone.
A successful capital equipment salesperson must meet with their prospective customer face-to-face. They need to discuss the project in detail and both must completely understand the other. There can be no ‘I think this will work’. It must be ‘This is exactly what you need.’ Successful selling of capital equipment is all about relationships and partnering. Know who your customers are, learn about their needs and challenges, and partner with them in making their business the best it can be. Only then, will the salesperson’s business also become a success.
The author, Marge Bonura, is the Director of Sales & Marketing for New England Machinery, Inc. (NEM). NEM is a leading packaging machinery 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.
Capital equipment sales are a whole other story. These are larger and more expensive. The items must fulfill specific needs for the buyer. They often have unique requirements as well. The buyer needs to feel that the goods they are purchasing will meet all their requirements and expectations and that the seller will be there to help them through the entire process of research, procurement, installation and startup. There must be a strong level of trust and a ‘partnership’ formed between the seller and the purchaser. This cannot be done over the internet or even over the phone.
A successful capital equipment salesperson must meet with their prospective customer face-to-face. They need to discuss the project in detail and both must completely understand the other. There can be no ‘I think this will work’. It must be ‘This is exactly what you need.’ Successful selling of capital equipment is all about relationships and partnering. Know who your customers are, learn about their needs and challenges, and partner with them in making their business the best it can be. Only then, will the salesperson’s business also become a success.
The author, Marge Bonura, is the Director of Sales & Marketing for New England Machinery, Inc. (NEM). NEM is a leading packaging machinery 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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