What’s a Bottle Unscrambler?

I will never forget my first interview at New England Machinery. The gentleman who interviewed me explained that the company designed and built (among other machinery) bottle unscramblers. I know I must have had a very confused look on my face as at that time in my life I had no experience with the packaging machinery industry. I had a lot to learn, and fortunately for me, some really outstanding teachers to educate me on the products I would be marketing.

I would soon learn that a bottle unscrambler allows a production plant to empty bulk containers of plastic bottles into a hopper, which feeds the unscrambler. The unscrambler literally ‘unscrambles’ the bottles and stands them upright onto the conveyor where they are transported to the rest of the production line for filling, capping, labelling, and finally packed in a case that is put on a skid, that is transported to the product’s next step in its journey to the consumer.

I would eventually learn that not all unscramblers are alike. There are dozens of different types of unscramblers and dozens of companies that build and/or sell them. What is most impressive about New England Machinery is that the company doesn’t just sell the machines, it has a history of innovation in designing and improving them. No company knows more about bottle unscrambling than New England Machinery. We have become such experts at it that others come to us with their most difficult challenges. We have successfully ‘unscrambled’ raw cucumbers, sausages, frozen ice cream containers, filled cups of food, and a host of other products. If you are in need of a bottle unscrambler, look for a supplier who knows what they are selling because they design them as well.

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.

What Is Required To Sell Successfully?

I recently learned about the three states of being that we all need to be content. These are: To do, to have, and to be. If we are looking to sell a product, we need to have that product fulfill each of these three states of being in order to make sense to the purchaser. In our case this is quite easy to explain. If our customers do buy one of our packaging machines, they will have an efficiently running production line and they will be content and happy as a result.

It can also be used in the pre-purchase process. If a customer does request a quotation from New England Machinery, they will have the information they need, and they will be able to make an informed decision.

See if this makes sense for your organization. It is a simple formula that works as long as all three criteria are met.

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.

Service is a Key Component to Success in Packaging Machinery

Your company might make the best machinery in the world, but if your customers can’t get good help when they need it, the machinery is worthless. Even great machines built entirely in a poka-yoke (a Japanese term that means "mistake-proofing") design, will require service questions or assistance at one point or another. This is where customer service is key. Usually, by the time the customer is calling for assistance, they are in a real need for help and/or answers. Is your company ready to be there for your customers?

I’m fortunate to work for a company that puts a high value on customer service. Our service technicians are trained for many months before they are sent to a customer’s facility. Customers need to be assured that the technician sent to them will not only be able to assist them, but also be able to inform and teach them about their machinery. Personality is another important requirement in a service technician. A service tech is the representative of the company and needs to have a friendly, can-do attitude in dealing with customers. Again, our company receives rave reviews about our service technicians competency and attitude. Having great service is the ‘icing on the cake’ that helps to make the final sale. Make sure your service is everything your customers expect it to be.

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.

Please Be Patient With Us

All of our customers have extremely busy schedules. I have yet to meet a customer who has loads of time to talk to me. In this busy global economy we are all struggling to perform to our highest capabilities and need to get answers quickly. There are times, however, when the need to get something quickly conflicts with the need to get it right. When we prepare a quotation for one of our packaging machines, we need to be sure that the model and options we are quoting are exactly right for the customer’s application. That requires our asking a lot of questions. On occasion, we have had customers tell us that we are asking for too much information, or we are taking too long to prepare a quotation for them. We ask that they be patient. We are truly striving to offer them the solution to their needs that will be exactly right.

Too often, in a rush to just ‘make it happen’, a production company will make a quick decision to purchase a machine that was quoted quickly, so they can move forward with their project. Don’t make a costly mistake. Make sure to question the supplier about all the functions on the machine and the options they offer and/or suggest. Make sure you are comparing apples to apples when reviewing competing quotes. The difference in the two machines might be the difference between a machine that will get the job done, but take longer to do it, or longer to changeover, or cost more to operate. Sometimes, having patience pays off. Usually, the company that asks more questions and takes longer to prepare a quotation, is the one that will offer the better choice. So, please be patient with us, we want to get it right for 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.

We Don’t Just Sell Packaging Machinery

We don’t just sell packaging machinery, we sell more efficient production lines. When a customer gives us a purchase order, they are not just buying a new machine for their production line, they are purchasing greater efficiencies for their plant. The end result of their purchase is the ability to produce more of their product in less time. They don’t really care that they are getting the latest in technology, or that the quality of the machine will outlast their working at that plant, they really only care about the output on their lines. It doesn’t matter to them that they will receive the right model machine for their specific application or that the machine was custom tooled to work flawlessly with their components. They aren’t thinking about the outstanding customer service they will receive. All they really want to know is that their new packaging machine will decrease their downtime and increase their output, thus improving their bottom line.

Our company keeps that concept in mind whenever we prepare a quotation for a customer. We take the time to determine which of our models will give this customer exactly what they want. It is the end result that really matters to your customers and that is what they need you to deliver.

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.

Can I Place Pumps and Continuous Thread Caps Using The Same Machine?

That’s a great question, and the answer is, yes. New England Machinery (NEM) has a pump sorter/pump placer machine that will also place continuous thread (CT) caps on containers. This saves production plants from having to purchase two separate machines when they are filling the same product into both pump containers and capped containers.

The same machine that sorts pumps, inserts them (even with curved dip tubes) into filled containers and securely tightens them down, will sort CT caps, place them on filled containers and securely tighten them down as well. It is a fabulous machine that allows the versatility needed on many production floors that do not have the money and/or the space to add another machine. With the ever-growing number of SKU’s being produced at today’s production facilities, this machine comes in greater demand. For more information on this product, contact NEM at (941) 755-5550.

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.

Communication – It Needs To Come In Different Forms

I had a great discussion today with a media salesman about the different forms of communication available to promote your products. He told me that the company he works for offers different forms of advertising and that the subscriber list for each of the different forms has very little crossover (less than 15%). Their company offers hard copy magazines, an online magazine, e-mail newsletters, white papers, and videos.

We talked about why there were so many different options. I thought about books and the fact that I love to read and usually read several books a week. I have a friend who also loves books, but never reads them. He only purchases audio books and loves to listen to a good book. A relative of mine loves movies and can recite lines from books that were made into movies. We all love a good story, but our methodology for acquiring the story is coming from three different forms of communication, reading, hearing or watching. So when you start to plan your advertising campaign, make sure to include several different forms of media. You don’t want to miss out on a whole potential audience because you think you are duplicating your efforts needlessly. Remember the less than 15% crossover in media subscribers. For every type of media you don’t include, you are missing 85% of that audience entirely.

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.

Hire An Intern – Help Them and You

The best part about bringing in an intern in the summer is the inflow of new ideas into the company. Internships obviously help the student gain valuable experience that they can use to improve their resume. It is also a great learning experience for them. If it is a paid internship it helps the student to cover their expenses while completing their education. But the not so obvious benefits are those that come to the company that hires them.

Interns come to your company with a new set of eyes and ears. They also come with the latest ideas and technologies that are being taught in our schools. Their input can be a breath of fresh air to a stagnant company. They may question why you do something the way ‘its always been done’, and have a really good suggestion for doing it differently. It isn’t necessarily because they are smarter, it may just be that they are seeing it from a different perspective. Don’t judge them by their youth, they may have some valuable ideas to share, that you’ll never learn if you don’t take the time to listen.

I recommend you hire a summer intern and see what new ideas come walking in your door, even if it’s just for a few months.

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.