The past two years have served as a stark reminder that disruptions to supply chains are bound to occur from time to time: the status-quo of isn’t a fixed reality; it’s merely the calm between disruptions. COVID-19 has been one of those events that have brought disruption about by exposing weaknesses in our global supply chains and increasing the cost of international trade.
We haven’t been immune to these challenges, and they have us thinking seriously about where we source our products. Consider the risks associated with overseas purchases in 2022:
- Shipments can be delayed, sometimes for months.
- Costs can rise unexpectedly.
- Key vendors can be locked down for unspecified periods of time.
- Travel can be burdensome due to ever-changing restrictions and viral mutations.
And there is always the risk of geopolitical disruption, severe weather, and shortages that affect vendors’ ability to fulfill their orders (which affect your projects, which affects your customers …).
These issues only add to burdens already associated with international trade, namely difficulties in communicating when primary languages differ, scheduling around time zone differences, and seeing projects progress on time despite disparate holidays.
Despite the challenges, certain items are and will always be acquired from overseas vendors—products with superior quality than what can be sourced domestically, those which are cheaper to produce overseas, and those which aren’t available from a domestic source. Equipment from Europe typically falls under the first of the three, as labor and supplies are more expensive in the region than other areas, and many of the same products (categorically) from Europe are made in North America.
Thus it’s been with material handling equipment. Mill operators in North America continue to source conveyors and other bulk material-handling equipment from Europe because they’re convinced it’s better than what’s available domestically. We understand why they would think so—the market here is rife with cheap chain systems that perform poorly and cost an arm and a leg to maintain. But we know, of course, that it’s not true—not with our SMART Conveyors™, SMART Containers, screw-bottom bins, and other equipment being available.
When it comes to innovation, our SMART Conveyors™ surpass all other equivalent-type conveyors in the global market. And when it comes to quality, everything we make is on par with top material-handling vendors worldwide. (And if it doesn’t work, we’ll fix it—we back up all our equipment with a one-year warranty.)
It makes sense coming into 2022 to look beyond your traditional, go-to equipment suppliers. If you source from overseas, take risks into consideration, and consider that you can get quality machines here in North America.
If you’re interested in learning more about our equipment, visit our website at www.BiomassEngineeringEquipment.com. There you’ll find photos, video links, and a host of other resources to help your operation run better. Information about our SMART Conveyors™ is available at www.BiomassEngineeringEquipment.com/Equipment/Smart-Conveyors/.
We look forward to equipping you this year!
