In our latest AIM (Automate, Integrate, Manufacture) podcast episode, host Mike Abare sits down with Nick Basham, a seasoned regional sales manager from Magnum Systems, to unpack the intricacies and significant advantages of integration within manufacturing, bulk solids handling pneumatic conveying and packaging systems. With more than a decade of experience in the industry, Nick elucidates how Magnum's holistic approach to integration - managing a product from its raw, incoming state through to the final packaging and dispatch - streamlines operations and dramatically simplifies the project execution for clients. This episode highlights the critical nature of seamless partner relationships, Magnum's deep process understanding and the profound impact of choosing a single-source supplier on reducing complexity, project timelines and operational costs. From initial concept to completion, Nick’s insights underscore the tangible benefits of integration and the unique value proposition offered by Magnum Systems, making a compelling case for businesses looking to optimize their operations and achieve efficient, cost-effective outcomes.
Transcript
Mike Abare:
Welcome to Magnum Systems Podcast, where we'll aim to dive deep into the world of A for Automate, I for Integrate, and M for Manufacture. I'm your host, Mike Abare, and I'll be bringing you expert interviews, thought-provoking discussions, and real-world case studies that shed light on the latest trends and developments in systems integration.
Whether you're a seasoned professional who's seen it all or just curious about manufacturers who are revolutionizing their operations, this podcast is your one-source resource. So sit back and relax as we aim to cover all the challenges automation and integration are solving today. Let's do this.
Welcome everybody. Thank you for attending this session of Magnum's Podcast. Today, we have a guest from Magnum Systems with us. Nick, would you take a moment to introduce yourself?
Nick Basham:
My name's Nick Basham, and I've worked for Magnum Systems going on four years now. I've been in the bulk solids handling industry for over 10 years, and I look forward to being here today and talking about integration.
Mike Abare:
Could you provide a deeper insight into exactly what integration means in the context of Magnum Systems?
Nick Basham:
Integration for Magnum really centers around taking our strengths in manufacturing, bulk solids handling, pneumatic conveying and packaging systems, and putting a process together around that based upon our relationship with the customer and our expertise in process.
Mike Abare:
So let me expand on that question a little bit because you had said pneumatic systems and packaging. Is Magnum Systems integrating more than just those two product lines?
Nick Basham:
Absolutely. So because we have the ability to take product from the raw state off of a rail car or a truck and then package it and send it out on a truck off the back end of the plant, we literally touch the product throughout the entire process of that plant. So when we bring it in, we'll bring it in off a rail car, put it into a silo, then we'll send it to blending, or we'll send it through metal detection, even take the product and put it into some type of liquid, get it mixed up and then spray dry it, put it through.
And as a result, because we take that product each step of the way and then package it on the back end of the plant and put it onto a pallet with a robot and stretch wrap it and then send it back out. Because we touch that product the entire way, it allows us to understand the entire process that the customer has and also gives us some value in being able to help them out to be a one-source supply rather than having the customer buy a blender from XYZ company and a pneumatic system from us and magnets from these guys and packaging system from someone else. It allows us to be able to take the entire process with our understanding of their process and be able to put it all together into one package.
Mike Abare:
So how does the process of integration simplify the project execution for the customer?
Nick Basham:
Simplicity has to do with removing moving parts. If you're trying to build a plant or you're trying to expand upon your plant. If you can get rid of the variables, it simplifies the entire process. Not only does it simplify the amount of effort that you and your team have to put in with dealing with multiple manufacturers, but even in the decision-making process.
Because you and I are talking together about this process, we can continue that conversation into the next step of the process and not have to have you catch us up on what we don't understand about something else that's happening in front of us. And so the simplicity comes through having a holistic understanding of the entire process, and that's why we come in and integrate is because we understand upstream and downstream effects of the entire process. As the customer, you don't have to spend so much time relearning or re-educating a new supplier on things that we already know.
Mike Abare:
Certainly, from the customer's perspectives, having to deal with one supplier, as opposed to four or five or six or 15 suppliers across the scope of that project certainly simplifies things as well.
Nick Basham:
Being able to have a one-source supply is a big deal for the right customer, of course.
Mike Abare:
So can you provide an example of how integration would work in a real-world scenario, such as pneumatic systems or packaging or other areas of that system that we would integrate?
Nick Basham:
It starts out with a partnership. So relationships are everything. Unless we have the right relationship with our customer, the integration won't work. It always starts with a partnership. It starts with a trusting relationship, and some of these relationships have been going over 60 years. So we have customers that we've had for that long. We also have integrated with people that we've known for less than a year. And so it comes down to starting with a partnership and a relationship that's trusting that they believe in our expertise, we understand who they are, what they do, what their goals are.
And so it starts there. And then from there, we do what I spoke about earlier, which is starting from the beginning. If we're taking the product from the beginning off of a rail car or a truck in a raw form, then we know the characteristics of the raw form. And then, we get to know about the rest of the process as we develop the relationship with the customer, as we learn more about their process and their plant, about what they're trying to achieve, and the gotchas along the way. As we gain more and more understanding there, we are able to narrow down and use our relationships in the industry with other manufacturers and suppliers of different pieces along the way to provide a value to the customer and make the right equipment selection for each step along the way.
Mike Abare:
As we move deeper into this conversation, let's talk about EPCs, engineering, procurement, and construction companies. How does the integration process work with the EPC? What does this mean for that project specifically as we go from delivering equipment into the installation and startup of that?
Nick Basham:
In my experience in working with EPCs, a lot of times, the customer actually would be better off treating us as the manufacturer, as the EPC. And the reason for that is because of our deep understanding of not only our equipment and the things that we manufacture but the steps along the way. And a lot of times, in my experience, a traditional EPC-style company they're focused on being an engineering house that can procure equipment and have relationships with other people that they bring in, but they're vast. They're very wide. They're not very focused.
And on projects that Magnum Systems is working on, we're working on a very specific type of process. So, as a result, we have a deep understanding of that process. A lot of times, really, Magnum should be considered on a lot of these projects as the EPC instead of maybe hiring out a large firm that a lot of their guys have experience in a lot of different areas but maybe not this very specific one. And it allows us to use our expertise to be the knowledge. Rather than adding another middleman in between in the conversation, it simplifies the process.
Mike Abare:
Certainly, if I'm an EPC and I'm bringing something to Magnum Systems, it's from what I'm hearing, we can certainly work with the EPC and add value to that process, but you're also then taking it to another level and saying to a customer, "We can be your EPC and save you that additional cost that you're going to go out and spend with an EPC and still deliver a quality high-performing system."
Nick Basham:
Absolutely. That's a pretty good evaluation there.
Mike Abare:
From your experience, Nick, how does having on-site installation management performed by Magnum project managers add value to the overall project?
Nick Basham:
This is a big deal. Any integrated project where we're handling more than just a packer or a blower and some pipe, it's really, really, really important to have us on-site throughout the project. And the reason for that is that presence and conversation and communication are key. When we as a manufacturer are relying upon a contractor to stage the equipment properly, evaluate the equipment as it's been received, install the equipment as it's been designed, when we're relying on them to do that on their own, the installers that we work with have a very good understanding of what we do and how to install our equipment.
But when it comes to even making quality evaluations, say something gets damaged in shipping, the contractor is not looking for that when they're going to stage the equipment or going to install the equipment. Their job is to pick it up, bolt it together, make sure it's straight level, all that kind of stuff and installed well. But our focus when we're there managing a project is actually before it gets staged, before it gets installed, is to actually make an evaluation of the quality of the equipment as it's been received in shipping. And this seems like a fairly minimal thing, but when you're talking about catching something on site when it arrives versus catching it when the guy's getting ready to bolt it up, there's a huge catch there because you could save yourself a tremendous amount of time.
We could get that back into our facility, get it fixed, bring it back before it may even be ready to install if we catch it when it gets to the site. So that's a big deal, so that has to do with the equipment. Then managing that process takes a lot off of the customer's plate because if we're not there, somebody else has to be. If you can take your resources and put them on things that are more profitable to your daily efforts, let us take care of managing this project so that you can go out and do other things throughout your plant or at other plants and things like that. And so it allows us to take the load off of our customer.
Mike Abare:
Well, and I know we've probably all experienced that project where there isn't an installation supervisor or a project manager on-site, and we get that dreaded phone call that says, "I need two more elbows because I had to sneak around something," and we sit there in our heads and start wondering what the impact of that system is and now will it even meet what the customer's expectations are?
Nick Basham:
And if we've got one of our guys on site, that's a whole lot easier conversation than if it's coming from somebody that isn't the manufacturer or isn't the integrator. The other piece of that really has to do with perception on a project.
If we can take care of some of the pickups and the problems along the way and the customer doesn't have to deal with them as intensely and all they have to do is make a yes or no decision based upon our report to them, that takes a whole lot of stress off the project, off of the company, off of the owner, off of everything.
Mike Abare:
And we touched on this topic a little earlier, and certainly, what you just shared leads right into my next question. Explain the concept of one-source responsibility. How does it reduce the workload and responsibility of the end users, the end users, employees?
Nick Basham:
When you have a project as large as some of these can be, reducing the moving parts is a big deal. If you have a one-source responsibility, we are supplying an integrated process. We're not just providing one piece of equipment. And what that does to the customer is it takes all of that anxiety off of their shoulders. What it allows us to do then is take responsibility for everything. If this doesn't work, it's our fault. It's all on us.
And what that does is it gives customers a lot of comfort that, "Hey, we are trusting Magnum with this entire process, and we're trusting that when it's done, it's done well, designed well engineered well, installed well, delivered well, started up well, and that it works as a full system and not a bunch of individual pieces." The other part of this is very simply that you don't have to deal with multiple manufacturers in the plant and having to deal with multiple purchase orders being cut. And delivering multiple scopes of supply to multiple suppliers that all goes away when you have one-source supply.
Mike Abare:
What are the financial implications of hiring a manufacturer to integrate or be the EPC of a project as opposed to hiring an outside engineering firm to do that?
Nick Basham:
This kind of goes back to what I was talking about earlier. A lot of times, we will work with an EPC or an engineering firm on a project that they've been tasked to pull together. This is no knock on those type of firms because their job is to bring a whole project together, not to really understand every single piece and how it works. We spend a lot of time on those type of projects, educating the engineering firm or the integrator. We spend a lot of time educating them on how and what and why this needs to do this. As a result, it costs time.
It brings up a lot of questions around the process that they need to get caught up to speed on. And so, in hiring the manufacturer, Magnum Systems, to be the EPC or to be the integrator, you get rid of a lot of those conversations because we already deeply understand our equipment. We understand, in general, the process, and we get to know the customer's very specific process very quickly, allowing us to be able to then move at a higher speed into the finished design of a project rather than having to spend time educating other people that may not be as versed on our process as we are.
Mike Abare:
Are there times where if we're coordinating or working with an EPC that you don't even get a seat at the table with the customer.
Nick Basham:
This is the thing and layers create distance and distance creates a lot of misunderstanding and just lack of knowledge of what's going on with the project. The closer we can be to the end user, to the owner and to the decision-makers, the better we can be at making decisions for them because we're speaking directly to them understanding exactly what their needs are, what their problems are that they're having that they're trying to solve. The deeper our understanding is, the better we're going to be for our customer.
Mike Abare:
So can you walk us through the process with the customer from the beginning of the project to the gestation period, if you will, to the end of the project with some emphasis around the front end with information gathering to preparing the proposal to the engineering, the production, and even into the delivery stages of that project?
Nick Basham:
The faster you go, the more you miss. If we can be methodical with a deep understanding of our process and what we're trying to achieve, it's going to check the boxes and make sure that we're not missing something along the way. Information gathering up front is huge, and I can't tell you how many times I've gone into a customer's facility and say, "We're talking about a packaging process." And I ask the question, "How many different bag sizes do you have?" Say they're filling valve bags, "Oh, we fill this one bag right here, and this is what we do."
In my experience, I need to ask that question three different times. They don't realize that a couple inches larger of a bag here or a gusset size on an open-mouth bag that's an inch wider there makes a big impact on the project. Our understanding in the information-gathering phase really are key. So we take a lot of time upfront to try to get as much information about the process and the problems and the solutions that we're trying to achieve upfront before we even move into quoting. We can give you a general number, but if you want a quote from us, we're going to have to spend some time diving into the details of your entire process.
Understanding what we're putting in affects upstream and downstream equipment to be able to allow us to write a very confident quote. What that does is it allows us to be more confident in the scope of supply and the equipment that we've selected. And then when we get into engineering, there's not a lot of gray areas because we know we selected this piece because of this answer and because we know the customer's process that deeply, that's a big deal. And then, when you get into production, you get it on site. By that point, we feel like we know the place like the customer does, and so we're attacking this from an integration standpoint rather than just providing a single piece along the way.
Mike Abare:
How does Magnum Systems handle the storage on-site equipment inspection prior to installation, installation, supervision, those aspects of the project?
Nick Basham:
There's some times where customers aren't ready to receive the equipment in their facility. Maybe it's not built quite yet, but they needed to have the equipment built and ready to go, whether it's for a purpose or the site and the equipment are being built in tandem. Storage is a big deal. So we have plenty of options for that. We can either store the equipment in Conex boxes or we can store it in our facility for a fee. We can do a lot of things like that.
It really comes down to project scheduling. What our project managers do in building the project out allows us to understand things like storage up front so we know, "Hey, by the time this is going to be done, our building's going to be three-quarters of the way ready to go. We need to find the best way to store this equipment." Or maybe the building's already built, but they've got an existing process in there that they're pulling out. We've got to figure out the right way to stage this equipment. So do they have a lay-down area? Do we have a space that we can stage this stuff? And then when we do that, staging it according to how it will be installed is key.
If we're not there on site as the integrator, making sure that the process is staged based on how it's going to be installed, I can't tell you how many times you deliver equipment to a site and something's lost. Just knowing where the equipment's at, how it's going to be installed, inspecting it prior to being installed, like we talked about earlier, that's huge for maintaining project schedule. It saves project morale. It makes everybody happy when everything's there where it's supposed to be when it's supposed to be there just makes the project go a lot smoother.
Mike Abare:
So as we go further into that process then, so now the equipment's installed, now we're starting to get into the system commissioning and the startup aspects of that. How does the startup and training process work when a project's completed, and how do we ensure that smooth transition so the client can take on this new process, this new equipment, and be able to operate it effectively and efficiently?
Nick Basham:
Previous guest on this show, Joel Sawalich, makes a comment that speed kills. And on the back end of a project, when you're up against a deadline, you need to get producing. If we don't, as the integrator, take the time to not only install the equipment well but start it up well, work out the bugs and then, on top of that, train the team that's going to be actually running it, if we don't do that well and take our time with it, we're going to hand the keys to a customer that isn't 100% confident in what they're doing. They aren't confident in that the process is going to do what they want it to or that they even know how to troubleshoot it when something goes wrong.
If we're able in the startup and training process to take the time to run actual product and then walk the customer, the actual plant manager, the actual operation folks, through a daily process, maybe a day or two or even three or maybe even a week of running it, running into issues, helping them figure out, "This is how you troubleshoot this issue. When you switch from this pallet to this pallet or this bag to this bag, these are the things that you're going to want to watch out for with the robot. These are the pressures you want to watch on the pneumatic system to make sure that you're not going to be plugging." Things like that are key to making a project go well in making the customer more successful when we hand the keys off to them.
Mike Abare:
Can you elaborate then on the concept of integration in the context of Magnum Systems and how it differs from the traditional model of manufacturers building their part of the project?
Nick Basham:
There's two ways of doing it. You can buy a piece of equipment from a supplier like Magnum Systems. You can buy a packer from me, I can build it, and I can ship it to you, but that's the end of my responsibility with that project until it's time to start it up. That puts all the responsibility on the customer and whoever they've hired to get it installed and things like that, and all the responsibility goes back on the customer.
Integrating in the context of Magnum Systems allows us to take a lot of the load off of the customer and put it onto us. Traditionally, all the loads on the customer. They have to hire the contractor. They have to put project managers in place. They have to make sure that all the pieces are purchased correctly. If you integrate with Magnum Systems, it's one-stop. One purchase order, one project, one system, one responsibility, and we'll take care of it.
Mike Abare:
While it's understood that the cost of an entire project may be higher with Magnum Systems because of this integration piece, can you discuss how this evens out in the terms of time and other resources saved during the quoting engineering installation, the life of that project?
Nick Basham:
You hear the word value kicked around a lot. We want to provide a valuable solution. The truth of the matter is value is attributed to cost, and what things cost us versus what we gain from them is how we attribute the value to it. When you look at doing a project with Magnum Systems and doing the integration, upfront, it appears that the project costs more except for the fact that now we need to think about all of the relief that integrating a system with Magnum Systems takes off of the company. So now the project managers that had to manage all these different suppliers, well now all you need is one project manager managing one supplier.
You can take their time and their resources or multiple project managers' time and resources and put them other places in your process and doing other things to help build your business. When it comes to purchasing, contract negotiation, all those things, you've got one purchase order and one contract and negotiate. If you've got a process that has 20, 30 different pieces along the way that has to be procured and contracts need to be agreed upon, terms and condition negotiations, nobody likes them. But people are pros at them for a reason.
People are literally hired within a company to be able to negotiate contracts well so that the company itself is protected. If you're working with Magnum Systems, you've got one contract to negotiate. We've got one set of terms and conditions that we agree upon that says, "When this happens, this happens." Rather than having to do that 25, 30, 40 different times, it takes a huge load off of the end user and off of the owner to be able to focus on not only using this process to help them make more money but also spending those resources in other areas to help their company make more money as well.
Mike Abare:
So this goes back in my mind. I heard speed kills in one of your previous comments. This is more efficient. So while it's not speeding to the end of the process, it's more efficient, which would accelerate the timeline of a project.
Nick Basham:
Absolutely. And it increases the value because now there's so much less effort going into the project. Even all the way through the construction phase, the effort on the end user is significantly reduced. Now, the end user really only making yes or no decisions. We are coming to you with, "Hey, this is what we ran up against, or this is the question that we have. All we need you to tell us is yes or no.
Would you like to do this, or would you like to do this?" If we aren't integrating the project, if we aren't designing the entire process and taking care of the whole thing, the customer has to be the one figuring out all of those things and coming down to the solutions. And then they have to also, on top of that, make a decision. It simplifies the project so much for the end user.
Mike Abare:
And certainly, I know customers have not just this project but multiple projects going on, plus all their day-to-day activities of maintaining production and keeping people happy and morale high and all those things. So certainly, anything an integrator can do to take that off their table is a huge win, in my opinion, for both the customer and Magnum.
Nick Basham:
Yeah.
Nick Basham:
Absolutely, and what you get is the company didn't make a decision to put this project in for the construction effort. They made the decision to put the project in so that it'll run so that it'll produce so that they can make money off of what it produces. The construction effort is a cost. If you could take that, reduce the effort that's involved with that, that gets you closer to the production piece that makes you more money, whatever it takes to do that the company should consider doing.
Mike Abare:
Could you share some experiences on how Magnum's unique approach has benefited its clients?
Nick Basham:
We've worked with quite a few companies, large and small, to integrate projects, and the value that they gain out of that centers around time savings, cost savings, overall cost savings, and a partnership. When we do business with our customers, they're not just our customers. They're our partners. I've seen Magnum Systems time and time and time again stand behind our equipment with the partnerships that we have, and as a result, there's trust built there. And when you have trust with somebody, even if something does go wrong, a trusting relationship can figure out a way to fix the problem. If you don't have a trusting relationship that's built based upon previous successes, then you're going to have a rough time, a rough go of it if something does go wrong.
It's been really good to build partnerships and relationships with customers, so much so that we'll even do marketing efforts together afterwards to where we have this partnership that has built its way all the way up to executing a project and helping them make more money. And then, on the back end, our marketing team is phenomenal. And they will take, and they put together different videos and productions of what this process has done to improve production for that plant and allows that plant to then tell their story and say, "Hey, this is what we're doing for our customers to improve our service to our customers and make our customers happier." It becomes a partnership that turns out to be a win-win scenario rather than the way it could go.
Mike Abare:
Why integrate? Why Magnum Systems?
Nick Basham:
I think when considering a project, thinking about it as an integrated project, rather than just purchasing one piece at a time, is a way for a customer to find a one-source supplier to give them peace of mind that the project is going to do what we say it's going to do, and that it smooths out all the hiccups along the way. Because as the integrator, we're working every step along the way. We understand the process from beginning to end. In the information-gathering phase, we're having the same conversation the whole way through. It's one conversation. It's not 17 different conversations with 17 different manufacturers.
It saves resources because the customer doesn't have to associate so many people and resources and time with the construction effort, with the engineering effort, because we're handling all of that. It saves money in the long run because, overall, upfront, it's a higher price tag, but on the back end, it saves money in installation time, in upstart time, things like that, and startup and training and giving the customer a one-source supply so that they can have peace of mind that the project is being handled by somebody that knows what they're doing, that has partnerships in the industry, that will allow them to be able to accomplish what they're trying to accomplish, which is improving their process, increasing production, and ultimately making more money for their company.
Mike Abare:
So, Nick, I really want to thank you for coming in and expanding on the whole concept of integration and what that looks like from the customer's perspective and how it can benefit them, and certainly how it benefits Magnum Systems and helping us deliver a quality product that's going to be a win-win solution and create that winning strategy for everybody involved.
Nick Basham:
Well, I appreciate you having me. It was a good time. Thank you.
Mike Abare:
And that's a wrap for this episode of AIM. Thanks for listening, and thanks for joining us today. If you have any questions or you would like to learn more about the topic we discussed today, feel free to reach out to us on our website or social media channels so you never miss an episode packed with valuable insights. Please join us next time as we continue to explore the ever-evolving landscape of systems integration. Until then, keep aiming for success. This is Mike Abare signing off. Good day.
