Good time to lock in capital equipment prices

November 15, 2024

Good Time to Lock In Capital Equipment Prices

My informal survey of capital equipment suppliers indicates some shops may be a bit short on backlog.

When this happens, the buyers are in the driver's seat.

This seemed to have been caused by the current economic conditions and collective breath holding as the results of the major US election unfolded.

The election is behind us now and this window of soft backlogs at the equipment suppliers may close quickly. Time to act.

What to do if the window closes? Buy two if your long term plans are expansive. Well, maybe don't buy two, but take an option on the second one. Supplier's shops are always struggling for a level workload. That second purchase several years out at least allows them to pencil in (soft) sold shop time a few years out. I am sure you will work with you on this.

One more consideration this time any year...if your supplier has not met their sales quota for this year. Well, that is another opportunity for you!

Want a deeper dive? Go here.

What is your opinion? Drop me a line at jim.thompson@ipulpmedia.com. I would like to hear from you.

And further by the way, I come to mills and talk to various departments about many subjects. To arrange my custom visit to your mill, just email me at jim.thompson@ipulpmedia.com or call me at 678-206-6010.

Young Engineering Manager of the Year, call for nominations

We are looking for an individual who has done an extraordinary project, one that almost defies belief. Its extraordinary features can be schedule, technology, cost or all three. There is an age limit on the manager eligible for this award: they must be under 35 years old when they completed the project.

We have often gotten nominees that go something like this, "I nominate Joe because he has done a great job of running our engineering department for the last fifteen years." Quite frankly, we are not interested in such nominees.

However, if you know someone who has led a very exceptional project in the recent past (the last two or three years) and meets our age requirement, we want to know about it. We want to honor them and hold them up as an example for Engineering Managers in every pulp and paper mill around the world.

Just send your nomination, with as much details as you can provide, to jim.thompson@ipulpmedia.com. We will seriously consider it.

Join Our Mailing List

Please write when we tickle your brain cells! Email jthompson@taii.com