Economists will tell you that the person best qualified to spend a dollar is the one who earned it. That’s why the recent corporate tax cuts represent an excellent opportunity to invest in improving your business.
The need for improvement has never been more pronounced due to so many facilities delaying updates and modernization coming out of “The Great Recession”. Today, window and door manufacturers are enjoying massive demand and that’s great, but here’s the bad news: most factories are still in 1954.
Think about the cars on Cuba’s streets. Ignore the nostalgic charm and recognize it for what it is: old, slow, uncomfortable and very inefficient. It’s time for change despite claiming, “We can spin the pie pans faster!”, struggling to keep up with orders. You’re so busy that you don’t take the time to make better choices.
Steve Jobs said computers are a ‘bicycle for the mind’ because they so dramatically improve productivity. You might think you don’t care for the latest technology but ask yourself why you have the latest Samsung or iPhone in your hand. It’s because you do care and you know what a difference the latest tech makes in your life. Apply the same thinking to your factory – adding the latest tech equals getting the job done faster, more efficiently and with additional profits.
Take the typical manufacturer placing their material orders for some upcoming work. Instead of accurately knowing how much will be used in a production run, a common procedure is to use an outdated, isolated, complicated spreadsheet few can operate or understand. Combine that with poor or no integration and you have one of the hidden money burners in today’s factories.
And it’s amazing that no matter how much “overage” is ordered, most of the material gets used every time. What a strange coincidence? This is one of many situations in a typical window and door company that is crying out for efficiency and control.
With the boost in cash coming from the U.S. tax cuts and a booming industry, now is the time to bring your manufacturing and processes into the 21st century. Instead of running on coal and steam, Soft Tech is offering electricity. We’ve seen it time after time over the past 30-40 years modernizing the manufacturing environment. Once a new client moves over to our systems, they can’t imagine how they stayed with their old processes for so long.
Having owned two window companies and knowing what it’s like having it all on the line, I love seeing companies gain efficiency, increase profits and provide a more secure future for its workforce. Being on the technology side for several years, I’ve seen how using the latest tech and innovations is the best way to accomplish these goals.
Read more here in the March 2018 article by USGlass, Metal & Glazing, titled “New Rules for Immediate Expensing Make it Easier to Invest in Machinery and Software”. There are some useful tables on “What to Do Right Now” and “Using Section 179 in 2018” showing a sample calculation for purchasing machinery or equipment, as well as some tips for making your next machinery purchase. (Credit Trey Barrineau with contributions by Ellen Rogers – www.usglassmag.com)
