16 Oct 2017 | Archive
A willingness to explore new technology has seen agricultural supplier HE Silos vastly extend the life of stored grain, securing profits for farmers in a fluctuating market. The company won the Excellence in Innovation and the Business of the Year awards at the 2016 NSW Business Chamber Business Awards. HE Silos CEO Steven Morrison and Operations Manager Larry Storm talked with Biz Better Together about their path to innovation.
Grain is one of Australia’s most important and versatile agricultural crops, used in everything from bread and beer-making to feeding meat-producing animals.
Yet the success or failure of a crop can come down to one thing: keeping insects at bay. Failure to effectively control insects during storage can lead to losses of tens of thousands of dollars due to contamination and degradation of quality.
Traditionally, insect populations have been eradicated using phosphine tablets that are introduced to a grain silo from the top. While effective, the technique is inherently risky, with the potential for workers to fall off the silo, or into the grain inside, where they can drown. It can also lead to gas build-up which can explode.
Identifying the problem
Recognising the problem, Forbes-based company HE Silos, which has manufactured grain silos since 1969, set out to come up with an alternative. Their solution? A system which can be retro-fitted to silos to allow farmers to put the phosphine tablets in at ground-level instead. The company has also started manufacturing silos with the new system installed.
According to Larry Storm, Operations Manager of HE Silos, the system not only eliminates risks to farmers’ safety, but can also benefit their bottom line. The system pays for itself in its first year. “If we could reduce grain degradation in silos by 2%, it would not only help secure the grain supply, there’s a cash benefit that goes straight into the famer’s pocket,” he says. “The difference in the price of downgraded grain to quality grain is $40 a tonne, so in just one 100 tonne silo that’s $4,000. That’s a lot of money.”
Outside the box thinking
The innovation has seen the company experience 30% growth since its release in 2015, without any formal marketing or product launch.
With grain storage part of an established agricultural industry where change happens at a slow pace, HE Silos CEO Steven Morrison says they drew on their extensive industry experience, along with a willingness to think outside the box and explore new technology.
The company invested in sophisticated Computer Aided Design (CAD) software and brought on an engineer. “We can now model, prototype and test everything in 3D; examining everything from the nuts and bolts up,” he says.
“What has given us the edge is data monitoring and logging of temperature and humidity to track how the phosphine gas moves in the silos,” Larry adds. “The program is essentially a typical Manufacturing Replenishment Program (M RP). It’s integrated, so it tracks the history of every product, where it is installed, what kind of silo; it generates our production schedule.”
Persistence pays off
While getting the project off the ground hasn’t been without its challenges, Steven says that being persistent has paid off. “Setting aside the time to even think about innovation is important,” he says. “Asking yourself, ‘What could I do differently?’.
“But you [also] have to be willing to put the work in. It’s about tweaking the little things that make a big difference. You have to be persistent to get results.”
This article was produced in cooperation with the NSW Business Chamber. A version of this article first appeared in the Autumn 2017 issue of Business Connect.
13/09/2019
The Australian Chamber is delighted to announce Bryan Clark, Director of ACCI Trade & International Affairs, has been appointed to the Government’s Deregulation Taskforce, announced...
6/12/2018
“New data released today by the ABS confirms that Australians not only have the right to strike but use it, contrary to the exaggerations of...
6/12/2018
Australia’s largest and most representative business network, the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, today welcomed...
6/12/2018
“Parliament should be congratulated for taking an important first step towards repairing our industrial relations system," Scott Barklamb, the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry's...
4/12/2018
Australia’s largest and most representative business network, the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, has renewed its call to accelerate action through the Skilling Australians Fund (SAF) to boost falling...
3/12/2018
The Federal Government should drop its plans to introduce the Electricity Price Monitoring and Response Legislative Framework Bill 2018 in its current form, Australia’s largest...
29/11/2018
Australia’s largest and most representative business network, the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, has warmly welcomed the vocational education and training (VET) announcements made...
29/11/2018
“New data released today exposes false claims by big unions about how Australians work,” Australian Chamber CEO, James Pearson, said in response to the latest...
28/11/2018
Prime Minister Scott Morrison will tonight address more than 350 members, supporters and guests of Australia’s largest and most representative business network at the Australian...
22/11/2018
In response to Opposition Leader Bill Shorten’s speech on Labor energy policy today, Australia’s largest and most representative business network, the Australian Chamber of Commerce...
19/11/2018
Australia’s largest and most representative business voice, the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, today called on the ACTU to end its unjustified attack on Australians...
16/11/2018
Cuts to Australia’s permanent migration program would be a major concern to business and should be a concern to all Australians, the Australian Chamber of...
15/11/2018
The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) reporting of 25,400 new jobs in October – an increase of 7,800 above the number of new jobs created...
14/11/2018
The ACTU is sowing confusion by claiming wages are staying low following the latest wage growth data. The facts are the Australian Bureau of Statistics...
14/11/2018
"The government's decision to improve access for small businesses to finance is welcome,” James Pearson, Chief Executive of the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry...
2/11/2018
Australia’s peak body of tourism organisations, Australian Chamber-Tourism, welcomes the growth in value delivered by international visitors to Australia, with total trip spend increasing 5...
31/10/2018
The Australian Bureau of Statistics today released inflation figures for the September quarter. Headline inflation was below the RBA’s target of 2-3%, rising 0.4% for...
31/10/2018
Australia’s largest and most representative business network, the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, has...
23/10/2018
The Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry's CEO, James Pearson, says today’s announcement by the Federal Government on energy clearly attempts to address some of the...
22/10/2018
Big Unions are telling unionists to leave their jobs to attend rallies this week based on deliberate misinformation about how Australians work and the way the Australian industrial relations system...