Overview

One of the world’s most prominent meat producers partnered with Maxi-Lift to address challenges in feed mill operations. With more than 30 feed mills across the U.S., the company has faced challenges managing equipment and maintenance, especially given frequent managerial turnover. Ultimately, by adopting Maxi-Lift’s Tiger Tuff and HD Max Buckets, the company successfully enhanced efficiency and minimized maintenance burdens.

About Our Client

Our client is one of the world’s largest meat producers, responsible for one out of every five pounds of chicken, beef, and pork consumed in the U.S.

With a sprawling network of feed mills and processing facilities, the company has a weekly processing capacity of over 40,000,000 chickens, 400,000 pigs, and 150,000 cattle across more than 200 production sites. It also boasts international and industrial distribution channels, including consumer products and food service. The company operates in three regional divisions outside the United States: Europe, China/Korea, and Asia Pacific.

Key Challenges

Because the company operates more than 30 feed mills in the U.S., equipment management and maintenance have proven challenging, particularly due to the high turnover rate among mill managers. In this industry, mill managers frequently switch jobs because they come from unrelated industries and have little to no feed milling experience.

To make equipment management and maintenance easier, the company needed a reliable equipment and maintenance solution that worked across all 32 feed mills and provided excellent communication and support.

Solution: Working With Maxi-Lift To Transform Feed Mill Operations

To address the challenge of managing equipment and maintenance across that many feed mills in the face of frequent turnovers, the company partnered with Maxi-Lift.

Comprehensive Support From Maxi-Lift

Besides providing high-quality products, Maxi-Lift offered proactive and personalized customer support. Here’s how Maxi-Lift’s customer service helped:

• Streamlined procurement: The company could buy the agricultural elevator buckets directly by calling the Maxi-Lift team, which streamlined the implementation and maintenance process.
• Proactive communication: Maxi-Lift’s account representative maintained regular contact, resolved issues quickly, and shared updates on product innovations as soon as they happened.
• Customized guidance: The Maxi-Lift team proactively contacted the meat company team whenever they thought the wrong product was being used for a particular application. This gave the meat company team a clearer understanding of how Maxi-Lift products can enhance feed mill operations, leading to time and money savings.

With Maxi-Lift’s exceptional support, the company implemented two of our most durable agricultural elevator buckets: 

• Tiger-Tuff: The original maximum-duty bucket, Tiger-Tuff was designed to increase bucket life and reduce replacement frequency. As such, it is essential for high-capacity feed mills like our client’s.
• HD Max Buckets: A perfect marriage between budget pricing and durable design, HD Max Buckets have reinforced front corners and thicker walls to increase bucket life and minimize breakage.

Implementation and Immediate Impact

After working with the Maxi-Lift team to implement Tiger-Tuff and HD Max Buckets, the meat company noticed that the buckets, particularly Tiger-Tuffs, were noticeably heavier, thicker, and more durable. 

The company also immediately saw results. Some of the most significant early successes included:

• Consistency across all 30-plus feed mills due to good support between Maxi-Lift and the individual locations
• Reduced operational burden due to consistently using high-quality Maxi-Lift products and improved customer service across all locations
• Fewer errors and improved efficiency due to Maxi-Lift’s customer support team’s proactive guidance for individual locations

Better Buckets, Better Service, Better Business

The meat company’s implementation of Maxi-Lift’s Tiger-Tuff and HD Max Buckets led to long-term feed mill operational improvements. These included:

• Reduced downtime: The products’ durability significantly reduced the need for repairs and replacements. As such, the mills could operate with fewer interruptions, increasing overall efficiency.
• Streamlined operations: Implementing Maxi-Lift products and customer services created consistency across all 30-plus feed mills. Most mill managers had limited experience with mill operations, but they could rely on Maxi-Lift’s standardized equipment specifications. As a result, they had an easier time handling day-to-day operations, which led to smoother workflows and fewer errors and inefficiencies.
• Positioned the company for long-term growth: By addressing equipment challenges and lack of consistency across locations, the company reduced operational strain. In doing so, it positioned itself for sustained growth. 

Conclusion

Equipment management and maintenance were burdens for this leading meat company. Not only did the company operate more than 30 mills in the U.S., it also had to deal with high turnover rates among mill managers. This made equipment management and maintenance challenging.

Fortunately, the meat company found a solution in Maxi-Lift. By partnering with Maxi-Lift’s personable and proactive customer support team to implement Tiger-Tuff and HD Max Buckets, the company experienced several improvements to its feed mill operations. These included reduced downtime, streamlined operations, and long-term growth potential.