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Reprinted from Grain Journal September/October 2015 Issue
Innovation and complexity aren’t necessarily synonymous. That distinction is one that can be missed easily in terms of product development – especially when automation comes into play. Successful companies know how to make improvements without necessarily re-inventing the wheel or adding layers of difficulty to something that isn’t broken.
This has been a guiding principle of Plymouth, MN-based Hamer, LLC, a manufacturer of packaging equipment specializing in automated bagging systems, fillers, sealers, and robotic palletizers. While Hamer is in the business of automation, what it does not sell are products that are so complicated that it takes a mechanical engineer to operate them.
“We call it ‘practical innovation,’ because what we try to do is not add a lot of complex, technological bells and whistles,” explains President Dan Brown. “Our equipment is manufactured and designed to be very simple to run, simple to operate, and simple to keep running. So while we bring innovation – like in our filling equipment, where we’re adding speed and accuracy – we didn’t do that by adding a lot of complexity. We kept the application of the technology very simple,” he notes.
80 Years of Innovation
This philosophy of simplicity, as well as listening to customers and providing them with technical solutions that their businesses require, is the reason Hamer has been in the business for eight decades and continues to grow.
“That’s one of the drivers for our success,” says Brown. “The Hamer product is very robustly built, and it’s extremely simple to keep running – and that’s really key,” he notes. Brown points out that many of their customers don’t have complex preventive maintenance programs in place and rely on operations or maintenance staff to take care of the equipment. “It’s got to be simple, so they can keep it running,” he says.
Launched in 1927, Hamer got its start when the founder of the company’s namesake came up with a method to automate the closure of large bags of flour using a hog ring wire tie. Known as the Hamer ring bag closer, this became the company’s very first product and provided a durable, cost-effective bag closing system for the flour milling industry. Hamer remained fairly small for nearly 60 years following its launch, according to Brown, and it wasn’t until the early 1980s that the company began to experience significant growth, as it entered the bagging automation market.
Today, Hamer offers a wide variety of industrial packaging equipment to meet virtually any plant requirement – from standalone bag top closers, to gross weigh bagging scales, to manual bag palletizing conveyors. For fully-automated bagging systems, the company produces some of the most advanced, robust, and productive turnkey systems in the industry. Hamer boasts thousands of installations running hundreds of different materials, which Brown says, gives it unparalleled field experience in the industry, and serves as the basis for all project and product design improvements.
Recently, Hamer was acquired from its holding company, Hanover Partners and Tuckerman Capital by Duravant, a Downers Grove, IL-based global engineered equipment manufacturer serving the food processing, packaging, and material handling sectors. The purchase expands Duravant’s packaging platform and strengthens its engineering, design, and service expertise in bag management and system solutions, according to a company press release.
“It’s a fairly new acquisition, but the opportunity with Duravant is that it has an opportunity to invest and to improve our products and our customer support processes beyond their current scope,” Brown relates. “The good news I think is that Duravant is looking to really stimulate Hamer’s growth curve, and they are strong investing partners to help provide some more infrastructure for us to continue our growth and our customer service ethic,” he adds.
Three Categories in Grain
In the feed and grain industry, Hamer focuses on three primary product categories: bagging automation, bag filling using net weigh scale technology, and bag palletizing. The company prides itself on manufacturing equipment that is considered best in class for the industry and doesn’t dilute its focus on dozens of different product lines. Instead, Brown says the company applies its practical innovation in all areas to help grain professionals work smarter, not harder.
Brown notes that one of the company’s most recent product launches – the Model 1200BH Bag Hanger – makes the machine nearly all electronic to improve performance while still making it easy to use.
“We really reduced the air consumption on that machine,” says Brown. “Compressed air and maintaining air systems in plants is expensive, and we went to more of an all-electronic design. It also improves the repeatability of the machine.”
With its net weigh scale, Hamer was able to improve the accuracy and speed of typical net weigh scale designs significantly, so that customers can use less expensive scale technology while maintaining rates of 20 bags per minute with repeatable, accurate weight measurements. “It adds a ton of value to the marketplace,” Brown notes.
Finally, in the area of palletizers, Hamer has turned to robotics solutions that offer exceptional quality but also are cost-effective and, of course, simple to operate.
“The robotic palletizers bring a very industrial, high-quality, heavy-duty design, as well as keep it very simple to run,” Brown says. “We have a very simple operator interface we’ve developed that makes it easy to train operators. And the price points are good and make it a very competitive product,” he adds.
High Quality, Timely Delivery
According to Brown, Hamer’s product lead times are designed to deliver a high-quality product quickly. In fact, many of the company’s machines can be delivered in just four to six weeks as a standard order fulfillment time. That’s no small feat for a company staffing 60 employees, but it’s a testament to its commitment to quality and service.
“We work hard to maintain this availability regardless of order volume to meet our customers’ requirements for securing products as quickly as possible,” Brown says. “When a decision is made to add a packaging machine, often our customers are under timeline requirements to fulfill a contract. And if specific dates are required, we’ll do our best to manage manufacturing to ensure we can meet those customer requirements, as well,” he notes.
All Hamer products are tested thoroughly as components, subassemblies, and finished machines. When a product leaves the plant, Hamer assures it has been documented and approved for quality testing.
“Fast manufacture, innovative value-added designs, and stringent quality assurance – that is the Hamer ethic,” Brown says.
Of course, if there are any problems or defects with the equipment, support is just a phone call away. Hamer Technical Support professionals have a unique combination of machine building and field service responsibilities. That means whenever a customer calls for technical support, he or she is connected immediately to an experienced technician who not only knows the company’s machine designs but also understands extensive real-world application in a manufacturing plant.
While the company isn’t one to spend much time doing a lot of self-promoting, its business philosophy – like its products – is simple: “Basically, our job is to take care of our customers. If the bagging plant is down, and the customer needs a part, we need to be able to get him or her the equipment right away,” Brown says.
To that end, he says that Hamer keeps nearly $2 million in parts inventory in stock for same-day/next-day delivery.
“So really, it’s all about taking care of the customer. And I think that is what we are really known for. It is not just a customer service marketing handle – we truly walk the talk every day and do a good job of really taking care of people,” Brown concludes.
