From the President’s Desk
Rick Lindemann

Greetings All:

Hope you had a Great 4th of July Holiday!

Unfortunately, (or fortunately) none of you won the Hot Dog eating contest this year at Coney Island

Over the last several months we have all been experiencing “Supply Chain Interruptions”

Not sure if this has cost you any business yet but beware.

It’s been interesting to learn about the causes for our current dilemma.

• Global workforce shortage, suppliers can’t get enough workers to build the product to ship.
• Increased demand due to post pandemic recovery. Who would’ve thought there would be a shortage of new cars, boats, campers, atv’s etc.
• Shipping issues, shortage of ships, containers, drivers, dock workers, you name it.
• New technology is changing demand. While conventional cars contain roughly 20 to 50 pounds of copper, a hybrid electric vehicle (HEV) typically contains 85 pounds of copper; a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV) uses about 130 poundsof copper; and battery electric vehicles (BEVs) typically contain more than 180 pounds of copper.
• Increased commodity prices have driven the demand for Ag equipment to unprecedented heights.

So, the question is, what to do about it.

Here are some things we’ve learned

• Protect your inventory. If it’s hard to get, make sure you get a fair price for it
• Become a master of options! Look for ways to convert, upgrade, or retrofit existing components or systems
• Protect your employees! Make sure you are connected with them and vice versa. They are in high demand.
• Pass on price increases immediately, you can’t stay in business long by absorbing them

I have never been told that this business would be easy, however I’ve been told it can be very rewarding.

Till next month

Best Regards,

Rick Lindemann