Every year millions of dollars are withheld from employees’ salaries for their retirement. And employers are required to deposit the employee’s salary deferral contributions to the retirement plan’s trust account “as soon as administratively possible”.

As Soon as Administratively Possible

“As soon as administratively possible” means what it says. An employer that has a history of remitting employee contributions 2-3 days after payroll, is expected to be able to meet the same transmission time for all employee contributions.

There can be several reasons that there is a delay in depositing the funds into the retirement plan trust account; staff shortages, vacations, clerical oversight to name a few. But as in many industries there are always a few bad apples such as employers that use employee contributions for business purposes. Employers justify to themselves that it is only a loan but employees lose earnings from interest and dividends as well as market value increases on their investments if contributions are not timely deposited.

“Lending of money or other extension of credit between a plan and a disqualified person” is considered a Prohibited Transaction. The IRS defines a disqualified person as a person who is an “employer any of whose employees are covered by the plan” or “an employee organization any of whose members are covered by the plan.”

Failure To Make Timely Deposits

What happens if an employer intentionally or inadvertently fails to timely deposit the employee contributions?

Internal Revenue Code Section 4975 imposes a 15% excise tax of the amount involved. If the transaction is not corrected within the taxable period, there is an additional tax of 100% of the amount involved. Excise taxes are paid using Form 5330 Return of Excise Taxes Related to Employee Benefit Plans.

The Form 5330 instructions define the “amount involved” as “the greater of the amount of money and fair market value of the property given or money and fair market value of the property received.” This is generally the amount of earnings lost for failure to timely deposit the contribution. More later on calculation of amount involved or lost earnings.

The taxable period is the period of time beginning with the date of the prohibited transaction and ending on the date the correction is completed. Each prohibited transaction has its own separate taxable period. Meaning that a prohibited transaction not fully corrected in one tax year will incur an additional and separate prohibited transaction the following tax year.

Amount Involved

The amount involved is based on interest in the elective deferrals. Interest rates are determined using the IRS published underpayment rate for each quarter of the taxable period. The taxable period may extend over several quarters and interest rates may vary. Interest on See IRC 6621 Table of Underpayment Rate, for each quarter. Interest on lost earnings must also be compounded for every quarter if the prohibited transaction is not corrected.

The IRS has a voluntary Fiduciary Correction Program (VFCP) online calculator that can assist in the calculation of the lost earnings. However, it does not constitute correction under the VFCP.

If any Principal Amount, such as the employee contributions that was not deposited, was used for a specific purpose that generated a profit, you must “Calculate Restoration of Profit”. The VFCP Online calculator will compare such profit to the interest calculation and if it exceeds the Lost Earnings and interest calculation, the Restoration of Profit must be used for the correction.

When is the Prohibited Transaction fully corrected?

To correct the prohibited transaction, the disqualified person must “undo the transaction without putting the plan in worse financial position than if the transaction never occurred”, such as depositing the employee contributions into the plan as soon as possible. However, the transaction is not fully corrected until not only the employee contributions are deposited but any lost earnings are also deposited into the Plan’s trust.

Paying the excise taxes

The disqualified person must file Form 5330 and complete Section C, Tax on prohibited Transaction, and pay a 15% excise tax on the amount involved.

The Excise taxes will be assessed for every tax year (or partial tax year) when the prohibited transaction is not fully corrected. Additional interest on the lost earnings will be subject to the 15% excise tax as well.

Tax on Prohibited Transactions should be reported by the last day of the 7^th month following the end of the tax year for the employer.

The Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) recognizes that when it comes to money there will always be a bit of corruption and such behavior should be discouraged. 

Amy Boyd, CPA, CEBS

Why should I use an outsourced IT provider? Many businesses may ask if they should hire an outsourced IT provider to manage their company's information technology. The answer is simple, to save time and money by hiring an expert to manage day to day operations and prevent problems. There are more details in how that actually applies to a business.

This is especially true for the legal cannabis industry, which has unique challenges and hefty regulations for growers, distributors, and dispensaries in the cannabis industry. Federal and State regulations requires very specific data to be kept in these operations and failure to mange that data may result in fines or even closures of a business, not to mention insurance rates.

We recently spoke with Steve Arndt, President of Cannabis Technology Partners, a Division of Silver Lining's Technology, and Greg Shenefelt, Help Desk Coordinator at Cannabis Technology Partners about why it would make sense for a company to engage an IT Services Provider, especially one in the legal cannabis industry. Below is part of the interview we conducted with them.

Why Should I Hire an IT Service Provider?

There's a lot of great reasons to use an outsource provider. Number one, it just lets you focus on all the things that you need to do to make your business successful without having to worry about IT day-to-day meltdowns or tasks, even when you do have a deep-vested knowledge in IT practices.

One could ask the question, why would you hire an outsource payroll provider or an outsource accounting provider. In either one of those cases, you're doing it number one to buy yourself time, but also, you're trying to hire an expert that can do it a lot faster and in theory, a lot cheaper than in-house. Again, time is money, so faster definitely helps. You want somebody that's there reacting to internet outages and things that are going to affect operations right away. So, having somebody on the hook that's taking care of those problems right away when who knows what you're doing, that's gold.

You should hire an outsource firm because these individuals are going to have specialized tools and expertise that you don't have access to in-house. And it's also really nice to know, hey, I have this critical thing happening, and there's somebody on the other end that's already responded to it. We've got the providers involved. We're getting the service restored, which, again, like Steve said, time is money, and that brings your money maker right back up.

I've done IT consulting for years and years and years. But what I've found great systems is really for an effective IT department, you need to have four different skill sets in play. A single person doesn't have the capacity to do and handle all of the things that an IT department itself needs to do. When you talk about doing it in-house or you have an IT background, chances are you're doing a chunk of that stuff. There's probably a whole bunch of stuff that you're not doing, maybe compliance, maybe security, who knows, applications, that a team, and especially an outsource team where you've got predictable costs, can handle for you, and quite frankly, supplement. It's not negative that you know how to do it. It's actually a much better team environment.

But I Am Knowledgeable in Information Technology, Why Outsource?

I've run across is just in whatever area you're in is you may have somebody as an expert, but it still doesn't mean you have all the time dedicated to it. Do you find a lot of companies that just don't have the bandwidth to be able to do this, and this helps offset some of those?

A lot of times, you don't know what you don't know. With a good, outsourced IT provider, they're going to fill the gaps and help educate you along the way. The minute you go through a couple of those iterations, you go, Gee, oh, my gosh, of course, I should have done that before.

Are All IT Service Providers the Same?

I definitely don't think all are the same. Part of it has to do with where did they come from, what's their orientation? A lot of what's called MSPs or IT service providers, grew out of the idea that there was a strong technical person, and they didn't like working for anybody else. So, they start their own company.

That’s great but they're very narrowly focused on the tech itself. Other firms, for instance, like ours, for instance have a more comprehensive approach. I have a background in CIO, and you think, Well, CIO is tech. No, it's really business. How does business work? And what do you do with the tech to operate effectively in business and at cost? Those themselves are two different, vastly different perspectives. And quite frankly, there are a number of others. Really, not all firms are the same.

You need to look for one that aligns with gaps that you have so that they can supplement those. Obviously, pricing is all across the board, so you need to really understand what the pricing is.

Pricing Differences:

It may seem like one company is more expensive than another, but perhaps they're offering security and compliance and other things on top of it or 24 by 7 support versus another one that you're getting bare bones, right? And you don't really know until something goes outside of those bounds and you have to pay more for it.

Some companies are only focused on the tech, and then they forget about the service aspect here, helping you alleviate pressures that you're feeling in your day-to-day environment or just keeping you ahead of those things. It's great to go to bed at night and not worry, hey, is my email secure or my PC is safe? And to have somebody just, again, get on the phone and have that human one-on-one connection and conversation with and it is not so tech driven.

Pro-Active Firms vs. Reactive Firms:

There are a lot of firms that are reactive for you, but most businesses, don't you want somebody that's proactive? Don't you want people that are preventing the security flaws from coming in rather than just reacting to them? You have got to do both. I get it, but there's a lot to be said for having a proactive firm as your partner.

How Does IT Management Affect the Legal Cannabis Industry?

There have been many folks that have posited the cannabis industry as the most regulated industry, even compared to drug companies and such or hospitals and things like that. From my experience, I've seen that. You've got, not even tobacco, you have to track the product, the tobacco product from when it comes out of the ground all the way through to when it's produced as a cigar or a cigarette, alcohol, the same thing. But with cannabis, we've got to track the product all the way through. You're regulated to do that. But not only that, every state's regulations are slightly different. You've got to not just know the general. You have to know Very specific, where are you operating? Every single one of the states mandates some surveillance of the product. So not only do you have to track it in terms of data points and what happens, you also have to show visual proof of what took place with the product itself all the way through your organization. Those two things are huge. And quite frankly, those are the two things that get Most of the cannabis organizations in trouble. I mean, in business, you can get in trouble for a lot of things.

From a technological perspective, you got to nail both data points and visual proof. Surveillance is the perfect example where the surveillance industry, as it's been for the last 20 years, really hasn't been positioned well to do that. The traditional surveillance provider is a reseller of equipment, an installer, and then they walk away, hands off, it's done. They also don't typically think of the network as a whole. I mean, yeah, their devices sit on the network, but if it's the network's fault, again, they throw up their hands. Having a full service provider that understands that and isn't just going to, well, I'm sorry, that's not our thing, but literally take ownership of the technology all the way through to this idea of making sure you're fully compliant and responding correctly when there's an outage or something else, that's a huge thing in cannabis and a requirement. Most people don't get that they get burned by fines or theft or something else. It's not a good lesson.

When we chose to start a Cannabis IT Services Company, again, it goes back to the strategic side and the big picture side of things, the business things. I love that and figuring that stuff out, but I'm also always about taking ownership. Number one, I don't expect our clients to love, like, or be good at technology. If they were, again, it goes back to the first question, why should you hire us? Well, yeah, I think there's valid reasons, but most of them, these aren't the strengths, and quite frankly, not their focus as well. For us to know what the compliance requirements are and to provide that information, again, that's value to our clients to understand the full life cycle. Cannabis is fascinating, even more so than alcohol and some other stuff, because quite frankly, now with infusion, in manufacturing. I mean, cannabis is in everything, and not just edibles and consumables, but health products. You've got rubs and you've got other things that the product is used for. It's like an ingredient like sugar, which ends up in everything all over. Only now you have to track it. You have to know where it's at, and every state's different

Final Thoughts:

Any business relationship where you're involving a partner, and again, legal, accounting, IT, whatever it is, construction, I think you want to look for a person or a team that owns the issue and is accountable to the issue, that doesn't shy away and start making excuses about this thing or the other. I want people that are responsible and accountable that work for me, whether they're internal, external vendors or anything like that, and that's going to help you be successful.

Man Thanks to Steve Arndt, and Greg Shenefelt for their information.

You can reach them at Cannabis Technology Partners - https://cannabistechnologypartners.com/

You can also hear the entire interview on the Podcast : Small Business Talks Podcast

Collagen Native Type 2 Manufacturing

If you have been following us, we recently posted on the Made in America Blog and highlighted why buying products that are made in America today is a smart choice.  Today we would like to highlight the background of SBEDGE® Supplement’s Collagen Native Type 2 and lay out our experience and qualifications.

History

 Sioux Biochemical started in 1995 with the isolation of proteins and hormones for research.  This included ovine, bovine and porcine Follicle Stimulating hormone (FSH), Luteinizing Hormone (LH), Growth Hormone (GH), Adrenocorticotropic Hormone (ACTH), Prolactin (Luteotropic Hormone), and Thyroid Stimulating hormone (TSH).

This also included enzymes and research proteins such as Gonadotropin Releasing Hormone (GnRH), Human Chorionic Gonadotropin (hCG), Pregnant Mare Serum Gonadotropin (PMSG; eCG), Secretin and chogcrystokinin, Trypsin, and Chymotrypsin. 

 Additionally, we have…

·         Developed a process for the extraction and purification of Chondroitin Sulfate (CS) from bovine trachea.  This led to the creation of a secondary sister company called Sioux Pharm which was dedicated to the production of CS.

·         Worked with several clients on the development of extraction of proteins from GMO crops, such as Corn and Rice.  The companies we worked with created a GMO crop with a protein of interest inserted into the genetics of the crop.  The protein(s) were difficult to attain from other methods.  Extraction, purification and stabilizing of the proteins were often required.

·         Developed a process for the manufacture of Biodiesel from sources such as corn oil and other agricultural/plant sources.  This project lasted for 3 years until the sourcing of feed stock became too competitive to continue, but Sioux Bio was considered to have some of the highest quality Bio Diesel available.

Finally, and most recently Sioux Bio has worked on the isolation of an undenatured type 2 collagen from bovine source for the supplement market that it branded under SBEDGE® Supplements name.

Process

Our process starts with raw bovine material that comes 100% from USDA-inspected facilities right here in the United States.  Then our gentle extraction process allows our collagen to retain the characteristics of the Full Molecule in its natural form.  This is important since it becomes bio-active in nature allowing your body to process it naturally, which then triggers other important biological processes in your body.

You can learn more about Dr. Kramer and SBEDGE® Supplements and its Collagen product by visiting their website.  And don’t forget to check out their 90-Day Collagen Challenge.

Many thanks to Dane the Hibma, Plant Engineer at SB EDGE, with over 7 years of experience in Collagen manufacturing.

Inspecting Your Industrial Equipment

A couple of weeks ago, Amanda Clark noticed that a service crew had installed new racking in our warehouse. At first, I was a little confused by this. What's wrong with our current racking? Why did we need to get new racking? Did something happen that I didn't know about? After asking these questions, I found out that we were just upgrading our racking system. But if it isn't broken....why would we need to fix it?

In this day and age, it is a good idea to inspect all of your current equipment, even if it “visually appears to be ok” and consider fixing or replacing it with new equipment. The cost of inspecting or having everything checked is nominal compared to have the equipment break or fail completely. Not just the cost of replacement but the related costs of employee injuries or damage to your building or products is far more expensive that  taking time to see if there is a need to fix and replace.

Everyone’s workplace is different and so equipment is subjected to a variety of environments that can accelerate the life expectancy of equipment. It can also become outdated because newer technology or materials may have made such an improvement the replacement will pay for itself. But you will never know until you check.

We came up with three solid reasons why you should consider this.

Safety

Just because equipment looks safe on the outside, it doesn’t mean it’s actually safe to use! Racking in particular often gets dinged up by fork trucks and other equipment. This can really affect the structural integrity of the racking system.

You never want to put your employees in a position where they can get injured. So doing racking inspections and having preventative maintenance performed on doors and truck and loading dock equipment is a must!

Efficiency

Newer racking systems and truck and loading dock equipment are built to be more efficient for the end user. One of the reasons we replaced our racking system in our warehouse was because the loading and unloading from the rack was more efficient than the previous racking system. Efficiency leads to happier employees and higher productivity.

Productivity

It's simple. New equipment that is easier to use will increase your productivity and thus, your profits.

Good and sound advise! Many thanks to Amanda Clark, Marketing Manager, Barron Equipment Company

website: www.barroneq.com

Pack Phase – Judge, Jury and Executioner?

Background

You may have heard the old phrase where someone was described as being the “judge, jury and executioner.” Its definition per Wikipedia:

1.    (idiomatic) Someone with the roles of judge, jury and executioner;
someone with full power to judge and punish others unilaterally.

This phrase is used to describe one person or entity as being completely in control over another’s fate – a sole body yielding the power and authority to determine another’s outcome. In injection molding, the PACK portion of plastic injection is often overlooked, but it has the power to control so much – typically more than is often realized.

It has been decades since the injection molding industry underwent a significant and very positive growth in machine and process capabilities. Anymore, at a minimum, two injection stages should be used when molding properly. This 2-stage filling of the mold begins using a constant and typically fast fill rate (FILL) followed by the remainder of fill being completed under constant pressure for a period of time – the very definition of the V►P (velocity to pressure) transfer on your injection molding machines (IMM). Processing this way is called by many names with the most popular being referred to as scientific injection molding or decoupled molding.

Under 2-stage molding, this stage of injection, aside from being called 2^nd stage, is commonly referred to as HOLD, PACK, or PACK and HOLD. Even though multiple things are being accomplished, this PACK and HOLD stage is typically a shared set of machine parameters. After V►P, the 2^nd stage begins with the final filling of the mold cavity and then the pressurization (or compression) of plastic into the mold cavity – these two things equal the PACK only portion of 2^nd stage injection. Next, and without any machine setpoint transition, the true HOLD phase begins. HOLD maintains this 2^nd stage plastic pressure setting to help compensate for some of the plastic shrinkage that occurs from the molten plastic solidifying and cooling in the cavity. This continues for a set period of time until the gate has solidified at which point the screw may then be programmed to rotate to prepare the next shot of plastic. It is important to note that as a single setpoint, the 2^nd stage pressure is only set to what gives the best balance for many items – filling the part without flashing, yielding the best dimensional results, and more.

3-Stage Injection for Immediate Improvements

Flash, short shots, and dimensional repeatability are some of the most common injection molded part quality issues regularly faced by an injection molder and mold maker. From the tooling side, flash can be the result of poor tooling condition, design and construction (i.e., where flash is present even when intentionally molding a short shot); however, the machine process settings play a very important role with regards to flash as well. So how can we better control our process to help improve upon these everyday issues?

PACK is arguably the most critical stage in an injection molding process, yet it is often combined and “along for the ride” with the HOLD stage. As it would be under any 2-stage injection process, PACK and HOLD are set as one occurring after the V►P transfer. With constant pressure (P) being the control for any injection occurring after this transfer, it is performed with far less control what any injection occurring under constant velocity (V) prior to transfer.

Creating a 3-stage injection process from a 2-stage one means separating PACK into its own stage allowing for the three separate stages (FILL, PACK and HOLD) to each have their own distinct and individually optimized machine settings. The PACK stage now accurately performs the final filling of the mold cavity and establishes the amount of plastic to be compressed into the cavity through a slower, more controlled 2^nd injection stage. With PACK moved prior to V►P, its speed (V) and positioning are able to be managed properly. The third stage, HOLD, is now alone after V►P – after the critical quality concerns have been established and managed in process. HOLD is now only a set pressure (P) for a set period of time starting very near to where the final screw forward position will be (i.e., the cushion) doing its job to help maintain the degree of PACK until gate freeze is reached. When implemented properly, significant improvements to scrap, quality, and overall manufacturing efficiencies will be realized throughout your operation.

What’s the Catch?

This change does require another level of processing competency, but it is a much easier jump than making the leap to using in-cavity pressure sensors for control and monitoring of your processes using expensive RJG or Kistler types of technologies. And this change is relatively free. We are heavily invested in the use of in-cavity sensors at Matrix; their merits are well-proven for the high-precision tight-tolerance products we make, but please know you can still make large gains by only investing in the training of your people. This is a “no-brainer” ROI if ever there was one in injection molding, since no large capital expenditure is required.

Matrix received an older, worn transfer mold that had always used a 2-stage injection process. We elected to have this mold serve as our test subject – an imperfect mold to serve as an example to clearly illustrate the differences between 2-stage injection and 3-stage injection. Our experiment on this worn 8-cavity electrical connector mold was performed in our oldest – but still quite capable – 120-ton injection molding machine. I asked our lead process engineer to establish his best 2-stage injection process; as an experienced, degreed plastics engineer who excelled at processing, he set a fundamentally sound process for this tool. We saved shots for evaluation. His process was then adjusted only to separate PACK from HOLD – optimizing each one individually – all of which took between 5-10 minutes. Shots from this 3-stage advanced injection molding process were also saved for evaluation.

Results

The results in our example showed significant improvements from the 3-stage injection process in every measured category. Critical dimensions between circuits in the X and Y directions as well as part flatness were improved by 50%. A limiting factor was that this part had worn steel resulting in excessive flash in the mold’s non-critical void coring areas, something we later rectified in tooling for our customer. As-is, however, parts from the improved process with the highly controlled PACK phase exhibited a flash reduction of nearly 50%. Part weight increased by 0.5%, a significant increase for a thin-walled connector part already exhibiting excessive flash. The increased control allowed for improved pack resulting in a heavier part than before. The denser part shrunk less, and therefore warped less, providing greater dimensional accuracy and stability. Process monitoring over time would have showed the 3-stage process to have less variability and therefore more consistent part quality as well.

Often overlooked, this real-world example shows how the PACK portion of injection holds so much importance and relevance to the quality of molded parts. PACK has the ability to significantly affect the molded product’s outcome with regards to flash, dimensional accuracy and repeatability, and more. Moving forward, this ideological change may be the low hanging fruit that provides immediate and relatively pain-free improvements to your metrics while reducing unnecessary waste in your operation. Your machines are capable, and it isn’t quite the leap you may think it is to implement. I’ve been establishing all processes in this manner for nearly 30 years, and I have yet to find a reason to not start with a 3-stage process and make adjustments from there. Why settle when better is free for the taking and best is a slight process change away?

Tom Moyak

Director of Business and Engineering Development

Matrix Tool, Inc.

4976 Franklin Road

Fairview, PA 16415

USA

www.matrixtoolinc.com

814-474-5531

About The Author: Tom Moyak is a plastics professional with over 30 years of diverse engineering and manufacturing experience who takes pride in achieving significant increases in quality, efficiency, and profitability through the development of innovative tooling and molding solutions rooted in fundamentals.

Tips on Effectively Using Yard Signs

We have all seen them, small signs sticking up out of the ground announcing a sale or advertising a service or business. Why in this digital age do we still see yard signs everywhere? It’s simple the idea of yard sign marketing is to grab your attention while out in public. Think about it, have you ever gone to a yard sale or tried a new burger place because you saw a sign while driving or walking down a street.

Most of us react to new stimulus when we are outside of our home or office, when something sticks out and makes an offer that is intriguing it makes us react. Yard signs are not a replacement for digital marketing, radio, or television but then that is not the audience they are going after. Yards signs are to gain the attention of someone here and now. It gets your attention and possibly (if its something you like or are looking for) gets you to act now! There are a lot of assumptions about effectiveness, is it something people are interested, does it offer something I want now, do I have time to stop. But for many, the answer is yes.

So, the concept is to grab someone’s attention and offer them something they would like now. It is important that your yard sign stands out, gets your message out quickly and powerfully, and is easy to read. The biggest mistake people make is trying to put too much information on a sign and using small fonts for your message. A typical yard sign is 18x24” and is the size of a postage stamp to the driver 20-50 feet away. Bright contrasting colors on the background and lettering help the sign stick out from its surroundings. Don’t use muted earth tones on a lawn or tree lined street, you’re trying to get someone’s attention does not blend in with the surroundings.

Thick Simple Message

Font Type, Size and Stroke Thickness all combine to make the words stand out and make the sign easy to read, especially from a distance. Don’t crowd the sign with a lot of text, leave space about the message, phone number and logo so that it again stands out and is clearly readable to your potential audience. Sign messages need to be simple but effective, “WE’RE HIRING” “SALE” “50% OFF” are words that are easily recognized. Web addresses or Facebook addresses are usually too long and need smaller text besides, you want the customer now not when they get home.

Where You Put Them

Finally, is sign positioning, make sure the sign stands out, clear from other distractions like trees, parked cars, or tall weeds. Use your background as a way to frame your advertising message. You will also need to secure the sign to the ground with a wire frame or heavy-duty yard sign stake to keep it from blowing around. You may have to order these separate from the actual signs. Look for sturdy construction, this will help anchor the sign better to the ground and can be re-used for other promotion signs in the future. Look at the thickness and construction of the stakes as it is well worth getting a quality stake that works over seeing your signs knocked to the ground.

Neal Rabogliatti, President, DMS Strategies, www.digitalmarketingstrategiesllc.com

Industrial Wire Baskets - Which One Is The Right One?

The humble industrial wire basket came into existence in the 1890s to help manufacturers move heavy bulk parts easily and efficiently. Over the years baskets became the choice for companies that made stampings, castings, and machined parts because they offer a durable reusable container that can withstand the abuse in a manufacturing plant.

Benefits:

• Strong construction enables them to handle the loading and unloading of heavy parts.
• The mesh sides allow liquids (like cleaners or degreasers) to freely flow through the basket and parts and drain easily making operations for parts cleaning more efficient.
• The open design allows for easy identification of parts inside or for inventory management.
• The heavy steel construction means they can be reused and subjected to a variety of elements time and time again with needing replacement.
• The ridged construction allows them to be stacked safety and to reduce valuable floor space.
• Being made of steel, they allow parts to be heat treated within the container reducing the time to load and upload parts in the process.

What should you look for when buying industrial wire baskets?

This will depend on what type of parts you want to store or move. Not all baskets are the same, in fact there are many options on the market and buying solely on price may not be the best plan.

Strength

For heavy, sharp edge parts you need a basket strong enough to withstand the weight and capacity you want. Cheaper thinner wire basket may save some money but are useless if your product causes the sides to bow outward. Be careful about buying collapsible wire baskets for heavier parts, the design allows them to take up less space when not in use, but most don’t offer the integrity for handling large heavy parts.

Stackable

Space is usually a valuable commodity in a manufacturing plant or warehouse, and baskets can take up a lot of space, that’s why the ability to stack baskets is so important. You need to choose a wire basket that is rigid and strong enough to hold the weight of other baskets on top as well as the capacity and weight of the parts inside. Again, rigid frame baskets offer more strength for stacking than collapsible.

How they are welded

The strength of the frame and mesh sides is important but so is how they are held together. You want to look for wire baskets that are “Weld to Print” and not “Stitch Welded”. Weld to print means the welded seam is a continuous bead from point to point as designated in the design print. Many companies in an effort to reduce costs stitch weld the parts together meaning the weld seams are a series of small welds to secure the seam rather than a continuous one. This shortcut can significantly reduce the integrity of the entire basket because the parts weight or shifting can compromise the weld points and cause the entire basket to break apart resulting in damaged product or worse employee safety.

Size and Capacity

There are many options in the market when it comes to sizes, It is important to determine two factors regarding size when purchasing. First is the size of the parts and the capacity needed to be stored to transported, the inside size. You also must determine the outside size or “footprint” the basket creates so that it can be stored or moved inside your facility easily and not create problems of being too large. You may want to directly contact a metal fabricator to have a basket made to your dimensions and capacities to save money and time in the long run. Once you determine the size and capacity needed, make sure the basket has the strength to handle your parts so that your basket doesn’t break apart or need to be replaced more often.

ESCP

ESCP is a contract metal fabricator located in Davenport, Iowa. They have built their business on fabricating custom industrial wire baskets, storage racks and shipping containers. They work with your prints or have the relationship with a design agency to design the prints for a custom basket. They have developed a reputation for quality workmanship and manufacture baskets to many OEMs across the country.

Many Thanks to John Nelson from ESCP for providing the information for this post.

ESCP - www.escp.net

Do Indoor Grow Lights Work?

Like most answers, it depends! Plants need light for photosynthesis and in theory a standard fluorescent bulb will help plants grow, just not very much and not very efficiently. There are a wide range of grow light types that help plants to grow but most have their pros and cons.

Light & Photosynthesis:

All plants contain proteins called light-harvesting complexes, or LHCs. When light reaches a plant  it excites the LHC which in turn excites other LHC receptors and eventually reaches a reaction center in the plant. The reaction center creates a chemical reaction to convert water into oxygen gas and positively charged particles called protons. The photons trigger the production of enzymes that create energy in the form of carbohydrates which feed the plants metabolism.

But the reason sunlight is so effective is because of several components that directly affect photosynthesis. Sunlight contains a wide spectrum of wavelengths ranging from 100 nm to 1 mm, which include ultraviolet, visible, and infrared radiation. Simply put, a spectrum is characterized by a color range from violet to red. Plants require different color spectrums during different times in their growing cycle. Once a seed germinates it becomes a seedling and the vegetative phase of growth starts, it then needs light with a spectrum in the blue range to best convert light into energy to grow and become strong. After completing the vegetative phase, it needs to produce flowers and seeds called the flowering stage, at this point the plant needs a spectrum rich in red wavelengths to help produce buds and to flower and produce fruit and seeds.

Light’s intensity is another factor important to growing, wavelengths need to be delivered to the surface of the plant strong enough to promote photosynthesis. If the light is week or too strong, then the plant will react accordingly.

Finally, there is UV “Ultraviolet “and IR “Infrared” waves that help inform the plant to create certain defenses or strengthen a specific type of growth to better handle the environment. UV light helps lights to strengthen their defense against certain pests and UV light also help eliminate problems like mold.

So, the long answer is Yes, Grow Lights do help pants to grow but only ones that can mimic sunlight and provide a broad spectrum of intense light including blue and red light as well as UV and IR wavelengths.

Grow Light Types:

The traditional lights used were HPS “High Pressure Sodium” which did provide red light and good intensity, the problem is that they did provide much blue light and the intensity could be strong and the last factor, they are not inexpensive and require a lot of energy to operate.

LED lights became popular because they could also provide red spectrum light and ran much cooler and inexpensively over traditional HPS lights. New studies are showing however that they lack the UV and IR wavelengths which result plants needing other methods to ward off mold, pets, and some diseases. Some recent studies have show that the plants are not as large or productive as when grown with more intense light. LED lights are also very expensive to purchase, and one needs to make sure they are buying high end units in order to get the desired effectiveness needed.

A Technology Breakthrough!

One technology not discussed was CMH lights, Ceramic Metal Halide grow lights. These offer both the intensity to safely grow plants and operate at a much lower costs than HPS and are cheaper to buy than LED lights. One of the only issues is the traditional CMH lights tend to provide more blue light rather than red light.

So, a company called gGRO  manufactures an indoor grow light that takes the intensity and effectiveness of a CMH light but ads features to better mimic sunlight. The first feature is having two different bulbs inside the fixture, one that produces light with more blue spectrum and the other to provide more red spectrum. These can be controlled to best suit the growing stage of the plant. The lights do emit both UV and IR wavelengths and can help plants to ward off diseases and pests. They have also engineered the lights to run more efficiently over HPS and reduce initial costs. They are even designed to run off of solar power to further reduce energy costs. This is the closest indoor grow light to sunlight providing a good balance of full spectrum light with intensity and energy efficient operation and provide a great alternative to growers looking for a quality effective grow light.

Maritime Steel Casting Production

The maritime and shipbuilding industries are vast users of steel castings, from small to large, simple to complex.  Almost all floating vessels utilize some application of a steel casting, including most US Navy & Coast Guard ships.  Structural hull pieces, such as stem bars, stern tubes, and rudder bearings, to machinery elements inducing clutches, capstans, wildcats, or basic functional components like mooring bits, bow chocks, or anchors are all steel castings.  They are greatly different in application, function, material, along with a wide range of testing and inspection requirements.

Required Expertise

Casting design can be very simple to very complex, hence, the greatest benefit for a casting application.  It takes the knowledge and expertise of a high-quality foundry to achieve complete success.  The castings used in the maritime industry serve a function to lift, move, steer, guide, and even protect the sailors and crews that work around them every day.  Producing these castings is not just molding, pouring, and shipping another component by the thousands.  They are typically custom-made, one-off casting designs that are produced infrequently.  Knowing the use, function, requirements, and needs of every casting and it’s customer is critical for the foundry to ensure complete satisfaction.

Operations for Producing Marine Castings

Steel casting production requires a variety of processes.  It starts with engineering & pattern making, followed by molding and pouring.  After cleaning and heat treatment, any nondestructive testing is completed and the casting can be sent for further processing, whether that be machining, welding, or assembly.  One key to success for customers is working with a foundry that is vertically integrated, incorporating as many, if not all, of these processes, monitoring quality and delivery throughout the entire scope of work.

Conclusion

Sourcing castings with a wide variety of applications, material types, nondestructive testing, and certification requirements can be a daunting task.  Having fundamental knowledge of the entire casting process is a must.  Working with an experienced foundry who can comprehend the needs and requirements of a customer will ultimately end with satisfied customers, high quality castings, delivered on time.

Author: Lisa Wertzbaugher, Sivyer Steel - Director of Sales | https://www.sivyersteel.com/

Why Is CBD Third-Party Testing and Certification So Important?

Certification and independent third-party testing of CBD products is of utmost importance as CBD is an emerging product and there is a current lack of FDA guidance and regulation in the industry.  As with any product you put in your body, you want as much information about the product before you consume it.

Many products on the market today, especially those that may be found at gas stations or convenience stores, are not tested, or certified to any standard.  It is best to stick to products that are found in pharmacies, doctor offices, quality online brands or stores, or even health spas as these products tend to come from more reputable sources and manufacturers.  Quality CBD products will generally carry on their label multiple certification badges and a QR code.  Once scanned, the QR code links to a Certificate of Analysis (COA) that was generated by an independent third-party testing laboratory.  These types of products typically have high purity and potency that are hallmarks of quality CBD oil products.

Third Party Testing:

Not all CBD products are the same.  Reputable manufacturers will send out their products to an independent laboratory that is not affiliated with the manufacturer.  This independent analysis carries weight as the results are based solely on scientific measurements of different aspects of the product including:

• Potency
• Purity
• Pesticides
• Heavy metals
• Mold/Mildew
• Cannabinoid content
• And many other measurements

A savvy consumer will typically avoid any CBD product that is not tested by an independent laboratory.  Products that are not tested could be easily misrepresented on the label such as listing a higher CBD content, or worse yet, not reporting the existence of heavy metals or pesticides in your product.  In summary, if a product is not tested, then you really do not know what you are getting with your CBD oil purchase.

CBD Products Certifications

Certifications are also an important trait of a quality CBD product.  Certifications such as Good Manufacturing Process (GMP), ISO9001, Vegan, Kosher, Pesticide Free, and many others are important as you know your products are produced to a standard.

A consumer usually cannot detect (through smell, touch, or sight) that a product is safe for consumption. While GMP requires testing, testing alone is not adequate to ensure quality. In most instances testing is done on a small sample of a batch (for example, a drug manufacturer may test 100 tablets from a batch that contains 2 million tablets), so that most of the batch can be used for patients rather than destroyed by testing. Therefore, it is important that ingestible products are manufactured under conditions and practices required by the GMP regulations to assure that quality is built into the design and manufacturing process at every step. Facilities that are in good condition, equipment that is properly maintained and calibrated, employees who are qualified and fully trained, and processes that are reliable and reproducible, are a few examples of how GMP requirements help to assure the safety of ingestible products.

Summary

Look for products come from organically grown hemp (pesticide free) and are produced in a food quality GMP certified facility.  Following ISO 9001 manufacturing processes add additional insurance that your product will be consistent from purchase to purchase.

By: Shawn Sutton

Naturally Restored Inc.

Zinc as a Safe and Environmentally Friendly Material 

An Article by Deco Products

Zinc is a common material in the products people use each and every day. It is common to see zinc used in objects such as doorknobs, window latches, medical equipment, and many more essential everyday items. Zinc is safe to handle and essential for all living things to survive. Even when a product is at the end of its life, zinc has an ability to be recycled while retaining its properties. These properties include, but are not limited to, corrosion resistance and a much lower melting point than aluminum and magnesium. Further knowledge about zinc can be found on our zinc advantages page.

The global population and economy are always growing, while natural resources and fossil fuels are actively being depleted. Zinc’s ability to retain its properties when it is recycled allows zinc to be used repeatedly for essential uses such as plating steel for bridges to protect from corrosion, as well as die casting gas control regulators for residential housing. These are just two examples of zinc being used to further protect people in every day activities.

Deco Products is an American Manufacturing Company in Decorah, IA

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