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News and Blog about STILT.PRO

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Lean Flow and Process Improvement

Lean Flow and Process Improvement Machine Design for the Planting Line Have you ever thought of your plant production PLANT PRODUCTION like this? Plant production in nurseries closely resembles a traditional manufacturing line.  These manufacturing lines have had a lot of scrutiny applied to them over the years.  Some bright folks have developed some great tools to help optimize production processes.  If you’d like to learn more about these tools, head over to our sister site www.thefactorymachine.com to learn more.  I bet you’ll find some bit of info on how you can make some improvements to your operation. We use

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July 26, 2022 No Comments
nursery potting machine
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4 Nursery Machines built specially for nursery container growers

4 Nursery Machines built specially for nursery container growers Here are 4 examples and some info to learn a little bit about the different nursery machines that are built specifically for nursery growers: Potting Machines Potting machines have been for a very long time and have provided numerous growers with efficiency improvements.  They come in many sizes to fit the needs of any size grower.  The primary purpose of this nursery machine is to fill containers with soil for growing plants.  They typically have a hopper to hold material and a means to dispense the material over the top of

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June 7, 2022 No Comments
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What is a Rice Hull Blower?

Frequently Asked Questions about Rice Hull mulch and Topdressing What is rice hull mulch? Rice hull mulch is the application of rice hulls to the top of a growing media or soil.  The purpose is to prevent the germination and growth of weeds. By providing a depth of around 1.25”, weed seed that lands on the container or ground are unable to retain the moisture and proper environmental conditions to grow.  This prevents the growth of weeds. What is rice hull material? Rice hull or husk material is the case or chaff of the rice.  It is a byproduct of

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June 6, 2022 No Comments

Lean Flow Six Sigma Download

You’re all set! You can access your free lean flow six sigma methods and tools here at any time.  We’ve also sent you an email to this link (check your spam) 5 Lean flow six sigma methods & tools you can apply right now to your growing operation! Downlaod Now

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November 30, 2021 No Comments
small nursery potting machine
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Frequently Asked Questions about Small Nursery Potting Machines

FAQ about small nursery potting machines What is a potting machine? A potting machine is a piece of equipment that facilitates filling containers with growing media for plants.  The machines typically lift material up above the container and then let it waterfall down over a container.  Unused soil is recycled back into the machine. What type of electricity does a potting machine need? The bigger the machine the more electricity infrastructure is required.  Large multi yard nursery potting machines often require a great deal of power.  Commonly this is 3 phase 208V. In the US there are a handful of

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November 13, 2021 No Comments
rice hull application and weed control USDA research
Rice Hull Blower

Pros and Cons of Field Application of Rice Hulls

Pros and Cons of Field Application of Rice Hulls Here are a few things to consider when analyzing your options for rice hull application: With the field application, you do need to use 50lb bales so the operator can load the machine in the field. If an operator is not careful rice hull blowing can be messy and spread beyond the containers. You are able to allow small liners to grow larger and establish themselves into the new containers before covering with rice hulls. If applying rice hulls on a potting line, you risk jostling the plants when moving the

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September 30, 2021 No Comments
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What does the warranty look like?

3 Year, Unlimited Hours Warranty – INCLUDED

What does it include?

Includes: Problem identification, remote trouble shooting of issue, support and instruction for proper repair, and providing replacement of failed parts.

What is excluded?

Excludes – Misuse of equipment (including using non horticultural potting mixes with high sand and field soil content) or improper care, such as leaving fertilizer in machine for an extended period of time.  Wear parts (chain, slats, wear plates or surfaces).  External physical damage inflicted on the machine.  Labor repair costs.

We will walk you through the repair process and make sure you're happy.

What about Service Parts?

Yes, we keep inventory of most all parts. Most all of the components are either US Sourced or a common off the shelf component. We are having some supply chain issues on components, but we are working through the best way to manage that.

What about Repair?

All of our machines are designed right here in the US.  We design these machines to be easily repairable by an inexperienced worker.  Should a problem arise, you won’t need to weld or fabricate a new part.  The entire machine is bolted together and you can simply bolt in a replacement part.

The hopper capacity seems low

We have heard that concern, I get it, you won’t be able to load a machine up and let a person pot plants for a day.

Some perspective – The rear load machine holds about 3/4 – 1 cubic yard which is up to about 200 gallons of material. That gives you about 15 minutes of runtime without stopping.

The reason for the smaller equipment size is to primarily keep the price and complexity down.

Increasing the machine size has a few unwelcome side effects:

-Increase horsepower requirements which means increased power – now you have to have dedicated power for the machine.

-Increasing the hopper size also increases the physical size of the machine which increases the overall cost and reduces portability

You may have not made a purchase on a potting machine in the past because of the overall cost.

We're being cautious around those concerns and trying to work within your business goals.

Is this production rate slow?

From time to time, we hear that our production rates appear slow. Look at it this way though. You have 5 or 10 workers running a high-speed line. SOMETHING GOES WRONG, you now have all these people standing around and/or you need to find a different job for them.

What's your real per man hour potting rate?

If you have a machine problem with a high-speed line you’re completely shut down.  With a cell-based design, you have a small part of the potting operation down.  Your efficiency is similar whether you have 1 or 4 people operating STILT.PRO machines.

Your business is complex, don't make it worse.

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