The Monitor

October is Employee Ownership Month and Manufacturing Month!

As a proud employee-owned manufacturing company, we’re celebrating this important month by featuring a series of stories highlighting our talented employee-owners and the unique company programs supporting our manufacturing capabilities. This combo of talent and investment in continuous improvement programs are key to our high-quality solutions, products and services that our customers have come to know well.

Topics: Company News, Any Application

Everything Chris Yerke learned about small business, he learned from his dad.

His family owned a small greenhouse and garden center in Mukwonago, WI, about 30 minutes south of Sentry’s Oconomowoc headquarters, where he got his first paycheck at the young age of 10. He learned the benefits and challenges of running a family business from his parents. In 1954 his grandfather started the greenhouse which his parents expanded when they took it over to include a year-round garden center.

Topics: Company News

Portland cement is a type of cement used in virtually all concrete. It’s manufactured by heating lime, silica, alumina, iron and other materials at high temperatures. The resulting substance is a marble-like ball called “clinker” that is ground, mixed with limestone and gypsum, and used to create concrete. Concrete is a combination of sand and gravel or crushed stone that’s mixed with water and cement; all of which have a major impact on wear and tear of your equipment.

Topics: Cement, Solids & Powder

Lipi Hurtado likes a challenge. After steadily climbing the ranks to head of operations over nearly eight years at an oil and gas commodity company, she felt stalled because the company didn’t offer further opportunities for growth or promotion.

Topics: Company News

If we’ve learned anything from almost 100 years in business, it’s that our most important values don’t come from what we do or how we do it. Our most important values come from a much deeper place within our organization and our people.

When explaining what Sentry Equipment does, it's tempting to just say "Sentry Equipment makes sampling equipment". But that’s not the fundamental reason we exist. Understanding the “why” behind what we do is critical to serving customers better, maintaining a strong ownership culture, and setting ourselves up for sustainable growth and success. 

Why do we exist?

Why do we do what we do?

Why do we get out of bed in the morning?

Topics: Company News, Any Application

Sampling within the hydrocarbon process is essential for gaining visibility into product quality, identifying corrosion and ensuring processes are operating as expected. It occurs at multiple points across virtually every stage of hydrocarbon processing. However, are you giving sampling the attention it needs?

Topics: Downstream, Upstream & Midstream

In 2016, food recalls surged 22% to 764, with many tied to the dairy industry. Contaminated dairy products can be linked to consumer illness, with the potential to permanently damage a dairy’s brand. How can milk and milk ingredient processors turn the tide, while complying with new and expanding regulations?

Topics: Food & Beverage

As Texas ramps up crude oil production and a “resilient” oil and gas industry is expected to see slow but steady growth in 2017 and beyond, it’s more critical than ever that these refining and petrochemical plants have the technologies and expertise they need to meet demand.

Topics: Downstream, Upstream & Midstream, Company News

Cleaning sampling equipment used in food production is very important. Food producers need to have confidence that their automated samplers are cleaned and maintained properly to eliminate contamination and potential recalls and their associated costs. Thorough cleaning and sanitizing of food-handling machines, and equipment, including food and beverage samplers is a requirement of a robust hazard analysis and critical control points (HACCP) plan.

Topics: Food & Beverage

In recent years, purchasing food product recall and contamination insurance has become more common as food producers seek to reduce their risk. It’s become more prevalent as companies stop self-insuring due to the serious potential financial and brand consequences of recalls. Even large food producers are considering recall liability insurance as they face potential lost revenue from a costly recall. For small companies, a recall can put them out of business.

Yet, many food producers may still be missing the relationship between representative sampling at various stages throughout the production process and their liability insurance rates.

Topics: Food & Beverage