General
Sign up to be notified of our new blog posts.
Annual Food Manufacturing Surveys Yield Important Equipment Considerations
We’re always paying attention to the issues our customers face in their businesses. That way, we can adapt our products and services to best fit their changing needs. So, the recent release of two annual research reports within the Food Manufacturing industry is particularly interesting...
Do These Three Things Before Putting a Used Processing Vessel into Active Production
The market for used processing vessels is typically strong, due in part to the long use-life of high-quality equipment. That, and today’s high demand for new equipment, is leading more processors to buy used equipment. Here's what to do before choosing a used vessel...
Don’t Buy the Wrong Relationship on Your Way to Buying the Right Equipment
Gather a group of experienced processing plant managers and ask them to describe their focus when deciding which supplier to buy core equipment from and you’ll hear a range of different opinions—from construction quality and durability to equipment features and performance…and price. But one recommendation they’ll likely all share is this...
Getting the Most from What You’ve Got: Maximizing the Efficiency of Your Existing Food Processing Equipment
Smart manufacturers continually look to improve the productivity, efficiency and reliability of their equipment. Here are several practical ways to help maximize cooking and mixing equipment’s performance and longevity...
How International Supply Chain Volatility is Impacting Equipment Buyers
For manufacturers seeking to insulate themselves from volatility and minimize risks associated with trade policies, sourcing equipment from U.S.-based suppliers has become a priority. While this may contradict existing purchasing processes, there are benefits to consider…
Thinking Used Instead of New? Take These Essential Steps Before Buying a Pre-Owned Vessel
The market for used processing vessels is typically strong, due in part to the long use-life of high-quality equipment. That, and today’s high demand for new equipment, is leading more processors to buy used equipment. Here's what to do before choosing a used vessel...
How to Prevent Downtime and Extend the Lifespan of Your Food Processing Vessels
Unplanned downtime disrupts production and efficiency. Learn how proactive, scheduled maintenance can help prevent costly interruptions, extend vessel lifespan, and keep equipment running smoothly. Discover expert tips and actionable insights to reduce wear, maximize productivity, and optimize performance...
Six Tips for Food Manufacturers Purchasing Their First Mixing Vessel
Follow these six tips when buying your first mixing vessel, and get guidance with understanding how styles, features and options impact your product quality and consistency, production efficiency and operating costs...
What Your Production Team Wants You to Know About Processing Vessels
Your production staff knows better than anyone about shortcomings or issues in vessel design, capacity or features, which means they can be a great resource for ideas to improve efficiency and throughput. Here are some of the most common requests from production staff...
Looking Beyond Your Vessel Price Quote: What CFOs and Purchasing Managers Need to Know
When looking at a price quote for a new vessel, the first impulse of a CFO or Purchasing Manager may be to choose the lowest bid. But what are the longer term implications of choosing only based on price? Here are some factors that impact a vessel's Total Cost of Ownership...
When Looking for a Vessel, Don’t Overlook the Value of a Professional Applications Engineer
In a world of remote vendors, it’s easy to overlook the value real experts bring. For food, cosmetic, pharmaceutical, and similar manufacturers, experienced partners make a critical difference when selecting new processing vessels...
How Staggered Production Can Reduce Processing Bottlenecks
Sometimes solving production bottlenecks requires a mix of experience and creativity. One common bottleneck occurs when downstream capacity can’t keep up with the production rate. Here are a few solutions that may work for your operation...
Vacuum De-Aeration: Removing Trapped Air Bubbles for Uniform Product Consistency and Accurate Dosing
Manufacturers who process high-viscosity products often encounter problems with air bubbles forming in the batch. These unwanted air bubbles can prevent exact measurement and dispensing of the product in its end-use packaging, a particular problem in bio-pharma products, where highly precise dosage amounts are often required for safe and effective patient treatment...
The Value of Custom-Built Processing Equipment…and What to Do If You Can’t Wait
While most manufacturers prefer equipment customized to their operation and product, some may feel they need to seek other options, like in-stock or used equipment. Read on to learn what to consider when evaluating custom vs. in-stock equipment...
Identifying Production Bottlenecks in Process Manufacturing Operations
How can you expand production without expanding your plant? By getting rid of bottlenecks. We’ve identified several common production bottlenecks and—by tweaking equipment capacity and workflow—found creative ways to solve them. Here's what we found...
Five Equipment Decisions that Affect Efficiency and Productivity
When pursuing increased production, manufacturers should first consider these 5 engineer recommendations regarding key equipment decisions that affect processing times, production costs and overall efficiency...
Where the Vessel is Always Greener: the Environmental Impact of Lee Products
Because we believe it is important that our equipment operates in an ecologically friendly manner, we continually seek ways to engineer our kettles and tanks to minimize their impact on our environment. Here are some of the methods we use to support that goal...
The Tell-Tale Signs of Dimple Jacket Vessel Quality
Jacketed processing vessels are used throughout the food, biopharma, cosmetic, chemical and lubrication industries. When you’re ready to purchase a jacketed vessel, here are 4 build-quality factors to look for...
9 Vessel Design Factors that Dramatically Affect CIP Performance
Lee Industries was one of the first vessel manufacturers to introduce CIP capabilities. Since then, we’ve learned a lot about optimizing vessel design to maximize sanitary performance and operating efficiency. Here are several best practices to help you design the best CIP-ready vessel for your operation...
In-Stock Processing Equipment for When Custom-Built Is not an Option
Occasionally, manufacturers have an urgent need for a new vessel and don’t have the lead time required for a custom-built solution. For these situations, Lee Industries is continually manufacturing a range of our most popular models and sizes to make available as in-stock inventory upon completion. Learn more about our in-stock equipment program...
Factors That Determine the Best Agitator Design for Your Processing Operation
There are four primary factors that should impact the selection of your agitator design. For each factor, the right agitator will deliver consistency and efficiency in mixing. Here's what to consider...
Factors That Determine the Best Processing Vessel Design for Your Operation
Effectively matching product traits to equipment design can significantly impact vessel performance. Beware of simply choosing the vessel you've always used, or the one you're most familiar with -- there may be a better fit. Here's how to choose...
How to Meet the Challenges of High-Viscosity Mixing
Producing ointments, gels and other high-viscosity products is a challenging process, due to unique ingredients and stringent regulations. Selecting the most efficient and cost-effective mixing solution can help meet those challenges, but choosing the right mixing solution is also challenging. Here's how to choose...
Don’t Assume Quality: The Critical Role of a Comprehensive Quality Assurance Program
We’re really picky about the quality of the kettles and tanks we build, and this article explains the process we’ve developed over the years to assure the quality of every vessel before it gets delivered to the customer...
Three Questions You Should Ask Your Processing Equipment Manufacturer
Preparing to buy a new piece of processing equipment doesn't have to be a daunting process, if you know the right questions to ask before you buy. Here are three questions you should ask your equipment manufacturer as you prepare to make a purchase...
Why Do We Design Tanks with Coil Jackets?
Have you ever wondered why Lee's tanks are designed with coil jackets? See how one of the most important innovations of Lee's nearly 100-year history makes a key difference in throughput and consistency in every batch...
How to Make Sure the Kettle You Order is Actually the Kettle You Need
You’re faced with dozens of choices when building a high-performance processing vessel, and each one has an impact on how effectively the vessel performs in your environment. This article helps guide your decision-making, including what questions to ask...
Why Surface Finish Grades are a Key Part of Your Production Vessel
Your vessel's surface finish grade is often overlooked, but is actually a crucial component of your production vessel. The surface finish affects how your vessel accomplishes its intended task — or whether it’s able to at all. Here's why it matters...
Engineering Advancements That Make Cleaning and Maintaining Your Processing Equipment More Efficient
Cleaning and maintaining processing equipment is vital for production teams in the food, beverage, bio/pharma and chemical industries, but these processes can be costly and often take up enormous amounts of time. Learn how to optimize the efficiency of your operation in this latest blog article...
Stock Vessel Replacement Parts On-Site to Make Your Maintenance More Efficient
The easiest way to be prepared for both scheduled and unscheduled maintenance is to keep a set of parts in stock. Regular maintenance is the best way to keep everything running smoothly, and these are the parts you should keep on hand...
Remember Your Processing Kettles During Your Upcoming Plant Shutdown
Scheduled maintenance shutdowns are right around the corner. For manufacturers that depend on processing kettles and tanks, carefully preparing for these crucial weeks ensures a successful shutdown. Here are 2 key areas to focus on as you prepare for your scheduled maintenance shutdown...
The Importance of a Clear Manufacturing Quote for Your New Processing Vessel
When looking at a price quote for a new vessel, the first impulse of a CFO or Purchasing Manager may be to choose the lowest bid. But what are the longer term implications of choosing only based on price? Here are some factors that impact a vessel's Total Cost of Ownership...
Lee Industries Receives ISO Quality Management Systems Certification
Lee Industries recently received the ISO 9001:2015 Quality Management Certification, a marker of the company’s ongoing commitment to the highest international standards of quality...