Thats A Wrap Folks...

Howdy from Texas,

This will be my last blog entry post for 2010 as I'll be on holiday / vacation the rest of the week.  Not to fear, global Synchro32 support is here to assist you during my leave.

It's been a wildly successful year at Synchro32 with Simon and Richy doing the majority of the globe hopping and globe trotting have they done!  Well done lads.   The entire global Synchro32 team has had a very busy and prosperous year.  Never is there a day when we go to work and have nothing to do.  :)

2011 is already shaping up to be a bang up year!

From everyone at the Global Team Synchro32 - here's to you!

Until next year, I'll catch you on down the road..

Shane

Window on the World

Just some ponderings today on the WWW - Wild West Web - the Internet.  The portal to the world.  It sure has changed the world and believe it or not I was a "late adopter" of the internet, so to speak.  I really figured it was a fad, much like the CB radios of the 70's.  Boy, was I wrong - never listen to me regarding stock picks or anything else - my crystal ball obviously has a big ole fat crack in it - more like a snow globe.

Anyway, one of the neat things about the internet is that it "opens up the world" in so many ways.  One of the things that really enthralls me is webcams.  Webcams give a glimpse into the happenings in some distant place.  It allows one to "check the weather" and see what is going on.  I think every city and town and village should have a webcam.

Some of my favorite webcams are in Omsk Russia (Siberia).  Russia and the Russian people have always fascinated me.  I keep doing my best to land Synchro32 a customer in the region so that I can tag along.  My ultimate dream vacation is to travel from St. Petersburg all the way to Vladivostok on the Trans-Siberian railway.  Along the way, I want to hop off and pickup the Trans-Mongolian railway so that I can say I have been to inner and outer Mongolia!  Now, here is the kicker, I want to do this in the DEAD OF WINTER!  Why?  In order to understand the people of Russia, you have to understand the elements that they endure.  Not many things "worse" than a Siberian winter.  Of course, along the way I want to stop off at various locations and tour about.  In Mongolia, there is also a ski resort that I would like to partake in!

It's really too bad that we didn't have the technology to send webcams to the moon during the lunar landings.  It would be so cool to sit at my desk and view the lunar landscape and the "earth rise".  Also, the space craft Voyager is about to be the first man made object to leave our universes, it would be so cool to have a webcam on that unit - of course when it was launched in 1977, there was not much in the way of computers and what computers there were took up entire floors of buildings.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-11988466
Here are three of my favorite webcams.
http://abonent.omsk.skylink.ru/webcam.php
http://abonent.omsk.skylink.ru/webcam03.php
http://abonent.omsk.skylink.ru/webcam04.php

and here is a chart of webcams in "Oh Canada"
http://www.metcam.navcanada.ca/hb/index.jsp?lang=e

Little do my comrades at  Synchro32 know it, but I've secretly installed webcams during my visits in their homes and in the offices!  That way I can see what is going on :)  My little window into the Synchro32 world.

The weather fascinates me, and through www.weatherunderground.com, I have a complete dash board setup of my favorites - places that mean something to me, places that I long to visit or have visited.

The West Texas Trans Pecos Big Bend Region is a favorite area of mine...
http://www.tceq.state.tx.us/compliance/monitoring/air/monops/webcams.html
http://observatories.hodar.com/mcdonald/webcams.html

http://www.nps.gov/bibe/photosmultimedia/pj-cam.htm

Well, all is well with Synchro32, Simon right now is in 
http://traffic.houstontranstar.org/layers/gc.aspx?cam=1106&loc=Beltway_8-North_at_Aldine_Westfield&fr=6&ps=300 and will be traveling to http://www.wunderground.com/webcams/pcnet/1/show.html

Well, that's all for now.  I'll be back at you again before the end of the year!  Be careful out there and I'll see you on down the road...  Shane

Tis the Season...

From all of us to all of you....

The Law of the Farm...

The esteemed author Stephen Covey in his seminal books "7 Habits of Highly Effective People", "Principle Centered Leadership", and "First Things First" referenced the "Law of the Farm" or the "Law of the Harvest".  Basically, this means that one can not take short cuts or "cram" to achieve results.  The Law of the Farm must be obeyed.

Illustration.  If you are a farmer and are lazy or forgetful or are into taking short cuts, "cramming for farming", or not using the correct tools and don't to prepare your fields you won't have a harvest in the all.  If you don't prepare  the fields in the Winter by plowing and preparing the soil,, fail to plant the crop in the Spring, neglect to tend the fields during the Summer, and then walk into the "bountiful fields" in the Fall only to find nothing to harvest - you decide you had better get with the program and quickly. 

So, on Monday you prepare the fields, planting the seeds on Tuesday, tending and weeding and watering on Wednesday, and then when the farmer returns to the field on Thursday, nothing is there!  You can't cheat the "Law of the Farm.  There is no way around it. 

This same principal applies to "real world" problems.  I have a good friend who has always insisted on "cramming" for exams and trying to do things out of the natural order.  He would stay up and pull "all nighters" hoping to make up for six weeks of not studying and doing homework.  Even more, there are certain "foundations" that must be built upon before engaging in higher orders.  One can not take Calculus before having a firm grasp of Analytical Geometry which in turn requires a through understanding of Trigonometry which is formed by the foundation of Algebra.

Lim x --> 0- f((Sin 4x**2) / (Tan 3x +6 x * 9x)
(that is the limit of x as it approaches zero from negative infinity)

What brings this all up is that for the past many months I have off and on been struggling with a "simple" personal home project that had gotten  out of control with cost overruns, material costs out of sight, with labor approaching infinity.  We are taking about a project that had gotten so far out of control that the US Federal Government would be proud of!  I was putting up some metal stair banister railings outside and needed to drill through seventy year concrete to place the concrete bolts.  I only needed to drill sixteen 3" deep 5/8" holes.   Concrete, unlike many things, continues to harden for almost infinity.  Generally, the older it is the harder it is.  I was violating the law of the farm and I knew it - and I kept on keeping on.  Running into a brick wall, or concrete steps, over and over.  Someone told me, I don't know if it's true or not, that the concrete in the mammoth legendary Hoover Dam in Nevada is still hardening.   

I started out with just a simple plain ole drill with some concrete bits.  No bueno.  Not even a dent.  So, I borrowed a hammer drill, no bueno, not powerful enough and went through several expensive tungsten carbide bits.  Ok, throw money at the problem and the problem goes away.  I went and purchased a reasonable hammer drill and more bits.  Well, a Brazillian drill bits later and after researching on the net for suggestions such as using concrete nails to get through a hard spot, I was still pretty much at hole one.   

I'm not one to punt.  If I was a football coach 4th down and 98 it would still be a running or passing play - a hail Mary.  No quitters allowed.  So, I pulled out all the stops, threw more money at the problem and I'm pleased to report that "Mission Accomplished".  I purchased what I should have to start with, and I knew it to start with, was to get a massive concrete drill and the expensive bits that go with it, and get the job done.  I was trying to take a "short cut" to achieve results w/o paying the price.  At the end of the day, it cost me a lot more in time, money, and effort.  Let me tell you what, this 8amp specialized concrete hammer drill drilled through that concrete like it was Swiss cheese that had been on the kitchen counter for a week during the hot Texas summer.  Within thirty minutes the holes were drilled, the railing was up, the bolts tightened, and the project virtually completed.  "MISSION ACCOMPLISHED".  It was almost too easy! 

There is no telling how much I spent just in materials for drill bits, new drills, alternative methods, and my "free" labor.  The reason I am telling you this is because as I was drilling the holes yesterday I was reminded of the "Law of the Farm".  If I had of done it right to start with, I wouldn't be writing this!

So, with your ERP/MRP software at your metalcasting facility - are you violating the "Law of the Farm" by not using specific software for the metalcasting industry?  Are you  limping along with some generic software system or worse yet - no system - trying to manage your order entry, scheduling, production, etc. and hitting a concrete wall day in and day out?  If so, seriously consider the Synchro32 solution.  Don't use just a simple drill for your ERP/MRP needs, use the Cadillac concrete drill to get your "Mission Accomplished".

Till next time, see you on down the road...

Starting the 4th...

Howdy from Texas.  You know, the land of stage coaches, mail by pony express, ten gallon hats, everyone drives a horse, etc.  Three years ago today I started my journey with Synchro32!  It's been a great ride.  So happy to have landed here.  After Texas Foundries Citation Lufkin started winding down and let me flee, I figured my days in the metalcasting industry segment were over!  Fortunately, that was not the case.  Once you have the smell of core and molding sand in your blood, it's hard to shake it.  Plus, the  fascination of seeing liquid metal...  Here's to the next three years!  

Y2K+11 and Mayan 2012 Compliant

Hard to believe that Y2K and the fear of planes falling out of the sky, nuclear reactors blowing up, all of our money which are now streams of binary 0's and 1's being erased from financial institutions, and civilization as we know it coming to an end is coming up on it's eleventh anniversary.  Billions of dollars were spent by companies in heading off this disaster and I was right in the middle of it all at Citation Texas Foundries in Lufkin Texas.  We spent our share of the billions of dollars - upgrading computers, networks, phone systems, PLC's, software, paying for outside audits, etc.  All told, I imagine we spent on the order of one million dollars on all of this - I do recall having to spend about $250,000 or so on a new PBX and then the outsider auditors demanded by our largest customers were anything but inexpensive.  I distinctly remember getting into a "discussion" with one of the auditors who was insisting that we replace all of the computers, running MS DOS, in the Laempe core making machines to something Y2K compliant.  Never the mind that the Laempe wasn't connected to the network and couldn't have cared less about the date.  In the end, in order to pass the audit, I had to replace all PC's running DOS anywhere in the plant that could not be certified as Y2K compliant with their proprietary software.  

I wonder if the people that headed to the hills to the hills with their "off the grid" generators, Meals Ready to Eat, and of course enough guns and ammo to defend themselves for the anarchy that was going to result from the global meltdown have returned to civilization?   They are probably restocking up for the next "end of times" coming up with the end of the Mayan Calendar in 2012.  Websites and soothsayers are already hard at work on this one... 2012 Official Countdown

December 21, 2012 will be the most important date for all of Humanity. The ancient Mayans created the Long Count calandar to mark this date as the beginning
of a new cycle for Mankind.

Let me assure you, since the Synchro32 software for metalcasters is not based on the Mayan calendar, it is already Mayan 2012 Compliant!  Perhaps we should have that in our adversting and marketing materials and on our website?

SYNCHRO32 IS MAYAN 2012 COMPLIANT!

Until next time, see you on down the road...

update from the support cave.....

Hello Again everyone.

Just a quick catch up this time before everyone starts winding down for the Thanks-giving & festive holidays for another year.

The training team have been flat out over the last few months, with training trips, and new sign-ups to the Synchro32 system, with our appointments diary screaming for air and threatening to file a law suit for harassment.

The Marketing team have been doing the usual top flight job in making sure our websites, E-flyers, exhibitions  et'al  are the success they always are.

The development team have brought a wealth of new features to Synchro this year, many of which I'm sure your already using in earnest.

And of course, the support trolls have been regularly whipped to ensure they keep bringing you only the very best support.

All in all, things are busy & fruitful here at Synchro towers, and hopefully, for our customers too.

Bye-bye for now... see you at Christmas.

No more exhibitions now until next year - just been an amazing year.

I was saying to some of our team today that these exhibitions are time consuming, expensive and demanding. But an essential part of doing business.

We now travel all over the globe with our exhibitions, meeting hundreds of people who work in the Cast Metal Industry. The Synchro team work hard and the results show in the lead quality and new Implementations. I can honestly say we have never been busier.
Synchro is well and truly a brand...and although I say it myself without the dedication of the people that work for this company we would not be half way on the journey we currently are on today.

Team Work.
Excellent

AFI '10 Victoria 'Adelaide Australia'

Well done...the pictures of the various events will be released shortly, unfortunately we did not take as many as I like so I am waiting for the AFI to let me have their official selection.

The show was very good, we had a busy show and was well organised. Richy enjoyed the three day event and participated in the golf competition although as yet he has not mentioned exactly where he came...not I assume in the 1, 2 or 3rd placings.
Never mind..fun is essential. We all work so hard and to let your hair down with a large group of like minded people is wonderful.

Thanking the organisers of the show who did a tremendous job. On behalf of Synchro Thankyou.

The Devil is in the Details...

I was reminded today how nice it is to deal with a company like Synchro32 that has a clear and straight forward pricing policy, no complicated formulas, no additional modules to choose from and purchase, and no lengthy contracts full of fine print.

I have a disdain for fine print and was unpleasantly reminded today of how much I detest fine print.

Had a coupon for a "buy one get one free" BBQ sandwich at a new local eatery.  Got to the check out line and was in a state of "sticker shock" at the price I was being charged.  "What about the buy one get one free" - oh, you didn't read the VERY fine print at the bottom that you have to purchase two soft drinks with the order.  You mean you are charging me $2.75 each for a glass of water?  Yes sir, that is what the fine print says.  So, in effect I'm paying MORE for a "buy one get one free" than I would have in purchasing just two sandwiches and having the "free water".  Yes sir, that is the promotion. 

Guess what, I won't be visiting your establishment ever again.  Not only that, I'll make sure I tell twenty friends or more about this type of business practice.  See ya...

At Synchro32, there are NO SMOKE AND MIRRORS, nor fine print, when it comes to obtaining the worlds leading platinum provider of METALCASTING SPECIFIC software.  (that's a PERIOD at the end) :)

Till next time, See you on down the road...

All is Well

Shane is back in the office from a very successful Investment Casting Expo.  Many new sales leads to follow-up with.  Leland and his crew at the ICI do a really bang up job of putting on this shindig.  The receptions are to die for and the expo is always well attended.  Simon and I were beyond busy our entire stint in Dearborn with sales meetings and demos.  Simon is now doing training this week for customers.  Richy remains in the "Land Down Under" with new installations, customer visits, and the AFI Expo (Australian Foundry Institute).  By all accounts, the show is being well attended and he is on the verge of signing up new customers.  When Richy finally returns to the UK, he won't be there long as he will be traveling to Zimbabwe for a new install, back to the UK, then on the road again to Turkey for a new install.

I'm busy planning out  the rest of the year for the Synchro32 team.  Simon will be back in the "New World" in November for new customer installations.  Both Richy and Simon are slated to be in North America again in early December for the final swing of 2010 with several new customer installations.  Hard to believe that it's only mid October and I'm already "closing out the year" and already deep into scheduling next year.

The 2011 Synchro32 "Road Show" will find the team attending the expos for the Metal Casting Congress, GIFA, Investment Casting Institute, and the AFI which will be in New Zealand.  I'm really looking forward to visiting Germany for the first time in my life to attend the world renowned premier event of GIFA.  As a Cold War buff, I really want to travel into what used to be known as the "Eastern Block" and see "Check Point Charlie" and the Brandenburg Gate and also the  Kaiser Wilhelm Institute of Physical Chemistry and Electrochemistry.  I'd also like to see Ramstein AFB.

Until next time, see you on down the road... 

ICI Deardon. Michigan...Well done Team Synchro

All done and back to base.
We had many customers visit us this year. Welcoming them all - it is always really uplifting to see so many customers. After all this is part of the reason we attend so many shows and exhibitions.

We had many new enquiries...and we booked quite a few demonstrations at the show.

I would to thank Shane and Simon who worked so hard this year. Without the passion that exemplifies our entire team, Synchro would not be the global leader it is today.

Great work...

Boy what a busy week

We have been excessively busy; frantic..to be really honest. We have had so many new customers in the last ten days. I am so delighted. The team work so hard and the fruit of their labor is especially noticable when we have such an influx of new business...

Brilliant and well done..team Synchro


Barbara Nolan-Collins

Traditions

I participated in an annual tradition yesterday, the Blessing of the Animals.  Doc Holliday, my beloved Min-Pin dog, got his annual blessing yesterday.  Here are a few pictures of the event.

The local newspaper, the Austin American Statesman, even ran an article on this annual event.
http://www.statesman.com/news/local/pet-blessings-are-part-of-bigger-blending-of-951912.html

At Synchro32, we have many traditions as well.  One of the upcoming traditions is the annual Investment Casting Institute technical conference and Expo.  Simon Adlington, Synchro32 Global Implementation Manager, will be joining me this year at the "tradition" in Dearborn Michigan.  I look forward to seeing all the investment casters there!  Leland Martin and his crew do a bang up job of putting this all together.  Don't miss the pre and post receptions! 

Until next time, see you on down the road...

Shane

Twitters / Facebooks and Blogs...OH MY!

Hello All...

Lee here, Hijacking the Blogs page...

As you can now see, you can follow us Twitter, find us on Facebook, and...er.... oh well, I cant think of a quick way to say read our Blog...but...I obviously didn't need to as your here!

As ever, Synchro strives to remain ahead of the game when it comes to our customers, and our marketing manager, Barbara Nolan, is the brainchild of ensuring Synchro32 was introduced to mediums now famous the world over.

So, feel free to Comment us on Facebook, browse the blogs (that'll do nicely..must remember that) or Tweet us....

Ciao for Now...

Lee