10 Great Gratitude Quotes

10 Great Gratitude Quotes

This week, we celebrate Thanksgiving in the US, where it has been an… unusual… year. In some ways, our world feels larger, and in other it feels smaller. Whether you’re a client, vendor, or partner here in the States, or you’re among those we count as friends around the world, we are more thankful for you than ever.

In the coming weeks as well as in 2021, we hope we can demonstrate our gratitude by giving more than we receive, by helping in ways over and above what’s expected, and in always remembering one thing above all else:

Custom Powder Systems isn’t in the containment business. We may provide solutions to containment problems, but we are in the relationship business.

To keep things light this week, in addition to our latest podcast episode featuring Lynn Aurelius, we thought we’d share these ten great quotes about gratitude suitable for copying, pasting, and sharing.

Thanks for sharing your business and friendship with us.


quote from Naomi Williams

Quote from John Wooden

quote from Ralph Blum

Quote from Albert Schweitzer

Quote from Willie Nelson

Quote from Oprah Winfrey

Quote from Christine Northup

Quote from Harold Kushner

Quote from Marian Wright Edelman

Quote from Ralph Marston

Happy Thanksgiving, Friends!

Bell quote

Grandmother Vivian’s School Bell

CPS Schoolhouse copy

Vivian Burnett was the picture of a proper lady.

Born at the tail end of the 19th century in Kansas, she was no wilting flower. While a curse word never crossed her lips, you always knew where you stood. Family called her a yellow-dog Democrat and a fierce fighter for education. Kids in town knew her as Mrs. Burnett, teacher at the Cadmus two-room schoolhouse.

When it was time to go to school, Mrs. Burnett would ring a reverberating brass bell. She kept that bell until she passed away, but that would not be the last time it rang.

Vivian Burnett’s granddaughter is our very own Denise McIntosh, and Grandmother’s school bell still rings at Custom Powder Systems. “When we started the company,” Denise says, “we realized there was no way for everyone in the building to know when the team sold an order. So, I looked around at home and found Grandmother’s bell and said ‘That’s it!’”

Cadmus, Kansas is not easy to find on a map. It’s in an unincorporated section of Linn County and has never had a post office. Mrs. Burnett took on the responsibility of teaching students from first through fourth grade in just one room. She continued teaching into her seventies.

 “Her bark was worse than her bite, but you certainly knew if you were crossing the line,” recalls Denise.

Even though Custom Powder Systems is known internationally, at its heart it’s always a family company.

Many on the team have been there since the beginning, and as with any family, when one person gets good news, it’s great news for everyone.

“Every week we talk as a group about upcoming projects, so everyone knows what’s in the pipeline. As soon as we ring that bell, people from all the other departments start showing up on the sales side excitedly saying ‘which one was it!?!’” 

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The tradition is that the person who gets a new customer or project is given the honor of ringing Grandmother Vivian’s School Bell. If the salesperson isn’t in the office, they are to designate an honorary bell ringer to spread the good news.

Denise recalls “years ago when we got a major order from China, it was such a big deal we had a parade around the office ringing the bell!” Even though the bell is now used to signify good news in the company, Denise hasn’t forgotten its origins. “It’s like we get to carry a little piece of those people in our lives who were special, you know? Grandmother lived until she was 96, never spent a day in the hospital, and made pecan rolls and cobblers people still talk about to this day.”

One Christmas morning, Vivian got up to watch the birds as she did each day. She sat and talked about the birds with her great-grandson, went back to lay down, and passed away quietly. “We all surmised that she knew she was going anyway, and asking the family to travel twice in the winter would be just too much,” remembers Denise (with a wink).

Today, Grandmother Vivian’s memory rings on each time a new order is placed.

However, for the Custom Powder family, hearing it means so much more than just “making a sale.” It’s a reminder of our values, principles, and commitment to treating each other the way Mrs. Burnett expected from her students.

We hope we have the chance to get an A+ on an assignment from you.

Bob bell
CPS President Bob Luebbe Celebrating Responsibly

Does this ring any bells for you? What can we create for you today?

Click here for our contact form, or call (417) 868-8002

This Middle America Company Helps You Fast

This Middle America Company Helps You Fast

“Unexpected twists and turns” has been the theme for 2020. Restaurants have had to turn almost inside-out to accommodate the sudden glut of carry-out orders. Car dealers are bringing cars to your home for a test drive. And our customers are quickly learning why we set up shop in Springfield, Missouri.

“Being a U.S. based company in Mid-America means we can get to just about any of our stateside clients within a day or two’s drive.”

Scott Heffern, Senior VP of Products at Custom-Powder Systems.

Recently, a company in Pennsylvania needed a field service person on-site for a three-day job, “and he simply hopped in the car and was able to take care of them.”

Nobody can be sure how long air travel will be limited, and American plants can’t wait for an overseas technician. Custom Powder is a “build-it-here/service-it-here” company. Each machine requires “a special set of skills” (with apologies to Liam Neeson), and knowing the engineers who designed it, and the field teams who installed it are “down the road” is becoming more and more important.

“I don’t believe you’re going to find another company in the United States with the breadth of the product line that we have in our industry,” according to Heffern. Custom Powder also uses primarily American suppliers, which means they haven’t run into the supply-chain issues other companies have.

We take the “Custom” part of our name pretty seriously, and it goes beyond just creative engineering. We customize the install, we customize the training on the equipment, and we customize the ongoing service so that your equipment does exactly what you need it to do.

Cleaning Systems

And since we’re just down the road a bit…what can we customize for you?

Contact us here, or call 417-868-8002. 

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How CPS and ICS Came Together

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Every Henry Ford has a James J. Couzens quietly making him a legend. Every Warren Buffett has his Charlie Munger. Every Jagger has a Richards and every Paul a John. So, too, it was true in January of 2008 when Custom Powder Systems found its perfect complement in Integrated Containment Systems. Prior to this conscious coupling, they were two separate companies halfway across the country from each other. Both were doing a good job, but each was missing the magic piece that made today’s whole infinitely greater than the sum of their previous parts.

This first meeting was in North Carolina where Dale “Mac” McIntosh, President of Custom Powder Systems, was looking for a glovebox that could handle radioactive materials for the nuclear power industry. Custom Powder had the powder and system part down, but they needed someone who understood nuclear side of it for the glovebox. This is where Russ Krainiak comes in.

“Russ did as good a presentation as I’ve ever seen. The room was spellbound. It was technical, specific, and right on. They were mesmerized.”

Dale “Mac” McIntosh, President, Custom Powder Systems

Mac knew there was something special about how these two companies worked together on this project. Each brought a skill-set the other didn’t have. Russ Krainiak says “It was the right fit because his company was good at powder, and ours was good containment. It gave us a strength a lot of companies don’t have.”

Combining Custom Powder with Integrated Containment did more than merge two talented companies. It made it easier for clients to see the work without having to travel all over the country.

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Photo by Zane Lee on Unsplash

“Nobody just buys an isolator,” says Ronnie Harris, Director of Engineering. “They want it integrated. They want it automated. ICS and CPS together has given us more solutions for the customer than we had by ourselves.”

Food and pharmaceutical companies are requiring their products remain free of contaminates, so having the ability to both blend and contain the product in an aseptic environment is crucial. It allows CPS/ICS the ability to take on larger projects with an even higher level of reliability than before.

According to Mac, “Our healthcare system is going to change incredibly in the next 10 years, and most of it will be done in isolation.”

Being able to take on projects as big and as out-of-this-world as a glovebox handling moon rocks for NASA—and as small as fixing it so the final cracker tastes as fresh as the first—means Custom Powder Systems and Integrated Containment Systems are one company ready to solve any challenge.

What can we invent for you?

Contact us here or call (417) 868-8002

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Another Engineer Obsess—err, Hobby: Squirrel Defenses

Here at Custom Powder Systems, we’re always on the lookout for creative applications of practical absurdity. Because we’re so often faced with constraints (space, time, budget, gravity, etc.) in the projects our clients bring us, we try to hire engineers who look at problems outside of work with the same obsessiveness intensity as they do the projects for work.

Now, Mark Rober is always welcome to come join the team here in Springfield, but let’s just say we’re not holding our breath. After working for both NASA and Apple, Mark decided to apply his obsessiveness intensity for creative applications of practical absurdity to fending off squirrels in his backyard. We watched. We stood. We applauded.

If you or someone you know—and if you know an engineer, you know someone—has an interesting obsession hobby, we’d love to hear about it… and who knows… we may also like to offer that misfit rebel a job.

We like the crazy ones.

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CPS Abides: Embracing Constraints to Adapt and Thrive in this Ever-Changing World

In nearly every way, it was an F-A-T like any other… we demonstrated the functionality of the new, custom, dry material handling blender as the client looked on. We walked them through every step of its operation and answered their question, and the meeting ended with a successful test.

Except… in one major way, it was nothing like the hundreds of tests we’ve performed for clients around the world over the last fifteen years.

The clients were 1,968 miles (3,167 kilometers) away. It took place online.

The client was in Oregon, connected via Microsoft’s Teams application, and Rodney Boyer (any resemblance to Jeff Lebowski is purely coincidental), Senior Automation Engineer for CPS was leading the client through the F-A-T while his Vanna White assisted. In this case, the role of Vanna was played by CPS’ own Bob Luebbe, Senior VP of Sales, who manned a camera phone also connected to Teams.

“In many ways, it’s the same as it ever was,” said Boyer. “We’re able to send the documentation ahead of time then securely walk them through the functionality as if they were in the room with us.”

Boyer, Luebbe, and the team at Custom Powder have been embracing constraints since the conception of the company in June of 2005.

“Everyone on the team enjoys the brainstorming part of this,” says Luebbe. “We love it when companies come to us unsure of how something can be done. For us, virtual FATs were just a natural result of our culture of brainstorming around obstacles.”

With so many of their colleagues and peers headquartered overseas facing strict travel restrictions, Custom Powder’s ability to travel easily anywhere in the United States combined with their unique ability to consider—and even invent—alternative solutions has made their team indispensable to their clients.

I’d argue there’s really no such thing as business-to-business. It’s all people doing business with other people.

Denise McIntosh, CEO, Custom Powder Systems

“Yes, of course we are in the dry material handling business, but more than that, we’re in the relationship business,” says Denise McIntosh, CEO of Custom Powder Systems. “In fact, I’d argue there’s really no such thing as business-to-business. It’s all people doing business with other people.”

“I really enjoy working hand-in-hand and face-to-face with our clients,” said Boyer, “but when that’s not an option in the current climate, it’s nice to know we can still help them solve problems.”

“Our team is hard-wired that way,” added Luebbe, “to embrace constraints and brainstorm solutions to these new problems that, so far, seem to be defining 2020.”

Watching the satisfied clients disconnect from Teams after a successful F-A-T, it’s easy to see why Custom Powder continues to redefine how it spells S-U-C-C-E-S-S.

If you’re looking for a US-based company to help you embrace constraints and save you time and money with creative solutions, contact Custom Powder Systems today.

CPS Platform Lift

Our Customized Platform Lifts Will Elevate Your Operation

There are hints of lifting devices dating back to the time of Archimedes. Leonardo da Vinci, our kindred Renaissance spirit, drew up elevator designs. Steam-powered elevators would haul lumber and coal in the 19th century. It would be years before people thought about hoisting people in these machines…and this kind of engineering ingenuity is behind our platform lifts.

A standard elevator is an architectural adventure, to say the least, because of the high degree of integration required with the building structure.  This requires an intense upfront effort in facility planning and design AND must be validated where installed.  Our platform lifts have two simple building anchor points for fast and easy installation.  They are design-built as a modular entity that is Factory Acceptance Tested (FAT’ed) and validated before it leaves our factory. 

Scott Heffern, Senior Vice-President of Products at Custom Powder Systems says, “We can come in at any time, move it in in pieces, and it’s installed. It’s fairly coordination-free from the business’s standpoint. We work around you.”

The Right Tool

Platform lifts are the perfect example of using the right tool for the job which is particularly important when it comes to pharmaceutical validation. Scott says, “You have to document that the product works reliably and as intended. It could indirectly impact production output and product quality if you can’t get product and equipment where and at what level it needs to be.”

Cleanable

Custom platform lifts are cGMP (current Good Manufacturing Practice). “We build the lift to the same standards of our production equipment for pharmaceutical and biotech,” Heffern says. This means the cleanability of the lift meets the same standards as that of the process equipment of your plant; this is not achievable with a traditional elevator.

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Customizable

Platform lifts are one of the most customized and customizable products offered by Custom Powder Systems. Your lift will be customized for your unique situation, process, and your products.

We haven’t met a challenge we couldn’t tackle with our wealth of engineering knowledge, along with a big dose of creative thinking. We (quite literally) help you take your manufacturing processes to a new level!

Use our contact form, or call Custom Powder Systems at (417) 868-8002.

Photo by H Shaw on Unsplash

Protecting Your Employees When PPE is Hard to Find

“PPE has gone up 1000% in price across the board. Companies are calling us and saying ‘Here’s the situation, do you have any options?’”

Angelo Rubino, Business Development Specialist

PPE has been a common term for people in hospitals, factories, and other potentially hazardous workplaces. With the onset of COVID-19, the shortage of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) has been the topic of a multitude of headlines. As more PPE is directed to healthcare workers, companies working with hazardous materials are finding it difficult to source some of the most basic equipment. Equipment that was once just a click of the mouse away.

Angelo Rubino, a business development specialist at Custom Powder Systems, has been fielding calls from companies needing new solutions. “PPE has gone up 1000% in price across the board,” according to Rubino. “Companies are calling us and saying ‘Here’s the situation, do you have any options?’”

The solution comes in two forms: Downflow Booths and Isolators.

Occupational Exposure Limits (OEL) determine the type of PPE a worker might need. The lower the OEL gets, the more aggressive the protection must be.

Downflow Booths are a way of blocking particulates by creating a flow of air that effectively traps harmful material and pushes draws it into a filter. This “wall” of air moves in one direction away from the operator—preventing airborne particles from reaching employees.

Isolators are used in situations when measurements go from micrograms down to nanograms. Ronnie Harris, Director of Engineering, says that “isolators keep the operators on the outside and the product on the inside.” This not only protects workers from coming into contact with the product, it prevents cross-contamination with other pharmaceuticals or chemicals.

“What can we do to solve this so we’re never having stress like this again?”

Angelo Rubino, discussing what our clients are asking us.

The unexpected interruption of the PPE supply chain is requiring companies to look for permanent and customized solutions. Angelo Rubino is hearing companies ask “what can we do to solve this so we’re never having stress like this again?”

In addition to the important protection for employees, the FDA encourages no operator being in the same room as the product being handled. “They want you working through a random access barrier, ” says Russell Krainiak, Director of Technology at CPS. “A RABS is a wall system that keeps everything from the operator from getting to anything that’s inside to fill lines. And you work through gloves just like you do in all our Containment Isolators.”

It’s important that Personal Protective Equipment like masks, face shields, gloves, and outerwear find its way to hospitals and healthcare workers who are on the front lines fighting COVID-19. It’s also crucial that a company like yours supplying pharmaceuticals have a way to protect your employees… and the products you are shipping. And if there’s something Custom Powder Systems is brilliant at doing, it’s finding a customized and creative solution to make your company safe and more effective.

By speaking with one of our experts, you may find that a permanent solution now can both save money, and prevent future shut-downs in the event of another PPE interruption.

To speak with one of our experts about your PPE, isolation, containment, or other crucial challenges, call us today at (417) 868-8002 or contact us via the short form below:

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Da Vinci’s Genius [VIDEO]

As you may have noticed, Leonardo da Vinci is on our Mt. Rushmore here at CPS and ICS. He embraced the constraints that faced him, saw patterns and connections others never could, and unlike most of the mere mortals of his time or any other—to paraphrase George Bernard Shaw—dreamt things that never were and asked “why not?”

We’re big on asking “why not?” around here. Da Vinci died 501 years ago, on May 2, 1519, but not before changing the world, and pioneering The Art of Engineering.

Artist Leonardo da Vinci produced two of the most famous paintings in history, “The Last Supper” and the “Mona Lisa.” But he was also passionate about medical discoveries and military inventions, some of which were centuries ahead of their time. Walter Isaacson, author of bestselling biographies of Steve Jobs, Albert Einstein and Benjamin Franklin, has written a new book about da Vinci, and he talks with Dr. Jon LaPook about why this Renaissance Man’s mind and curiosity were so extraordinary.

When it becomes necessary for you to embrace constraints and not merely think outside the box, but kick it to the side, we’ll be here ready to work with you and dream things that never were to help you with your containment projects and challenges.

On spec? On time? On budget?

Sure. Why not?

Contact us to get started today.

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Another Engineer Obsess—err, Hobby: Woodworking with Russell Motes

It’s no big secret that engineers are particularly obsessive dedicated to their hobbies outside of work. Whether it’s pinball machines or, in this case, woodworking, our engineers get the most out of their natural gifts and talents… Russell Motes is one of our engineers here at Custom Powder Systems. The captions below are his.

Wood
This is what happens to all those pallets that I take home from time to time. This is what my projects start out looking like before I mill all of the pallet wood down to usable lumber.
Custom Table
This was a quick little coffee table build…
End Tables
And some fun little end tables (before finishing, of course.)
custom bed Frame
A bed frame that I built for my grandson.
Entertainment Center
A small entertainment center…
Island Table
…and sofa table that I built for my daughter.
Vanity
A bathroom vanity for my bathroom remodel project (1 of 2)
Vanity2
The floor is made out of pallet lumber, also. (2 of 2)
desk
A desk I built for my wife.
Sofa Table
A outdoor table built for my front porch…
Table with shelf
A storage cabinet built for our closet. (for shoes, hats, belts, etc…)
shop table
A “Miter Saw Station” (w/ tool storage)… built out of necessity.
Vo-Tech class
Well, I guess I’ve been doing this kind of stuff for a long time, because, the last picture is of me (far left), in our Junior Year (1988) of High School – Vo-Tech cabinet making class.
Man, time flies!
Russel at desk
Russell at his desk at Custom Powder Systems… he’s barely aged a day since 1988… 🙂

This wide range of engineering talent is what makes Russell a key part of Custom Powder Systems. (Remind me sometime to tell you about the old church he’s renovating into a home!) When one of our customers encounters a new problem, we turn to Russell and our team to use their skills, experience, and personal passions to come up with a creative way to solve it…