Helping customers survive and thrive during economic downturns is business as usual for Silcar. Started in 1993, this 3,000 person asset management and maintenance services organization serves a wide range of asset intensive, cost-driven, cyclical industries including power, mining, telecommunications, pulp and paper, steel, and aluminum smelting. The substantial size and varied industry representation of their client base offer Silcar a panoramic view of how economic trends impact business decisions. "Our experience shows us that in general, economic downturns are cyclical within our client base. While the severity of each downturn may vary, that they reoccur is not a surprise. How businesses choose to react to these challenges can significantly determine where a business will end up on the industry cost curve; either strengthening or weakening their buffers for the next inevitable downturn," says Silcar CEO, Bernie Cooper. "Meridium has been Silcar's partner in helping our clients to safely and effectively manage risks and costs when responding to fluctuating market and economic conditions." The world is changing exponentially. The ability of a business to react rapidly to changing market conditions in a prompt and well-informed manner is a determinant of future success. Tough decisions only become tougher when there is no common understanding of reality. Silcar sees asset performance management (APM) as more than a tool to re-evaluate a business during tough times, but simply good business all of the time. The replacement asset value (RAV) for asset intensive industries can run in the neighborhood of $3,000,000,000. Given the investment and wealth creation these assets represent, their optimal management, like any other substantial business investment, is a business requirement, representing a significant source of potential cost savings and earnings. Key inhibitors to making good business decisions regarding the management of these assets as observed by Silcar include: - Poor communication between the financial and technical sectors of the business
- Multiple data management systems leading to multiple versions of the truth
- Inability to properly measure and control risk
These shortcomings can cause otherwise well-run businesses to falter, and marginal ones to fail during periods of economic or financial stress. Click here for a video presentation by Bernie Cooper, CEO of Silcar and learn: - How properly communicating the "cost of the loss" - e.g., production losses, rework, equipment breakdown, etc. - can strengthen the tie between the technical and financial segments of your business.
- How "visibility" tools can help you exploit the benefits of relative and timely information.
- How the ability to measure and manage the risks involved in operating assets offers unprecedented cost benefits.
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