Semi-Annual E-Update

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PIONEERING SPIRIT AT LAIDIG

IN THIS ISSUELaidig Names CEO................... .Pg 1 Pioneering Spirit at Laidig....... . Pg 1Retirement of Carol Laidig........Pg 1Case Study: King Milling Co......Pg 2 Bolted RTP Construction...........Pg 3Customer Service Update..........Pg 3Case Study: St Marys Cement...Pg 4Laidig Names VP Marketing.... .Pg 4Sales Update.............................Pg 5

RETIREMENT OF CAROL LAIDIG

Twelve years have flown by, and it’s hard to believe the tremen-dously positive impact Carol Laidig has made on Laidig. When Carol joined the company as owner and board member, she brought with her a wealth of creativity and artis-tic talent that the company greatly needed. She became the entire...

Laidig Systems, Inc. • 14535 Dragoon Trail • Mishawaka, IN 46544 • 574.256.0204 • sales@laidig.com 1

WYN LAIDIGPRESIDENT

Risk-taking, coupled with long-term com-mitment, defines the Laidig business model. That’s unusual in our industry. It’s not often that corporations today are willing to the take the necessary risks and

make the long-term commitments required to suc-cessfully develop solutions for those most-difficult storage and handling applications. But for us at Laidig Systems, that is our way of life. We are

committed to solving problems that have not been solved before. That means being willing to take on a significant degree of risk. We promise our cus-tomers results, and we are committed to providing what we promise. Sometimes that ends up costing us a lot more than we bargained for. But in the end, that’s what makes our company strong. That’s what positions us for the future, and for the newer, more-difficult applications that still lie ahead.

This business philosophy has really been a part of Laidig from the very beginning. When Jon Laidig started the company back in 1961, he did so with his pioneering spirit and vision for innovation, com-bined with relentless perseverance and an hon-est commitment to fulfill the expectations of his...

CONTINUED PG 2CONTINUED PG 2

Laidig is proud of its family heritage, begin-ning with Jon Laidig in the late 1950’s. Jon’s vi-sion for Laidig continued to live on as Wyn Laidig assumed the position of President in the early 2000’s. Starting in Janu-

ary of 2015, Wyn Laidig will continue to assume the title of President, and Daniel Laidig - the third generation - will begin his new leadership role at Laidig as CEO.

LAIDIG NAMES DANIEL LAIDIG CEODaniel joined the Laidig team in 2004 and has been Laidig’s Vice President of Marketing and Informa-tion for nearly 4 years. Laidig has always held onto its values of honesty and integrity to its customers and its employees, and that commitment continues to hold true today. In the coming years, Laidig will vigorously work to meet and exceed customer ex-pectations while pioneering new industries and ter-ritories through the world. We are excited for what new and exciting opportunities the years ahead of us will bring.

JAnUAry 2015

Laidig Systems, Inc. • 14535 Dragoon Trail • Mishawaka, IN 46544 • 574.256.0204 • sales@laidig.com 2

Speed, Space and Sanitation. The three key words that motivated a wheat milling operation, located in Western Michigan to improve their ef-ficiency in storing and handling millfeed in their vertical storage silos.

For the King Milling Company located in Lowell, Michigan, Laidig is more than just steel; they are a solution provider for bulk storage and auto-mated material handling.

The King Milling Company has been milling wheat for 125 years. And their family owned operation continues to grow each year. Much

CASE STUDY: KING MILLING CO.

PIONEERING SPIRIT AT LAIDIG CONT.

RETIREMENT OF CAROL LAIDIG CONT.

like any company, with growth will come grow-ing pains. King Milling was no different, espe-cially when it came to handling their millfeed, sometimes called midds. Typically, every 100 pounds of wheat milled yields about 25 pounds of millfeed. The millfeed is another source of rev-enue for King Milling. It quickly became appar-ent, however, that the efficient storage and han-dling of it was going to be a challenge. According to Jim Doyle, Senior Vice-President for King Milling, “Millfeed is very difficult to handle. Getting it loaded into trucks was taking too long, and we were having difficulty storing it. We needed a guaranteed solution.”

At that time, the average truck loading time took up to 90 minutes. Due to this lengthy process, King Milling found themselves storing their millfeed in temporary storage trailers on their property and using pneumatic methods to transfer it to customer trucks for distribution. There were times when all of the storage trail-ers were fully loaded and production was de-layed because of the lack of adequate storage. In order to get the millfeed loaded and taken off-site, drivers were asked to load out their trucks on Saturdays. A reduction in price was even offered to incentivize the weekend load out. In addition to inadequate storage capacity and lengthy unloading times, the dusting gen-erated from the load-out of the millfeed was a

concern. It became clear that a better solution was needed.

Vice-President Steve Doyle, wanted to get Lai-dig involved. “The old method of moving the millfeed wasn’t cutting it. We had a goal of un-loading 50,000 pounds of millfeed onto a truck in 15 minutes with limited dusting. This would make us more efficient, increase our storage and save us money.”

He knew this wouldn’t be easy to accomplish. But, he also knew that with the right partner, it could be done. “If we were going to do this, we were going to go big, and we were going to do it right. We had a good team in place here at King Milling. We knew of Laidig and their reputation. We had visited with them at trade shows over the last 25 years, so we contacted them.”

Laidig met with King Milling to review... ...their situation and discussed potential solutions. After much discussion and careful planning, a long-term solution was agreed upon. Laidig provided King Milling with two truck drive-through Model 5330 Cone Bottom Reclaimers – fully automated, hydraulically powered re-claim systems. This storage and reclaim system solution provided automatic load-out of the millfeed into trucks six times faster than how...

...marketing and graphic arts department, revitalizing the face of the company by de-veloping a totally new line of professional brochures, adding in-house printing capa-bilities, providing graphics for Laidig’s new website, revamping Laidig’s operator man-uals, and creating innovative displays and promotional materials for the sales team.

Carol is retiring in 2015, and will especially be remembered and appreciated for her care and concern for others, as well as for the warm and friendly smile she had for ev-eryone. Carol, we wish you the best of luck in all your future endeavors. Please know how much you are cherished and how much you will be missed at Laidig.

...customers. These qualities have become our corporate ethos. They truly define not only who we were, but who we still are.

Laidig Systems has continued to pioneer new solutions in the material storage and reclaim in-dustry for over 50 years. That has taken us in new directions and into new industries where no other company with our focus has gone before. We have had to become adept at clearing our own path, and at overcoming numerous obsta-cles that often seem to block our way. It’s not that we don’t ever make mistakes. But when we do, we learn from them, and we make sure our customers end up profiting from them too. Every-thing we do has to end up as “win-win” -- if it’s not good for our customers, then in the long-run it’s not good for Laidig either.

I couldn’t be more proud to be a part of the lead-ership team at Laidig. When you consider the decades of experience that a large percentage of our employees have with Laidig, it’s clear that we provide many centuries of experience in the material storage and handling industry. I don’t know of another company that can offer as much experience in our field as Laidig does. We have teams of dedicated professionals who are committed to developing customized solutions together with our clients, not just from concep-tion to completion, but far beyond that… for the lifetime of their facility. The goal here at Laidig is simple. We are com-mitted to providing the highest-quality storage and reclaim systems in the world and supporting them with the very best in customer service

throughout the life of the system. This isn’t just ink on paper; it’s our philosophy. It’s what we live every day. This is the... ...essence of our “More Than Steel” philosophy – not just the best equipment, but also the best people with the best service and support for as long as our customers need it.

It is in the spirit of this “More Than Steel” phi-losophy, that I would like to introduce “Pioneer-ing Spirit,” a semi-annual newsletter to provide our customers, partners, vendors and friends with news and updates from the team at Laidig.

We appreciate your feedback, and as always, we thank you for your support.

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BOLTED RTP CONSTRUCTION

Laidig Systems, Inc. • 14535 Dragoon Trail • Mishawaka, IN 46544 • 574.256.0204 • sales@laidig.com

RTP (rolled, tapered panel) tank con-struction is the premier bolted hopper tank design available today for the storage of dry bulk materials. It is a precision panel design that features a smooth wall tank interior and exact manufacturing tolerances. The bolted RTP design has no interior ledges, which can lead to stored material contamination. It is consistently re-viewed in the industry as the highest quality bolted tank construction avail-able.

From the storage of cement to wood waste, the RTP design has a proven track record as a robust design that provides reliable field performance and is cost efficient to install.

CUSTOMER SERVICE UPDATE

CHUCK CORRELLCUSTOMER SERVICE MANAGER

The Laidig Service team is always growing, always innovating and al-ways improving. How well we serve our customers is our top priority. Our goal is to provide

even better service tomorrow than we did today, which is why we are always on the lookout for ways to achieve higher levels of customer satisfaction.

For this reason we only employ top quality personnel, and continue to invest in their training and development. Our service tech-nicians and field supervisors pride themselves

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ADVANTAGES:Superior factory applied powder coating systems utilized.A precision, manufactured design that does not leak.Installs in the field in 1/3 the time required for field-weld tank construction.Jack-built from grade level, which is the safest tank field construction process available.

SIZE & CAPACITIES:Hopper tank sizes available from 12’ – 47’ diameter, with capacities rang-ing from 800 – 140,000 cu. ft.

ADDITIONAL NOTES ON APPLICATION: Client required bolted RTP tanks delivered and installed on an expedited schedule. Two field construction crews worked simultaneously at grade level and jack installed these tanks with total completion within 60 days. In contrast, field-weld construction would have taken over 6 months to complete, without painting.

on top quality performance and unmatched customer service from the initial install to preventative maintenance and service work. Our service team fully embraces Laidig’s “More Than Steel” philosophy by developing a solid relationship with our customers that is built on trust and a desire to do things right.

This is why I am always excited about the fu-ture, because at Laidig we are never idle or standing still… we are always on the move.

KNOW YOUR TARGET - SHOOTING FOR EXCELLENCE

FROM OUR PARTNERS AT TANK CONNECTION

...King Milling had previously been operating. The result of King Milling’s partnership with Laidig has successfully resolved their three main goals of speed, space and sanitation.

King Milling understood that they needed to make some improvements to support their growth and effi-ciency. They knew they wanted a system guaranteed to work and a relationship guaranteed to last. Laidig was the answer.

According to Jim Doyle, it was a matter of trust in Laidig. “We knew we were going to spend money on this project. But, at the end of the day, it needed to work and we had to do it right – and we did.”

It has been two years with the Laidig system in op-eration at King Milling. For Steve Doyle, it has been a good experience. “The overall experience of work-ing with Laidig has been a good one. They are de-pendable and available when we need them. They worked with us throughout the entire process.”

CASE STUDY: KING MILLING CO. CONT.

4Laidig Systems, Inc. • 14535 Dragoon Trail • Mishawaka, IN 46544 • 574.256.0204 • sales@laidig.com

One of the challenges of storing cement in large quantities is efficient handling of those materials out of the storage structure. When St Marys Cement Group evaluated options for their new storage projects, Laidig Systems, Inc. was able to provide them with an innovative solution.

St Marys Cement is a leading manufacturer of cement and related con-struction products in the United States and Canada. Headquar-tered in Toronto, Canada, St Marys Cement supplies cementitious ma-terials to the Great Lakes Region and is also a significant producer of concrete and aggregates in the Great Lakes Region.

There have been several traditional methods of reclaiming cement from large capacity structures. The methods vary significantly from the complete aeration of struc-ture floors, to partial aeration with manual final clean out (using front end loaders), to large mechanical reclaim systems. All of these op-tions offer advantages and disad-vantages, which primarily involve overall cost, level of automation and safety.

Laidig worked with other cement companies and St Marys to develop a solution that best fit the needs of the industry. Laidig developed the Flu-idized Screw Series Reclaim System as a cost effective and automated solution to unload fluidizable materials, such as cement, fly ash, and talc powders, in large capacity storage structures. The Fluidized Screw inte-grates a rugged mechanical screw reclaimer with an efficient air-gravity conveyor system to unload and clean out the dome. A series of air slides

CASE STUDY: ST MARYS CEMENTTHE FLUIDIZABLE SOLUTION

are used to fluidize the floor and cleanout a portion of the material in the dome. Combined with that, a Laidig FS1010 Fluidized Screw Reclaim System is used to clean out the remaining material. The air slide system is comprised of radial air conveyors designed like spokes on a bicycle wheel, extending out from the center. The air slides operate sequentially around the dome – not all working at once – which reduces the amount

of power to operate them and re-duces uneven loads on the dome and foundation. This process will reclaim approximately 80% of the stored material, leaving behind large pie-shaped piles of mate-rial between each air slide. The Laidig FS1010 Fluidized Screw Reclaim System then is engaged to unload the dome and complete the clean-out process.

Safety is a priority for companies storing materials in silos and domes, which has made it more difficult to allow plant personnel to enter the storage structure. New product innovations and pi-oneering technology from Laidig have changed how companies

approach material storage from a safety perspective. With plants con-tinuing to expand, there has been a focus and value placed on automat-ing storing larger volumes in the material handling process.

Laidig is a leader and key partner in developing solutions for the storage and reclaim of bulk materials. With over 50 years of experience, Laidig continues to pioneer the industries and develop innovative material han-dling solutions.

LAIDIG NAMES MICHAEL LACOGNATO VP MARKETINGOne of the goals we have at Laidig is to continue to provide our customers with the best in reclaim and storage solutions. We’re able to accomplish this goal because of the teams of dedicated people from different departments that design, engineer, manu-facture, sell and support, and service the equipment that is specific to our customers’ needs.

Over the last few months, our Marketing Department has been working with our in-ternal teams to update and revise the Laidig website. In an effort to provide you with the latest corporate and product news, we have created a new ARTICLES tab on our home

Laidig is proud to an-nounce another leader-ship change taking place in January 2105. As Daniel Laidig moves into his role as CEO, Michael Lacognato will be as-suming the role of Vice

President of Marketing.

Michael joined the Laidig team in August of 2014 as the Manager of Marketing Develop-ment. Michael has an extensive background in marketing and will work with the current team to spearhead the efforts of elevating and enhancing the Laidig brand.

page. This tab will provide our website visi-tor’s with a variety of in-depth news infor-mation ranging from new product releases, product updates, videos and customer case studies. We invite you to visit our newly designed website, along with our latest company and product news at www.laidig.com/articles

Laidig Systems, Inc. • 14535 Dragoon Trail • Mishawaka, IN 46544 • 574.256.0204 • sales@laidig.com 5

SALES TEAM UPDATEMIKE SCHUSTERVP SALES

It is an exciting time to be part of the Lai-dig team! Everyday seems to present new opportunities to provide innovative

storage and reclaim solutions for our custom-ers. Those opportunities come in many forms. It may be with a new high density material, a critical process requirement or a large diameter, high capacity load out application.

The pioneering spirit of our founder, Jon Laidig has become our corporate culture. It is still who we are and what we will continue to be. It is this mindset that continues to produce new and innovative technology here at Laidig Systems. Our strength lies in our teamwork and the inte-

gration of all of our departments to ensure our customers receive the very best in equipment and service. We are truly “More Than Steel”.

We’re proud of what we have accomplished over the last 50 years, and we are even more excited about where we are going. We are looking forward to continuing to develop new partnerships, and enhancing and supporting our current relationships all over the world.

We are thrilled to have the opportunity to work with all of you. It is because of you that we are able to continue to live Jon Laidig’s vision of becoming the world leader in the design and manufacture of fully automated storage and reclaim systems. The release of our first newsletter will allow us to share more about ourselves and creative solutions provided to our customers.

Justin Budzinski - Southeast

Dave Carpenter - Midwest

Sean Cohan - Western

Sean DeBroka - Northeast

John Koorn - International

Brian Morton - Asia

John Schini - Central

Randy Schuster - International

Mark Trivett - Southwest

2015 SALES TERRITORIES