Our customer base remained stable in 2021. We experienced some equipment purchasing retraction from a few states on the East Coast, but we saw a substantial increase in equipment purchases in Western states – especially in California, Arizona and Texas.
We saw a shift in customers and producers who are more inclined to pay a premium for products made in the U.S. and willing to implement new technologies that provide better efficiency and product throughput.
The main challenges we have faced are raw material shortages, increases in material costs and long delivery times. We have also experienced labor shortages. Dealing with these challenges has been frustrating due to the impact it has on the delivery times of our equipment to the end user.
Our expectations primarily depend on the economy. It is very difficult to predict, but we do expect the economy will get worse before it gets better. The hope for 2022 is that projects previously placed on hold, as well as new projects, will move forward with the infrastructure bill that was recently signed into law.
The main factors that will play an important role in 2022 are the supply chain, raw materials and transportation. Additional factors that can impact our outlook are production costs, the costs of raw materials and transportation.
Alex Kanaris is president of VDG (Van der Graaf).
Featured photo: iStock.com/Fertnig