The 20th Annual EFS® System Conference
The countdown is over. The release of the MILLNet™ 4.0 for Windows®
program was announced at the 20th Annual EFS System Conference in
Greenville, S.C. Please see the related story on page 2.
The EFS System Conference reached
a new milestone as cotton industry professionals
convened June 4-5 for the
20th annual meeting hosted by Cotton
Incorporated. This year’s event, held at
the Embassy Suites Hotel and Conference
Center in Greenville, S.C., drew 161
attendees from 28 mills, 18 merchants and
co-ops, and nine manufacturers from fi ve
countries.
Mike Watson, Vice President of Fiber
Competition at Cotton Incorporated, said
that this year’s conference refl ected the
changes in the U.S. and global cotton
industries. “We had more comprehensive
presentations about changes in agribusiness—
changes that might impact downstream
portions of the industry: gins,
warehouses and merchants,” he said.
Presentations during the conference
addressed the supply chain for cotton products,
trends in cotton production, quality preservation,
MILLNet™ 4.0 software, cotton classing update,
cotton logistics in the past, present, and future, and
cotton quality measurements. The fi nal session was
a forum titled “Farm Bill, Cotton Flow, and Bale
Moisture.”
Cotton Incorporated Fellow
A highlight in this year’s conference was a prepresentation
by a student in the Cotton Incorporated
Fellowship Program. Carol Mason Kelly, a doctoral
candidate at Texas Tech University, introduced her
research, “Improving the Effi ciency of the Breeding
Programs for Fiber and Yarn Quality.” The focus of
Kelly’s research is the use of AFIS data in addition
to HVI data when selecting cotton for breeding programs.
Her objectives are to evaluate and compare
the HVI-only method with the HVI and AFIS method
from F2 generation to spinning performance and to
demonstrate the difference in yarn quality between
the end products.
At the conclusion of the project, fi ber from the
“best-of-the-best” lines will be evaluated for spinning
(ring) performance and yarn quality. Kelly’s expected
results include genetic improvement in the test that uses
both HVI and AFIS, better yarn quality for the HVI and
AFIS lines, and an opportunity to improve the effi ciency
of breeding programs by using only AFIS testing.
The Cotton Incorporated Fellowship Program began
in 2002 after a study was conducted in the late 1990s
to address the industry concern of plateaued harvest
yields. One of the study fi ndings was that the average
age of cotton breeders had increased to 60. In order
to foster new talent, it was recommended that Cotton
Incorporated launch a fellowship program.
Through the program, exceptional students have
been matched with and assigned to cotton research
studies at the USDA and several universities, such as
Arkansas, Clemson, Georgia, N.C. State, Texas A&M,
and Texas Tech. Their research projects have involved
studies in traditional breeding and the development of
tools such as molecular markers. Since the beginning of
the fellowship program, there have been 15 participants.
During that time, 45 new germ plasm lines have been
developed.
Module Building Technology Enhanced
During the session on Quality Preservation, Trent
Haggard, Director of Global Marketing for Case International
Harvester,
presented specifications
on the latest
technology for module
building, a process
originally patented by
Cotton Incorporated
and Texas A&M University.
Case IH’s new
development is the
Module Express 625,
which will be available
in limited production
for the fall 2007 harvest
season. Haggard
called the new harvester a “revolution in that one man
in tandem with one machine can go to the fi eld and take
the fi ber from the cotton boll all the way through the
process to a fully formed module ready to go to the gin.”
The modules produced by the 625 are 8x8x16 feet and
weigh an average of 10,000 pounds.
The Case IH Module Express 625 can build modules during the picking
process. First implemented during the 1971 harvest, Cotton Incorporated
developed module building technology with Texas A&M University.
The Module Express 625 is designed to pick from
both sides of the cotton plant and can pick 28-inch
to 40-inch rows at speeds up to 4.8 mph. Haggard
said that the 625’s drum monitor maximizes time on
the row by monitoring both front and rear rotors,
which provides instant in-cab feedback to the operator,
pinpoints the exact location of an obstruction,
and displays the row number and front or rear rotor
location.
Three onboard monitors are available to the
operator, allowing for optimal module placement
and pickup. An on-screen yield monitor displays
the pounds and bales per acre and module weight.
A module monitor, also on-screen, displays the percentage
full and operational status. A video monitor
provides a view of the module formation and a rear
view of the harvester.
When the module chamber is full, the operator can
unload the module, which is lowered from the back
of the harvester by chains synchronized with ground
speed. Unlike traditional module builders, the 625
does not press modules into the ground. No modifi -
cations to module trucks are required as two 16-foot
modules can be picked up by a 32-foot truck. Also,
modules built by the 625 require no alteration in the
ginning process since the 8-foot by 8-foot wall feeds
like traditional modules.
The Module Express 625 is designed to pick from
both sides of the cotton plant and can pick 28-inch
to 40-inch rows at speeds up to 4.8 mph. Haggard
said that the 625’s drum monitor maximizes time on
the row by monitoring both front and rear rotors,
which provides instant in-cab feedback to the operator,
pinpoints the exact location of an obstruction,
and displays the row number and front or rear rotor
location.
Three onboard monitors are available to the
operator, allowing for optimal module placement
and pickup. An on-screen yield monitor displays
the pounds and bales per acre and module weight.
A module monitor, also on-screen, displays the percentage
full and operational status. A video monitor
provides a view of the module formation and a rear
view of the harvester.
When the module chamber is full, the operator can
unload the module, which is lowered from the back
of the harvester by chains synchronized with ground
speed. Unlike traditional module builders, the 625
does not press modules into the ground. No modifi -
cations to module trucks are required as two 16-foot
modules can be picked up by a 32-foot truck. Also,
modules built by the 625 require no alteration in the
ginning process since the 8-foot by 8-foot wall feeds
like traditional modules.
MILLNet™ 4.0 for Windows® Released
A special feature of the 20th Annual EFS System
Conference was the anticipated release of the MILLNet
4.0 for Windows software program. “This product
is more than just an evolution of the older DOS
product,” said Gustave G. Schild III, Director, Program
Development, EFS Marketing, China at Cotton
Incorporated. “It’s a complete rewrite of the majority
of the program—all to make it easier to use.”
Having run on the DOS platform for many years,
the new MILLNet 4.0 software is a native Windowsbased
program with support for Windows hardware
used by modern
mills. It is designed
to make the user’s
job easier.
In addition to
the features of the
previous version
of the MILLNet
program, the
new release has
expanded reporting
capability, including
c o m p r e h e n s i v e
recap reports. Users
can now export
reports directly to
Microsoft® Excel®.
MILLNet 4.0 for
Windows software
supports multiple
i n t e r n a t i o n a l
currencies, a musthave
in the global
marketplace.
Much attention
was given to enhancing
the program graphics. MILLNet 4.0 graphics
include options to save as enhanced metafi les (.emf)
for inclusion in Microsoft® Word® reports. Familiar
histograms and control charts now display as Windows
graphics in vivid color. Control charts now
have an interactive display of average and %CV values.
Users can now view future shipment data superimposed
on one graph in different colors as cotton
is added to current inventory.
Users can drag and drop data when categorizing
bales. Tables have been added for recognizing extraneous
matter, color grades, leaf grades, and color
quadrants. Also, bins can now be assigned to categories.
The MILLNet pick function has been upgraded so
that users can now select bales from multiple warehouses.
There is now no limit for the number of pick
windows for a given mix. Pick sheets, pick summaries,
and laydown diagrams can be reprinted as needed.
A graphical template editor allows users to build
bale templates, and
position, resize, and
rotate bales.
New support has
been added for the
Symbol® MC9000
scanner. MILLNet
4.0 software has
been designed to be
more user friendly
with the scanner interface.
In the demonstration
room set
up to showcase the
MILLNet 4.0 software,
there was
much excitement and
eagerness among current
users of the DOS
version. The general
response was,
“I want that; when
can I get it?,” said
Al Hlavin, Manager,
Cotton Management
Software Customer
Service at Cotton Incorporated. Hlavin added that for
current users, it is an easy upgrade to MILLNet 4.0 for
Windows software as there is no data conversion since
the new program runs on the same data structure as
the older DOS program.
For more information about MILLNet 4.0 for Windows
software, call the Cotton Incorporated Customer
Service Hotline at (919) 678-2508.
Monday Dinner: Watson Describes “Age of Distribution”
Mike Watson, Vice President of Fiber Competition
at Cotton Incorporated, gave the keynote address on
Monday evening, providing his insight on the future of
the EFS® System and the effects of consumer demand
on supply chain management.
He began with a real-life anecdote about a product
ordered from the Internet being delivered in only 15
hours, which the purchaser called “crazy.” Watson responded
that this is “not crazy, just the kind of supply
chain management that will be critical for survival in
the future.” Watson said that this kind of turnaround
is necessary today since retail management experts say
that we are living in the era of “competitive congestion,”
meaning that there is so much competition, we have to
be ready to do things that are above and beyond any
reasonable call of duty simply to survive.
Watson stated that we live in a very competitive retail
environment in the United States. As an example,
he shared that there is 31 square feet of retail space per
capita in America, while Italy—the next closest in comparison—
has 10 square feet per capita. Because of this
level of competition, the consumer has “tremendous
control” over the retail environment.
Watson said that in the cotton industry, everyone in
the supply chain—producers, ginners, merchants, spinners,
mills, manufacturers and retailers—is controlled
by the consumer. “You can no longer do things the way
that you used to do them,” he advised.
Recounting the development and advances of HVI
testing, Watson said that the cotton industry has made
signifi cant technological progress. In response to fi guring
out what all of the HVI measurements mean
and helping to apply them effectively in the cotton
business, Cotton Incorporated developed the EFS
System.
“Very quickly, you become buried in information
unless you have something like a Cotton Management
System to help you,” Watson said. “EFS gives you the
tools to put the right cotton to the right place at the
right time.” He added that the genius of EFS is that it
enables users to take the day-to-day differences found
in a highly variable material like cotton and smooth
out those differences so that the product at the mill
runs the same way day after day with the same averages
and variances of fi ber qualities.
In moving from the age of technology to the “age of
distribution,” Watson said that the EFS System must
be broadened from its original focus on the spinning
industry to a Cotton Management System that serves
more of the cotton supply chain. Cotton Incorporated’s
goal is to build a cotton logistics package that
smooths the fl ow of cotton from the time it leaves the
bale press until it disappears into yarn.
When it comes to distribution, Watson said that
even if inventory is in neat stacks in a warehouse, it’s
something very few businesses want too much of in
today’s economy. He said that in Asia, warehouses
that used to be packed full are now running “lean and
mean” with only two or three weeks of inventory.
Materials handling—moving bales unnecessarily—
is also a concern. Watson said that warehouses can no
longer afford to take bales and move them from one
stack to another just to turn around and restack them.
A method must be developed to make the product
more universal so that a specifi c bale does not always
have to be retrieved from deep within a stack.
Drawing comparisons to technology changes in
the music industry—vinyl records to 8-track tapes,
to cassette tapes to CDs played on portable players,
to Internet music downloadable to personal listening
devices—Watson said that looking to the future, the
distinct links in the cotton supply chain will have to blur
together in order to move product through the pipeline
at the speed necessary to survive. The industry will
have to develop new business models to move product
more rapidly to distribution, he concluded.
|
