HOW TO MAKE MORE PROFIT WHILE USING MANUAL PROCESSING FOR GARRI PROCESSING

Hey guys, longest time.

It’s your boy, again, garriguy. (I know, it’s a funny name, but what can a guy do?)

Anyways, not to waste time, let’s visit the order of the day- that is, a simple method to making and saving more money, using the manual or communal method of garri processing. The birth of this research and solution was as a result of a consultancy work, done recently for a client of mine, who started well with a manual method of processing, until the workers started demanding for more.

As it is, I was paid to consult and find a solution. But on getting there, I realised, after talking with the workers, especially the fryers, who collects just N500/50kg bag, that there’s no way they would not be demanding for more, because after a deduction of transportation and feeding fee from their daily wages, they are left with just less than N300 for frying a bag. Now, who wants to work for just N300 in 40min?

Now, they stopped working and instead of travelling to work at his factory, they would prefer to work at a nearby factory and keep the whole N500.

The owner, left to worry about meeting his demands, decided to review their pay and it was agreed on N800/bag, without choice. The problem is always existing…

•  If the owner stopped working, then his clients would forget him and face elsewhere for their supply. 

• If he increases his price, the clients would still take the same action of choosing a new supplier

Now, this is someone, whom within a year, has built a network of supply and wouldn’t dare to close shop. So, he agreed on the increase, by letting go of N300 from his own profit. This has been going on for a month, until he realised that he was been cheated again, by his workers. What they do now is, fry two bags each per day, unlike the initial three bags.

Initially, each one makes N1,500 per day by trying all they could to fry three bags, but now that they could make N1,600 by frying just two, who wants to work like an elephant? Now, instead of frying three bags a day, they comfortably fry two bags. Infact, they gladly resume by 8am, joked and laugh till 12noon before they start work and closes by 3pm.

You can relate, right?

That is where I came in.

HOW MUCH DOES IT COST TO SET UP A GARRI PROCESSING FACTORY?

With this, my first reaction was to tell him to buy the automated machines, but that was a mile of solution for someone who is trying to grow. To get just an automatic fryer and the peeler and washing machine would cost him N1,150,000 for the standard size or N900,000 for the smaller options. And he wasn’t prepared for that.

It is a well-known fact that setting up a garri processing factory, using automated machinery is cheaper to run, less messy, faster, modern but expensive.

But the cost of buying and installing a first grade stainless steel machinery for an automated system, to produce just 10bags of 50kg/day, from our stand, will cost you N1,970,000 for machinery and N197,000 (10%) for installation (slightly negotiable). 

Contact garriguy for breakdown.

While the cost of buying and installing a first grade stainless steel machinery for a manual or communal system, to produce just 10bags of 50kg/day, from our stand, will cost you N1,270,000 for machinery and N127,000 (10%) for installation (almost not negotiable). 

Contact garriguy for breakdown.

These machinery includes a peeling and washing machine, a grater, two pressers, a sifter, a grinder and manual or communal frying trays or automatic frying machine. Of course, the manual or communal system would exclude both the peeling and washing machine and the automatic frying machine.

SEE PICTURES, PRICES AND CAPACITIES OF OUR STAINLESS STEEL GARRI PROCESSING MACHINERY HERE

But, this is where the headache comes in-

While the owner of an automated factory is worried about just three personnel to operate the whole factory, the owner of the manual or communal system of garri processing must constantly seek for personnel to peel and fry. These could range from 10-15 personnel weekly.

Though, apart from his manager and the assistant, who would be salaried, the peeler and fryers must be placed on wages. Mostly, per work done. And the headache really comes from managing this large numbers of personnel, who are as natural as humans, inconsistent when it comes to loyalty, output or hardwork. In fact, it is almost impossible to see an experienced personnel work with you for a year without disagreement, call for review of payment, rebellion, strike, sabotage and so on.

An owner of an automated factory has no need for experience- just the zeal to work will suffice. His three personnel could be changed in the blink of an eye because anyone would operate these machines, unlike the manual or communal processing which requires experienced personnel to work with always and to change these workers is a stressful work on its own because to find a replacement is not a yards task- try miles!

But, the issue of getting workers is not the contention, but of making enough profit, having to pay so much on processing. But before we can appreciate the purpose of this research, it is best to understand how much it takes, on the average, for each of the automatic and manual or communal settings owner, to get their job done.

WORKERS’ SALARY- AUTOMATED GARRI PROCESSING FACTORY

*Note that this is on the average, you can pay more or less, depending on the area. This cost is excluding of the driver or the security personnel. These are not included because they are not constant. 70% of producers has no driver or security personnel. Producers who requires a driver probably has a truck of their own to buy from farms; and those who require a security personnel definitely knows that they need it.

MANAGER- N40,000

ASSISTANT 1- N30,000

ASSISTANT 2- N30,000

DIESEL FUEL FOR PEELING MACHINE- N72,000/month (1.5 litres/hr, 8hrs/day, 228litres/month @N250/liter)

DIESEL FUEL FOR FRYING MACHINE- N96,000/month (2 litres/hr, 8hrs/day, 384litres/month @N250/liter)

TOTAL- N268,000 MONTHLY

WORKERS’ SALARY/WAGES- MANUAL OR COMMUNAL GARRI PROCESSING FACTORY

MANAGER- N40,000

ASSISTANT - N30,000

MANUAL FRYERS – N120,000/month (for 10bags of 50kg per day, 240bags/month @ N500/fry of a bag)

CASSAVA WASHERS (after peeling)- N24,000/month (N1,000/day)

MANUAL PEELERS- N120,000/month (for 2tons of cassava per day, 24days/month @ N5,000/two tons)

TOTAL- N334,000 MONTHLY

NOW, DON’T START GETTING SCARED OF THESE EXPENSES- WHEN DONE RIGHT, THE PROFIT IS ASSURED. DON’T FORGET THAT PRODUCING 10bags/day, 240bags OF GARRI PER MONTH IS THE SAME AS HAVING A GROSS PROFIT OF N1,440,000/MONTH EVEN WHEN IT IS SUPPLIED AT N6,000/bag

*Note that SOME EXPENSES ARE NOT DISCUSSED as the real dichotomy between manual or communal processing and the automated processing is what is stated above and that was why it was on focus, all other things are constant- like firewood, and other expenses like fuel for sifter and grinder, which are minute and will be the same in both cases.

So, with the calculations above, the automated processing is saving you N334,000 minus N244,000, which is N66,000 every month!

Well, it’s left for you to decide.

Please, do not let us be carried away; the discussion is not about which one is better between the manual and the automatic processing, but about how we can also employ the manual method and if possible, save a lot of money.

So, let’s do this;

First, I highlighted the cost of peeling and frying, which is the major culprit in gulping money from the producer that uses the manual method.

Peeling of 4tons is between N7,000 and N10,000. Anything higher is already killing your profit. Now, for 2tons/day, lets peg it at N5,000

Frying is N500 per 50kg. Anything higher is a dead profit.

Now, for the client, he does exactly 10bags of 50kg/day. Though, we spends N7,500 achieving this instead of N5,000.

On the normal ground, 240bags/month (10bags per day, 24 production day per month) would be N500/50kg x 240bags/month = N120,000/month.

For peeling, the cost is the same- N120,000

That’s a combined cost of N240,000 per month.

Like I said, no need to panic, this is still a good business. The total numbers of bags per month is 240bags- that’s 240bags x N6000 per bag (low price) = N1,440,000

But then, how do we go about this and not get into a fix with our workers?

It’s simple- by placing them on salaries.

But for this template to work, then some conditions must be met.

• The workers must be provided for to live on site (not compulsory. Workers living closer can resume and leave when due)

• You must be sure that production would be daily- any idle day is your loss. Do not forget, they are on salary

• There must be constant supply of cassava

• They must fry at least 2bags of 50kg each

• Business must be ran with records

When starting, this may be a problem because you may want to ask, how you’ll sell off the whole 240bags every month while still fresh and building your supply network. But the truth is, you can work, non-stop for three month, store, sell for the next two month and resume production again. I have seen some clients employ this tactics till date and it works fine.

Now, back to discussion-

Understand that you can never see any worker that can fry for the whole six time a week. The stress will definitely kill her overtime. But what is done is- a set of fryers fry on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays; while the other set fries on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturdays.

In this method, the fryers must also be able to peel. 90% of them actually does. Because most days when the frying job is taken, they settle for peeling.

Each set must consist of 5 fryers. That’s makes the whole workforce of frying and peeling 10.

Now, that’s set A of 5 workers and set B of 5 workers.

When set A fries on Mondays, they peel on Tuesdays and Set B peels on Mondays and fries of Tuesdays.

Now, this is what is obtainable-

Here, we have a total numbers of 10 workers to be paid a salary of N20,000/month each.

That’s N200,000/month; saving us N40,000 every month because we could have paid N240,000/month if we have to pay per day.

Now, this gets better- instead of settling for just for 2bags per day for each fryer, you can push to say two and half bags per day.

As I am speaking, this report has been submitted to my client and would be in effect by December, this year. We are already renovating the residence that workers would be staying and on course to bring in workers from Republic of Benin. He has a lot of supply to meet and cannot wait to be sabotaged again.

Expect a report once the template is in use.

Thank you and good luck..

CONTACT GARRIGUY VIA CALL/WHATSAPP +2347035593128