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The year 2025 was economically challenging for many manufacturers: margin pressure, rising input costs, labor shortages, and market uncertainty. This reality confirmed one key point: the profitability of a production line is driven neither by technology alone nor by performance indicators alone, but by the overall alignment between strategic decisions and operational execution.

In our 2025 article, The Right Choices to Increase Productivity in Your Food Processing Plant, we emphasized the importance of investing in smart automation, line flexibility, data utilization, and internal capabilities. These priorities remain fully relevant. However, field experience shows that in 2026, an additional step is required: turning these investments into concrete, measurable, and sustainable operational gains.

At Storcan, for nearly 50 years, our engineering, manufacturing, integration, and service teams have supported manufacturers across North America on a daily basis. We consistently observe that margin is built at two critical stages: first, at the time of the investment decision, and second, in the organization’s ability to fully leverage its assets over time. Below are our key recommendations.

PILLAR 1: Creating Margin at the Investment Stage

• Clarify the vision before designing the solution: Too many projects begin with an incomplete or unclear vision: poorly defined future volumes, uncertain product mix, approximate space constraints, or the absence of a clear industrial roadmap. This lack of clarity often leads either to costly oversizing or to overly rigid solutions that limit future growth. Profitability starts with a clear definition of requirements over 24, 36, and 60 months. The 5M framework (Material, Machinery, Method, Manpower, Environment) remains a proven reference for identifying root causes of performance gaps and guiding investment decisions. This structured approach helps focus resources where the impact on margin is truly meaningful, rather than dispersing efforts across poorly targeted investments.

• Choosing the right solution, technology in service of objectives, not the other way around: In some cases, achieving growth, quality, automation, or labor-efficiency objectives does require best-in-class technologies. The key is to ensure that the level of technological sophistication is aligned with real operational needs, the company’s growth trajectory, and the expected ROI. The right solution is the one that maximizes overall performance and profitability with a controlled level of complexity, neither overengineered nor under-sized.

• Moving away from a reactive, last-minute mindset: Rushed investments typically cost more and leave little room for optimization. Planning ahead improves engineering quality, secures timelines, and enhances overall project profitability.

• Filtering projects with a target ROI of 24 months or less: In an uncertain economic environment, prioritizing projects with short payback periods strengthens cash flow resilience and accelerates value creation while reducing execution risk.

• Thinking in terms of Total Cost of Ownership (TCO), not purchase price: Purchase price alone does not reflect the true economic impact of an asset. Durability, maintainability, availability, and long-term scalability directly affect profitability over the life cycle of the equipment.

PILLAR 2: Protecting and Amplifying Margin Once the Line Is in Operation

Making the right investment is only the first step. Sustainable profitability is built through disciplined execution, operational rigor, and continuous improvement.

• Using data to drive decisions, not just dashboards: Many plants collect large volumes of data, but far fewer consistently translate that data into operational decisions.

The most valuable indicators are those that enable teams to:

1. Quickly identify dominant losses,

2. Prioritize improvement actions,

3. Measure the real impact of corrective initiatives.

Fewer indicators, better used, often generate more margin than complex dashboards.

• Continuously optimizing through incremental gains: Regular micro-improvements help progressively eliminate non-value-added losses and lock in sustainable performance gains.
• Standardizing to stabilize performance: Standardizing operations through clear, simple, repeatable, and well-documented procedures reduces variability and secures consistent performance.
• Improving reliability through maintenance: A structured preventive maintenance program is a direct profitability lever. It improves asset availability, reduces unplanned downtime, and extends equipment life. Maintenance should be viewed as a strategic investment, not a cost center.
• Valuing progress and engaging teams: Sharing results, recognizing progress, and actively engaging teams embed a lasting performance culture. A profitable line is reliable, stable, flexible, operated with discipline, and supported by trained and engaged teams. Technology only creates value when it is fully adopted and effectively mastered.

Conclusion: Profitability Is a System, Not a Project

In 2026, improving industrial profitability requires a systemic approach:

• Rational and structured investment decisions,
• Disciplined and data-driven execution,
• Pragmatic continuous improvement,
• Durable and scalable equipment,
• Strong team engagement.

For nearly 50 years, Storcan has supported its customers in building sustainable performance and profitability, from design through operations and well beyond commissioning.

If you would like to assess your improvement potential, structure your industrial roadmap, or secure your future investments, our teams would be pleased to connect with you, contact us today.