WARNING: IF YOU BUY COAL BASED ON PRICE, YOU’RE BLEEDING MONEY

It has been a while, I write an article for Linkedin, but this time is worthed to illustrate avout hw cheap coal is bleeding your forecast and ruining your operation.

Every time you buy coal, you look for the lowest price. Your supplier offers you a "great deal," but when the shipment arrives... problems start.

?? Your operation turns into chaos: the coal doesn’t perform as expected, combustion is inefficient, and unexpected residues appear. Your maintenance and operation teams are deality with extra tasks impossible to comply with and costing you more than expected.

?? Maintenance costs skyrocket: more shutdowns, higher expenses, and bigger headaches.

As plant manager you begin thinking that your equipment or your team are a complete disaster.

?? The finance team pressures you: "Reduce costs," but how can you when you're spending more fixing issues than on the initial purchase?

After a while financial area begins to comfront you against the forecast and you just have thousand proble,s.

This is the vicious cycle of buying coal based on price instead of value.

And if you stay in it, you are losing money and efficiency.

?? The Trap of Low Prices

Buying the cheapest coal seems logical… until you realize that this "savings" is eating away at your profitability.

Why?

? Inconsistent Quality → Cheap coal can vary from batch to batch, affecting combustion and efficiency. And you would prefer to have a reliable and consistent coal to work in your coal facility.

? Excessive Residues → Uncontrolled ash and sulfur mean more clean-ups, more maintenance, and higher costs.

? Operational Failures → Overloaded equipment, dirtier systems, and more labor hours to fix everything.

? Higher Regulatory Risk → Does your coal have unexpected contaminants? A mistake could cost you environmental fines.

If you don’t have clear criteria to evaluate coal, you're buying blind. And with every purchase, you could be getting anything.

Your supplier promises quality, but without technical data, you are gambling with every order.

??? How to Break the Vicious Cycle and Buy Smart

Here’s the key: it’s not about paying more, but about buying strategically.

?? Buy Coal for Value, Not Price ??

This means:

? Knowing exactly what coal you need → Not all coal is suitable for your operation. Identify the critical parameters for your plant. Identify the perfect ingredients for your coal and match with the coal available in your location.

? Negotiating with data, not promises → Make your supplier guarantee quality with well-structured contracts. Considering the ingredients of the coal in your contract from te beginning.

? Ensuring quality before receiving the material → Demand samples, technical analyses, and key metrics.

? Maximizing efficiency from the purchase → Less waste, lower maintenance, and greater operational control.

And this is where I invite you to buy coal for value instead of price, if your buy coal for a thermal plant, cement plant, brick factory, or steel mill, this idea could be a game-changer in your way to buy coal and save tons of money and time in your coal facility.

If you keep buying based on price alone, you continue losing money on every ton.

?? Are you ready to change that?

?? Sign up in my website and turn your coal purchase into a strategic decision.

?? Buy smart. Buy for value. ??

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