Greetings! Spring is here and in the USA, it's time to plant cotton.  I hope this all goes well for all of you and that you have all you need to have a good crop.  While that cotton seed is going into the ground, make sure to get your Vandy Ribs ordered.  We have all models in stock as well as wearplates.  If you need any replacement ribs, just call Chris or Tammy at CNC Performance Engineering.  The number is in the contact tab on this website.  Vandergriff Ribs have been the gold standard for over 25 years.  Many try their best to copy it, but they seem to miss the boat when it comes to performance. The Vandy rib has been made from start to finish in the USA.  The quality shows.  Most ribs continue to be manufactured overseas. Some even come from Pakistan, a nation that routinely harbored terrorists during our involvement in Afghanistan.  The Vandy rib is proven over time. Some are still running after 15 years.  I would say this is a great return on your investment.

I made a little video to a song I wrote called "King Cotton."  I will share the link with you here.  

www.magisto.com/video/aUEXJVMTETwhWxFhCzE?l=vsm&o=w&c=c

Good luck, and I hope all regions that grow cotton have a very productive, fruitful growing season.

As of right now, we have a good supply of all models of Vandy Ribs. If you are considering our rib, you need to get your order in to ensure a timely delivery.  I hope the past season went well for all of you and the prospects of this upcoming season look even better. Call Chris or Tammy at CNC Performance Engineering, 704- 495-0296.

Wishing all cotton ginner's a great 2021 season!  Here is a little video for ya! Click the link!

youtu.be/0AYU7eoOiQ0

As we roll into June, I hope everyone has had good luck with planting and the crops are off to a good start. The weather is certain regions of the country has not been as cooperative as many would like.  Out here in Central California, we are in a bad drought and water is becoming more and more of an issue. 

Chris at CNC informed me that he has the rib inventory built back up after an early season run on our inventory.  He also has a good supply of replacement wearplates available as well.  I would like to remind you that we made a tweak in a critical area of the rib that is going to help with little seed loss. We experimented with this is Australia.  The results were good.  If you need to order some ribs or wearplates, call Chris or Tammy at (704) 495-0296.  They will get you fixed up.  In the meantime, stay cool and watch that cotton grow.

Loyd Vandergriff
​June 2021

Anxious to get rid of your old gin stands because you want to keep up with the fads and current trends in ginning?  I am sure you know it is an expensive proposition to do that with 12 foot wide gin stands running up to 300 HP motors.  And your new gin stand cost is just the beginning.  What you are about to venture into next is a potential nightmare, and at the same time a dream for salesmen of the big manufacturers of equipment. Why?  With 12 foot wide gin stands,  they will try to sell you 12 foot overhead and new bigger lint cleaners. Your drying system will not be adequate for the increase in the volume of cotton running though the system.  You will need bigger heaters and fans and more horsepower. For sure, modifications to your press, or even a new one.  You will most definitely need a bigger check book.  The question is, do you really need to do this?  If you are a smaller grower-farmer-ginner, the answer is probably not.  You can convert your existing gin stands to narrower saw spacings. (we can do this) and make sure you are running good ribs to stop nagging performance issues with your gin stand.  Three to four stand plants are very efficient from both an energy and capacity point of view.  Good drying and pre-cleaning are essential here as well.  So before you run your credit card bill up to the max on a new plant, consider fine tuning your existing plant and ride out this new wave of "ultra expensive" big gin stands.  

This Consolidated 164 is a work horse.  Take the foreign made ribs out and put a good Vandy rib in it.  Its performance will improve.  Same for the 198.  We also make ribs for the 184 and 222 gin stand. Why get rid of that 222 when it will gin 27-28 BPH?  If you have Lummus or Continental Gin Stands, at least make sure it is running the Vandy game changer rib.  It will boost your capacity and improve turn out.

Vandergriff Ribs
Your gin stand will thank you for it.

Loyd Vandergriff
April 2021

In the last blog, I talked about the importance of accuracy and strength when it comes to gin ribs.  I wanted to elaborate a little more on this.

For years, (since the 1980's) the standard saw spacing in gin stands was the one used in Continental 161, Lummus 170 and Consolidated 164.  Other companies used this same spacing.  Their older model gin stands had an even wider saw spacing.  Then in 1997, A.L Vandergriff converted a Continental 161 gin stand to a 181 at Elbow Gin in California.  This gin stand with this new spacing, ran relatively unnoticed until approximately 2005 or so.  Then, it caught on like wild fire.  All companies begin to convert and build their new gin stands with this "Elbow Gin" spacing.  Of course once the saw spacings are narrowed, the gin ribs must be as well.  This means a narrower rib must "hold up" under the pressures caused by increased horsepower, and increased volume of cotton in the roll box.  With this new dynamic, your gin ribs better be strong and accurate. Ribs that have been manufactured using the casting process fall short. Saw spacings have become even narrower.  Now you are dealing with a very thin rib that must hold up to the pressures of extreme horsepower and again, more volume of cotton in the roll box. (Some companies address the issue of seed discharge with mixed results, but the volume of cotton in these long roll boxes is still, very heavy)  With this current situation, it is imperative to have strong and accurate gin ribs.  Some companies have made some strides in improving their ribs to get them to hold up under these conditions.  If you are going to gin with these new saw spacings, the Vandergriff Rib will meet all the criteria to allow your gin stand to perform without rib issues.  The forging process we use allows our forgings to simply be machined down to the proper specifications.  Chris Nachtmann of CNC Performance engineering, and his family have been involved with this for over 25 years. They know what they are doing.  From the design of the tooling for the forgings, to all the programs for the CNC Machines, they have developed it. Chris is the absolute leader in the industry when it comes to CNC machining as it relates to gin ribs. I can not stress enough the need for strength and accuracy of your ribs with these narrower saw spacings.  With less room between ribs, saws can easily get into the ribs.  These new spacings most certainly push the envelope as to how narrow you can actually go. Their success ultimately hinges on a rib that will respond to the challenge.  That rib is of course, The Vandergriff Gin Rib.  The leader in the industry for over 25 years.

Loyd Vandergriff
March 2021

The Problem of little seed varieties.

Over the past few years, little seed varieties have become a pain in the ass for Cotton Ginners. I wrote an article addressing this concern several years ago.  The basic premise of it was that "the gin," is the last person consulted when changes are made outside their operation, but still bears the brunt of the change. This was the case with the little seed varieties.  Today,  the little varieties of seed persist, and with that...the problems.

Over the past couple of seasons, we have worked with an Australian ginning outfit to help them with their problem of losing little seed. I studied this problem diligently for a long time and came up with an idea that I felt should really help in this area. We applied this change and the results were well received, and little seed loss for all practical purposes was eliminated.  Given this success, we decided to apply this change to all models of our Vandergriff Gin Ribs for this upcoming gin season. If these little varieties of seed are still causing you grief, consider our newly modified rib. Not only does this modification help, but of course you get the rest of what comes with the Vandergriff Rib, superiority in performance across the board. 

Vandergriff Inc. is the only company to use a "forging process," to ultimately get the finished product.  This forged rib comes from 1018 USA steel, not cheap foreign steel.  It is machined with CNC equipment, to get the industries most accurate,  strongest rib on the market today.  These bigger wider gin stands on the market today have narrower saw spacings which means more ribs and more saws. So to get the stand to operate a peak efficiency, much more horsepower must be applied to the roll box.  This puts extreme pressure on the gin ribs.  This is where the Vandergriff Rib shines.  Ginning under these type of conditions.  

Competitors are constantly making changes to their rib models, some on a yearly basis, to try and compete with the Vandergriff Rib. If little seed varieties are still a problem for you, consider the Vandergriff Rib.  If your ribs are a maintenance nightmare,  you need the Vandergriff Rib.  Your ribs issues will be behind you, and you can focus on others aspects of your ginning operation.

Loyd Vandergriff
March, 2021. 

I would like to take this opportunity to wish all customers and friends of Vandergriff Inc., a very Merry Christmas. I am hoping the new year will be a much better one with vaccines on the horizon.  I hope everyone will be able to get a good crop planted this spring and your yields will be fantastic.  Click on the link for a little video I made for you.  

All the best,
Loyd Vandergriff
President, Vandergriff Inc.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=46vvEefYB7M

We are rollin into June. Here comes the heat.  I hope the cotton crop is coming along well. We seem to have opened up enough to let this happen. There is some optimism beginning to show about the upcoming ginning season.  We have plenty of Vandergriff Ribs for you.  Don't settle for "Chinese Ribs," or foreign made ribs when you have an American company that clearly makes a superior product.  You will get very tired of spending money on new saws because your ribs failed.  The downtime and cost to change out saws can easily pay for a set of our ribs.  Then you are finished with that nightmare.  If you are running gin stands with "the narrowest saw spacing in the industry," you especially need Vandergriff Ribs. These narrower saw spacings require strength and accuracy.  If you don't have these two components, then you are in  trouble. Some of you are and have been.  We can help.

Have a great summer. Stay cool and stay safe.
​

Vandergriff Ribs have been the leader in gin rib technology for 25 years.
American Ingenuity. American made. 
Why are you running ribs from China?