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When a company grows, the communication has to grow with it.

Founded in 1945, Illinois-based Georgia Nut Company has continuously enhanced its product line and expanded its food manufacturing and distribution facilities to meet increased demand for high-quality confections and snacks. The company now employs 350 people at multiple locations, miles apart. A new communications system with the capability of linking multiple facilities was required to lay the foundation for continued and accelerated growth.

When handling food, timely utilization of perishable raw materials becomes a critical issue. To sustain continuously improving quality levels and timely delivery, Georgia Nut Company needed a communications system that would:

• Seamlessly link users located in separate facilities.

• Eliminate traditional “dead spots” encountered with other push-to-talk systems.

• Ensure clear audio in noisy environments where constant noise ambient noise is a factor.

• Provide reliable connectivity where production line stoppage is not an option.

• Be easy to use without extensive employee training.

• Offer quick and easy deployment, with minimal downtime.

The solution? MOTOTRBO, a digital communications system with repeaters that are linked via Internet Protocol (IP). Leveraging the existing Internet infrastructure provided an economical way for Georgia Nut Company to meet their communication needs for today and tomorrow.

Another benefit of the MOTOTRBO digital solution that appeals to Georgia Nut Company is the flexibility of the system to easily adopt future applications and features as they become available.

Situation:

• Communication between dispersedly located facilities.
• Clear audio in noisy work environments.
• Enhanced and reliable coverage.

Solution:

• MOTOTRBO professional two-way radios with IP Site Connect.

Results:

• Effective voice and data communication within and between facilities.
• More efficient operations resulting in higher productivity.

“We weren’t able to get the job done with the old system. We needed a communications system that would not only grow with our company – but that would help drive our company’s growth.” - Rick Drehobl, Chief Executive Officer, Georgia Nut Company 

Finding the Sweet Spot

Wide area coverage with clear, highly reliable, easy-to-use communications and a streamlined migration path.

MOTOTRBO, Motorola’s professional digital two-way radio system, and IP Site Connect, an upgrade that increases the RF coverage area proved to be the right solution for the challenges faced by the Georgia Nut Company. Through IP Site Connect, multiple MOTOTRBO systems in different locations are instantly connected without the need to invest in new MOTOTRBO hardware. This was the sweet spot, the surest way for this manufacturer of quality nuts and candies to keep growing steadily and successfully.

In addition, the MOTOTRBO IP Site Connect system was deployed over the weekend, which resulted in minimal interruptions in communication and production.

To connect Georgia Nut Company’s manufacturing and distribution centers seamlessly, MOTOTRBO uses IP Site Connect to link all locations through a standard IP network. Together, they:

• Support continuous voice and integrated data communications between all personnel.

• Connect users across the factory floor or across the country at the push of a button, allowing just-in-time product manufacturing and delivery.

• Enable users to roam without manually changing channels through intrinsically safe MOTOTRBO radios.

• Ensure uninterrupted communication with features such as dual mode analog and/or digital scan and enhanced call management.

The Georgia Nut Company’s new MOTOTRBO IP Site Connect system encompasses two base stations, two repeaters, and 22 portable radios divided into two talk groups – one for maintenance and one for production. Each of the 22 portables has private IDs, making it possible for users to communicate with individual radios or with entire workgroups throughout the coverage area, even when roaming between facilities.  

To provide clear, efficient communications, even in noisy environments, MOTOTRBO uses digital technology, which provides inherently clearer audio than analog. MOTOTRBO works with IP Site Connect at George Nut Company to provide a system that:

• Delivers clean, sharp communications across a greater range, with digital error-correction technology that ensures loss-free audio and digital transmissions.

• Supports added functionality such as dispatch data and enhanced signal calling.

• Uses noise-canceling technology for sharp transmission and reception on loud manufacturing floors.

• Enables GPS location tracking so employees can track assets and personnel which can improve response time and increase productivity.

• Provides text messaging capability that supports data communication between radios for discrete communications.

To deliver reliable, non-stop communications, three shifts a day, MOTOTRBO with IP Site Connect provides George Nut Company with a communication system that:

• Supports consistent voice, text, and data communications across physical barriers.

• Offers extended battery life to ensure constant communication throughout multiple shifts.

• Makes it possible for users to monitor communications from even remote locations.

• Allows administers to access the system via repeater diagnostics and control system utilities. 

“With IP Site Connect and MOTOTRBO, there’s now solid and consistent communication between the dispatcher, mechanics, and production personnel. With this new system, we can work much more efficiently, which translates into much higher profitability.” - J.R. Vazquez, Dispatcher at Georgia Nut Company

“MOTOTRBO has great quality audio and enables us to communicate very effectively from one building to another. The new system is definitely a huge improvement, and it’s going to help us move to even higher levels of efficiency.” - Francisco Macias, Operations Manager, Georgia Nut Company

In a Nutshell, MOTOTRBO and IP Site Connect Are a Winning Combination

MOTOTRBO and IP Site Connect change the way you use two-way radio. It’s no longer just a voice communications tool.

With MOTOTRBO and IP Site Connect, George Nut Company is now able to:

Continue increasing coverage and capacity to stay connected over wide geographical locations. MOTOTRBO is designed for high-traffic communications, and IP Site Connect enables up to 15 repeaters to be networked into the same system. MOTOTRBO manages large numbers of radios by utilizing time division multiple access digital technology, or TDMA. TDMA divides the channel into time slots for greater spectrum efficiency, so that each single repeater can do the work of two repeaters for enhanced call management with private, group, and system-wide calling capability.

Gain higher levels of clarity to support sharper communications and enhance productivity. MOTOTRBO radios provide clearer voice communications throughout the coverage area than analog. When signal strength drops off with distance, digital error-correction technology can accurately deliver voice and data with virtually no loss over a far greater area. MOTOTRBO radios also feature background noise suppression technology, enabling users to hear better in noisy environments. And when used with an IMPRES audio accessory, the radio and accessory communicate to optimize audio output and enhance audio gain capability. Combined together, this ensures maximum clarity, volume, and intelligibility of each communication. 

Provide reliable communications, hour-after-hour, so production and productivity can continuously improve. Digital two-way portable radios can operate up to 40% longer between recharges compared to typical analog radios. And with IMPRES Li-Ion batteries, MOTOTRBO radios can operate up to 19 hours. When talk-time is extended, personnel spend less time returning to base to recharge their radios or pick up fresh batteries.

Enable employees to communicate easily, anytime, anywhere. Using IP Site Connect, users can deploy new MOTOTRBO radios and repeaters, or they can use their existing MOTOTRBO equipment and a simple software upgrade to connect satellite locations across multiple cities, states, countries, or continents.

Migrate to a better system… and keep going. MOTOTRBO functions in analog mode until the organization is ready to go to digital. Because of this, end users can buy a few MOTOTRBO radios and use them in analog mode. As needs increase and budgets allow, analog units can migrate to digital, one talk group or one department at a time. In addition, with a forward-compatible platform, MOTOTRBO lays a solid foundation for future growth, with the flexibility to easily adopt future applications and features as they become available. IP Site Connect enables your organization to extend voice and data communication and project workforce capabilities everywhere in the world.

CLICK HERE to view the portable radio model deployed