Meat processor running completely on Linux-based systems
Staff -- Manufacturing Business Technology, 12/1/2003 7:00:00 AM
The Meadowbrook Farms Coop is doing exactly what the brain trust at Sun Microsystems envisioned when it introduced StarOffice, an alternative to the ubiquitous Microsoft Office suite of desktop applications, roughly three years ago.
Based in Belleville, Ill., Meadowbrook Farms operates a plant that processes pork produced by 200 family farms for sale to restaurants, and hotel and grocery chains. Meadowbrook also runs its entire business on non-Microsoft technology.
Meadowbrook uses OpenOffice, a free version of Sun's StarOffice product, for all administrative tasks. That package runs on the Linux operating platform, and Meadowbrook, which is still in start-up mode, is installing a Linux-based ERP system in its plant.
The ERP system was purchased from CSB-System International, a German company with North American headquarters in San Diego, which has had a fair amount of success selling Linux-based ERP packages in Europe.
James Burke, Meadowbrook's CEO, says the CSB package was a natural choice for Meadowbrook because it is used widely in the meat industry, "but having the option of running it on Linux was one more reason to purchase it."
Burke believes Meadowbrook, which currently has 25 users on its systems, has saved at least $50,000 on software licenses by adopting an open-source environment. He also says the choice of Linux, which operates on Intel-based machines, gives Meadowbrook a stable, reliable operating environment at a lower overall cost than the alternative, which for Meadowbrook would have been UNIX.
Burke, who at one time owned an IT consulting firm, says his technology choices don't reflect any disdain for Microsoft. Instead, he says, they were driven by a desire to get both the best technology and the best technical talent at the best possible price.
"When you interview potential system administrators for Microsoft technology, often you are talking to users who taught themselves a lot about the software and may have gotten a Microsoft certification," he says. "With Linux you are talking to people who have UNIX skills, so you know you're going to get high-level administrative talent."
As for the technology itself, Burke says security was a key reason for choosing an open-source operating system. "With an open-source platform, if we spot any potential security issues, we can go in and fix them ourselves," rather than waiting for a vendor to issue a patch.
DFG
| Application | Operating system | Functions |
| OpenOffice | Linux | All administrative tasks |
| CSB-System Int'l ERP Suite | Linux | All production-related tasks |
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