Cultivating Trust: Booming Acres and the Supportive Partnership with SH Scientific
Based in northern Illinois, Booming Acres is a textbook example of how strategic equipment upgrades can pave the way to growth.
Over the course of a year, the company upgraded from rudimentary gas stoves and pressure cookers to a growing set of 150 L SH Scientific autoclaves.
It was a calculated risk that paid off handsomely.
Throughput increased as expected, maintenance and operating costs proved modest, and SH autoclaves became integral to operations.
“Operational in No Time”
In 2022, owner Howard Novak was preparing to move Booming Acres into a larger production area.
Gas stoves and pressure cookers had sufficed, but could no longer keep pace with the company’s growth. The move called for more sophisticated, commercial-grade equipment with room to grow.
Howard reached out to SH Scientific, purchasing an initial 150 L autoclave in October 2022.
Installation concerns vanished when the hired electrician “had no issues with the wiring and was able to get [the unit] operational in no time” (emphasis ours).
Comprehensive Support
After running their first few cycles, Howard and his team had gotten the hang of the autoclave: dos and don’ts, practical capacity, cleaning tips, and so forth.
Howard reports that they “have had very few issues arise with [the autoclaves], all of which have been handled quickly with emails or calls to SH Scientific.” Likewise, when one part finally needed to be replaced, he was reassured to find that it was “extremely simple to do.”
Priding ourselves on support isn’t just a cliché. It reflects everything from obsessively user-friendly and reliable design (which minimizes the need for support in the first place) to a human, onshore support team that’s quick to respond when guidance is required.
A New Level of Productivity
With five units running 2–3 cycles with grain every day, Booming Acres’ productivity has increased several times over while the need for supervision has diminished.
“These autoclaves make processing large amounts of materials a breeze,” according to Howard. Today, the team can “press a button and forget about them, [since] there’s no monitoring required” (emphasis ours).
To Howard’s surprise, the increase in power consumption has been remarkably low. It’s comparable, in his words, “to that of adding a kitchen refrigerator to a house[…] Very much worth the price of switching from gas to electric.”
Building a Long-Term Relationship
That smooth start convinced Howard to fill out the new facility with four more autoclaves. The next unit was ordered in December 2022, followed by another in January 2023, and two more in September 2023.
It’s profoundly gratifying to see our offerings facilitate growth like Howard and team are enjoying.
That’s the kind of lasting, steadfast partnership that we aim to cultivate—whether by supplying your continued expansion or simply helping you make the most of a one-off purchase.
We realize that making the leap to purpose-built sterilization equipment can be daunting. It’s a substantial outlay, a new workflow, perhaps even a new direction for your mushroom growing business.
But as the folks at Booming Acres can attest, SH Scientific autoclaves are high on productivity, low on hassles, and built for the rigors of all-day, every-day use.
In other words: easy to live with.
We’ll leave you with Howard’s own words: “I cannot recommend SH Scientific enough for your autoclave needs. Having the support they offer and the quality offered makes purchasing an autoclave from SH Scientific a no brainer.”
Think an autoclave might make sense for your own operations? Reach out today to learn more or talk with an expert.
