In an era where the rapid pace of digitalization intersects with the ancient and time-honored industry of grain storage, navigating the landscape requires a discerning mind that can bridge the gap between tradition and innovation. Adrian Badea, the founder of SiloApp, emerges as a voice of both experience and forward-thinking in this domain. Having his roots deep in the grain handling and storage sector, Badea has observed firsthand the challenges faced by professionals in the silo industry. His endeavor, SiloApp, seeks to address these very challenges by harnessing the power of digital tools to streamline and optimize the traditionally labor-intensive processes. In this comprehensive dialogue, we delve into the nuances of SiloApp, explore the shifting contours of the silo industry, and get a glimpse into the future as envisioned by Adrian Badea. While we often laud the fruits of innovation, it’s equally crucial to understand the fertile ground from which these ideas sprout and the visionaries who cultivate them. Join us as we engage in a captivating conversation with one such visionary.

Can you shed some light on the primary challenges faced by the silo industry that drove you to think about a solution like SiloApp?

I have been working for many years in the Grain Handling and Grain Storage Industry, in Sales or Leadership positions, and I had the opportunity to experience first-hand how the Sales & Quotation process goes. The whole process is exhausting for both the Sales Team and Customer. It implies a lot of back and forth travelling and visits to customers, several engineers to draft the technical solution and months are needed until the Seller and the Customer finally land on the same page in terms of solution and budget. Usually, the process is more or less “manually”, or let’s say offline. Conveying of information within the team is problematic and drafting the technical solution is done more or less manually, by always starting from zero. The whole process is costly and inefficient, leading to costs of thousands and tens of thousands of Euros only to prepare a quotation which, in more than 90% of the cases, will not become a customer order. We, at SiloApp, wondered if there is a way to automate the process in order to cut costs per quotation dramatically and reduce total working hours by providing a technical solution and budget on the spot, right in front of the customer. This way we managed to build a software able to automatically generate Silo Plants drafts, based on customer needs and industry standards within minutes. SiloApp reduces the cost/quotation with 90%, the carbon footprint and overall budget of the Sales Team dramatically.

What’s the broader vision or the core principle behind SiloApp? What change or improvement are you hoping to bring to the industry?

SiloApp aims to become the platform where farmers and professionals meet the equipment producers and exchange information mutually beneficial. We democratize the access to know-how, by embedding the industry standards in SiloApp’s smart design algorithms, thus allowing any user to be able to use the App without the risk of making mistakes. Professionals will be able to draft solutions and budgets from the first meeting with the customers, farmers will be able to design their Silo Plants by themselves and send comprehensive Inquiries, with 3D layouts, Flow Diagrams and List of equipment.