Why I Tell Buyers to Stop Searching “McLanahan” First (And What To Do Instead)

Honestly, I have an unpopular opinion in the procurement world: you should stop googling "McLanahan" before you know exactly what you're buying. I know that sounds backwards—everyone starts with a search box. But I've been the office administrator for a mid-sized aggregate producer for five years, managing roughly $1.2M in annual equipment and service spend. The biggest waste of time on my desk isn't supplier pricing. It's sorting through search results that have nothing to do with minerals processing.

Type "McLanahan" into Google and you'll see the equipment manufacturer—the one that builds sand screws, feeder breakers, and filter presses. That's the company my plant depends on. But you'll also see a person named Caitlin McLanahan, a fictional pilot named Patrick McLanahan from Dale Brown books, a character named Miranda, and—for reasons I still don't fully understand—Halloween costumes. Somewhere in that mess is a "hawk vs" search suggestion that seems to attach itself to the Dale Brown book Night of the Hawk. None of that helps you choose the right filter press.

Why This Confusion Is a Real Problem

When I took over purchasing in 2020, I assumed a strong brand name would clear up any search confusion. It does not. Search engines don't care if you're in a hurry. If someone searches Dale Brown books Patrick McLanahan, the algorithm brings up reading lists and plot summaries. If someone searches Caitlin McLanahan, they get social profiles and maybe an author page. If someone searches Miranda, they get character references from a dozen different stories. Meanwhile, the actual McLanahan product specifications are buried on page one or pushed below something about Halloween costumes.

What most people don't realize is that search engines prioritize engagement, not industrial accuracy. A popular book series has passionate readers. Halloween costumes have seasonal spikes. A feeder breaker spec sheet doesn't generate clicks from people looking for a fun outfit. So the search results get polluted. That doesn't make the equipment less real. It just makes it harder to find when you don't know any better.

How I Learned to Stop Relying on Search Snippets

I learned this the hard way. A few years ago, I assumed "same specifications" meant identical results across vendors. Didn't verify. Turned out each manufacturer had slightly different interpretations of what a "standard" screw washer should be. We ended up with an order that looked right on paper but required rework before it fit our existing setup. That mistake cost time and money, and it made me look bad to my VP.

After that, I changed my process. Now when I need a feeder breaker or a sand screw, I don't search for "McLanahan" and click the first result. I go directly to the manufacturer's product pages. I look for the equipment category and check whether the item matches my application: material type, feed size, capacity, moisture content, and installation constraints. Then I call someone who has actually worked on these machines. That's when the conversation becomes useful.

During our 2024 vendor consolidation project, I had to evaluate four equipment suppliers on behalf of our operations team. One of them looked perfect on paper—until I checked whether they actually had a service presence in our region. That's the kind of detail that doesn't show up in a search result. McLanahan's global network, with locations in the US, UK, India, and Australia, mattered more than a clever ad.

What Informed Buyers Actually Ask

In my view, customer education is not a nice-to-have. It's how you avoid the trap of searching "McLanahan" and then falling down a rabbit hole about Halloween costumes. If you understand the equipment, you'll ask better questions. Here's the kind of thing I've learned to ask:

• Is this a sand screw or a classifying tank? They're not the same, and the terms are sometimes used loosely.
• What's the maximum feed size for the feeder breaker, and what's the throughput range?
• What does total installed cost look like—including freight, rigging, commissioning, and spare parts?
• What aftermarket support is available in my region? McLanahan has service operations in several countries, but you should still confirm parts availability for your location.

Those questions will get you closer to a decision than any "hawk vs" search. I'm not saying search is useless. I'm saying it's a starting point, not a conclusion.

But Isn't This Just a Google Problem?

Sure, some of this is Google being Google. But the deeper issue is that we use vague brand names as shorthand. "McLanahan" means an equipment manufacturer to people in the aggregate industry. To everyone else, it's a surname, or a character in Dale Brown novels, or a search query that leads to "Miranda," "hawk vs," and Halloween costumes.

That's not going to change. So the fix isn't to complain about search engines. It's to be specific about what you need. When you call a supplier and say, "I'm looking for a filter press for a coal prep application," the conversation starts with your application, not with the search phrase. You don't need to explain who Patrick McLanahan isn't. You just need to talk about the machine.

This approach worked for us, but our situation is pretty specific: mid-sized producer, repeat orders, domestic logistics. If you're dealing with a remote mining site or complicated international shipment, the calculus might be different. You'll need even more documentation and probably more local support. Your mileage may vary.

Bottom Line

McLanahan the company is not a book character, not a Halloween costume, and not a person named Caitlin or Miranda. It's a manufacturer with a long history—more than 180 years, according to their own corporate history—and a serious global service network. The more you know about the equipment you're buying, the less likely you are to get distracted by the noise.

I'd rather spend ten minutes explaining the difference between a sand screw and a feeder breaker than waste three weeks chasing the wrong vendor. An informed customer asks better questions and makes faster decisions. In the mining and aggregate industry, that usually means fewer delays and fewer unpleasant surprises.