Like New, Only Better
A major purchasing decision is represented by material handling systems ( conveyors, sorting systems, shelving, etc. ), irrespective of the manner in which you cut it. The wrong decision can be costly, and making the right decision can be difficult, largely because of the nature and number of the solutions.
Obviously, top dollar could be just paid by you for new equipment. You know precisely what you’re getting, assuming the gear works up to requirements. Your only concern is the possibility that you’ve paid more because of it than you actually had to.
You could conserve money (or at least spend less, which will be not always the same) by buying used equipment. Now all you have to worry about is dependability-or, at worst, the expense of changing the apparatus if it doesn’t do the work it was designed to do.
Finally, there is reconditioned equipment. This saves some cash, but not as much as buying used. On another hand, it will perform a lot better than used, or even as well as new. That is the idea, however you cannot really be sure what was done to the gear besides a fast paint job. Preferably, renewed equipment should be the perfect compromise between the price savings of used equipment and the quality of new. But, unless you know precisely what to look for, you’ll have trouble predicting performance and testing it against the expense of the apparatus.
Luckily, there’s a fourth option which attempts to eliminate this uncertainty by specifying – and promising just what has been done to used equipment before it is once again offered available. “Renewed” gear permits informed buying. You can calculate, just like new equipment, the value of the purchase predicated on performance versus cost.
Who Do You Trust?
Needless to say, anybody can slap a label on some old bit of renewed gear, so you have to think about who you’re working with. How do they “renew” equipment? How can you understand what is completed to the gear? What’s the dealer going to do about it, if the gear does not per-form as stated?
You know when possible, make use of a material handling equipment supplier. Barring this, it is important to identify a dealer with experience in repairing the kinds of equipment you are considering, and who posseses an established reputation in the market for standing behind the products and services they sell. Speak with other customers. To be on the safe side, try to speak with clients that aren’t on a list given you by the supplier.
Visit the supplier’s facility, if at all possible. Do they have the engineers and skilled store personnel to examine, test, improve and retrofit the apparatus? Do they make the product cosmetically attractive, but neglect the excess work needed seriously to revitalize the equipment’s performance. Do they’ve a procedure which includes extensive evaluation and testing? Do they provide a guarantee that the equipment will perform as advertised?
The Renewal Approach
Value is added by a true equipment renewal program to the equipment at every point, from disassembly at its previous place until it is installed and operating in your facility.
Disassembly. Substance handling equipment undergoes wear and tear for the duration of its working life. Regular maintenance and intelligent operation of the gear can hold this to the absolute minimum, but all this great work can be wasted by careless disassembly. Before accepting the equipment as probably green, the equipment must be examined by the supplier on site, along side any maintenance records. A lot more critically, a seasoned, reliable crew must certanly be used to transfer it to the restoration center, classify, palletize and tear the system down.
Assessment. As stated earlier, a specific amount of wear and tear is inevitable. Some is appropriate, and is one reason that renewed equipment costs significantly less than new. Extortionate use, however, is not acceptable. Some aspects of a system may be denied, or sold as used at a lowered price. Frequently, the wear and tear is concentrated in easily changed components such as for example seals, rollers, bearings, an such like. A good renewal program can replace crucial areas in this category even if they still look good.
Assessment. Restored equipment must work around the features of the equipment when it had been new. (It might not hold to those specs as long as new equipment would, but that’s why you’re paying less.) A good repair program can check each component, so that you know precisely what performance to anticipate from the reassembled process.
Design. You most likely won’t be by using this equipment exactly the way the last owner did. A good design and engineering team will help you integrate the gear in to your current system.
Aesthetic Work. You’ll get a paint job with any renewed equipment, however the color on restored equipment is not there to full cover up flaws. It is simply there to enhance appearance.
Reassembly. Restored equipment may well not assemble as easily as new, although it is simpler to work well with than used equipment. A certain amount of additional adjustment is going to be required, along with the re-drilling of holes and other minor adjustments, to retrofit the device so it integrates effectively. A trained team can be quite a real advantage here.
Coping with Restored Gear
Restored equipment will continue to perform within spec for a quantity of time (less than new, more than used). Nevertheless, this is simply not an easy “you get what you pay for” bargain. Truth be told that most material handling systems have a small shelf life. Increasing volume changes in business processes or materials handled, the option of new material handling technologies-all of these can and is likely to make your new program obsolete at some time in the future. Why purchase more time than you’ll need?
Of course, using this factor requires careful planning. It is sometimes a fairly easy matter. For example: your current system is completely inadequate for your needs and absolutely must certanly be replaced. On another hand, you’re planning on consolidating material handling operations at a single service in four years. Paying extra for a brand new program that may last 10 years just makes no sense. Renewed is the obvious choice.
On another hand, it’s not necessarily an either/or question. Frequently, some even used equipment and combination of new, restored makes probably the most economic sense. For example, you might need to benefit from recent developments in control systems. You may want the newest, quietest and fastest-rated conveyors for the high traffic, populated areas. Get new in such cases. Restored, on the other hand, could be the most useful answer for the bulk of your conveyor element. Used or traditional reconditioned equipment may be sufficient for many or section of your rack demands.
The purpose is that you ought to examine each of your options, realizing that complex systems may benefit from a combination of these options, and then make the very best choices to accommodate your requirements, your budget and your future plans.
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