While we’d love it if everyone bought new mixers and blenders all the time, the truth is it’s not always necessary.
In fact, there are a few situations where it makes more sense to refurbish an older machine. If you are on the fence about buying new or refurbishing, here are a few things worth considering to help you make a decision:
When Space Limits What You Can Do
Is your equipment situated in a less than ideal spot inside your facility?
For a variety of reasons, sometimes the location of a mixer or blender can be more of a hindrance than a help. Sometimes it’s because maintenance needs aren’t taken into consideration in the first place. We’ve seen several examples where a simple part replacement was made more complicated and time-consuming because other equipment was in the way and had to be dissembled.
There may be disruptive railings or other equipment downstream that can make a simple repair four times longer to fix. Maybe your process has changed to where loading and discharging material is no longer as easy or efficient as it once was.
If your equipment is still relatively new, this is when refurbishing may be the smartest and most cost-effective solution.
When You Spend More Time Making Repairs
Do you feel like you are spending a lot more of your time and money on parts and labor?
Maybe you are subcontracting maintenance tasks because it’s become too overwhelming for your staff to deal with. Or maybe downtime is starting to trend upward due to the increasing frequency of repairs.
If that’s the case, then you may want to consider giving your equipment a makeover. A knowledgeable aftermarket parts supplier with the right resources can restore your equipment to an OEM level of quality — at a fraction of the cost.
When Staffing Needs Change
Finding and retaining skilled personnel continues to be a challenge for the manufacturing sector. Employee turnover and a smaller labor pool means your staff may either have less time or not be as familiar with your equipment, which can lead to equipment neglect.
If you find yourself in this situation, there may be options available where you can upgrade your equipment so that it requires less labor time to operate and maintain.
When New Equipment is Prohibitively Expensive or Hard to Get
In an ideal world, we’d buy everything brand new whenever we needed it.
While there are a lot of benefits to buying new, such as having the latest technology and lower cost of ownership over the life of your equipment, making that type of long-term investment is not always feasible.
For one thing, large capital expenses can come with a lot of hoops to jump through and take a long time for funding to get approved. Even enterprises with the capital to spend money can encounter difficulties, such as supply chain issues, which can delay new equipment purchasing.
In these cases, a refurbishment can make a lot of sense. Retrofits and refurbishment can extend the lifespan of your equipment and can be completed in less time and for a fraction of the cost of a new equipment purchase.
Want more education on servicing processing equipment?
Check out these resources:
- Read related articles:
“3 Mixers and Blender Parts to Keep on Hand to Avoid Downtime”
“The 3 Most Common Processing Equipment Installation Mistakes”
“The 6 Things to Check Before Ordering Material Processing Parts”
