You Get What You Pay For
What constitutes value for money when buying an industrial gearbox? It would be a mistake to judge
a product by its purchase price alone.
espite most industries now
seeing growth and recovery,
there has certainly been
a shift in attitudes since
the financial crash of 2008.
Procurement managers and maintenance
engineers are under a greater pressure
to reduce costs. But you can't calculate
savings based on the purchase price alone;
when it comes to value for money the
Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) must be
considered to maximise long term savings.
Finding the balance between initial cost
and ongoing maintenance is the key.
D
Brevini is a leading manufacturer power
transmission and fluid power components
for industry. UK Sales Manager, Dave Brown,
explains how OEMs and end-users can rely
on the expertise of suppliers to ensure they
see the best value for money.
In today's industrial climate it is important
for most businesses to find ways to cut
costs to remain competitive. It's no doubt
that this is a noble pursuit, but it's one that
must be made strategically, with a long
term plan in mind. Yes, it would be easy
to strip back costs in a matter of months
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PECM Issue 18
by specifying only the cheapest available
components on the market; but what
happens the following year when the
components start to fail and expensive
invoices start coming in for maintenance
or replacement parts?
component design and have experience in
finding solutions for the unique challenges
associated with almost every industry
globally.
Of course there's also no point specifying
a component that's over engineered
for an application, as you will be paying
for a level of performance that you just
don't need. The challenge is finding
the sweet spot between purchase price
and performance which will keep the
accountants happy while also ensuring
long term, reliable performance. It's here
that your suppliers can really add value
to their service, if they are able offer
expert guidance to design a solution that
perfectly finds the balance.
If you work with a supplier with this level of
knowledge then they will be able to act as
a partner during the specification process
to build a package which performs to the
precise tolerances of your application.
Whether you need continuous operation
with minimal maintenance requirements,
high-torque loads with resistance to shock
loading, excellent efficiency or a small
design footprint, an experienced supplier
will have dealt with these requirements
before and will have the capability to offer
a selection of different solutions and then
customise the final choice to create a truly
bespoke design.
Brevini, for example, has over 50 years'
experience designing, manufacturing,
installing, maintaining and repairing
gearboxes and fluid power components.
During this time we've provided our
services to every industry you can think
of, from marine and offshore to food
processing to metal production and
to theme park ride manufacturers. Our
engineers are experts in their field of
Of course a service like this will lead to the
initial purchase cost being slightly higher
than an off-the-shelf component specified
and bought from an online catalogue.
However, the extra cost buys you peace of
mind that once installed the component
will provide you with years of trouble free
operation – which will quickly mean it's
paid for itself and is generating tangible
savings for your business.