Should Manufacturer’s Design for ‘Planned Obsolescence’?

When I was a young child, my parents purchased new wall-to-wall carpeting for our living room and dining room. The carpet was a new fabric made by Dupont that was ‘guaranteed’ to last a lifetime and never stain. There were four children growing up in that house. Our parents often entertained and that carpet withstood countless birthday parties, holidays, summer sun, harsh northern winters and numerous dogs. My parents cut and bound the edges of the carpet and moved it to two houses. By the time I was married my parents had finally tired of the carpet that still looked brand new and chose not move it to their retirement home. I think they sold it at a garage sale.

In the meantime, however, within two years of bringing it to market, Dupont realized that selling a ‘lifetime’ no stain carpet was not good business for them. The only reason people would replace it was if they tired of the color. So they stopped selling it – planned obsolescence. Only manufacture consumer goods that can be used up, worn out, or break down, so that the customer must come back after a period of time to replace the product.

We know of some packaging machinery manufacturer’s whose products do not stand the test of time. We have heard the sad stories of new machines that lasted only a few years in actual production before they needed replacement. Fortunately for me, I don’t work for one of them. As a marketing director, I would have a hard time promoting a product that I knew was of an inferior quality. I was very impressed when I first started working at New England Machinery (NEM) to learn how long our machines stayed in production. A few years ago we heard that Schering Plough was finally closing down the line and de-commissioning the first machine NEM ever built and sold. We purchased that machine back from them and proudly show it off. It still runs flawlessly after over 36 years.

In our current tight global economy, production facilities cannot afford to purchase machinery that will not last. They need machines that can withstand 24/7 production runs, offers quick changeovers, can handle a large range of container shapes and sizes, can be run by inexperienced operators, and have the availability of purchasing changeparts to add new products to the line. NEM unscramblers can fill those needs. For more information, call (941) 755-5550.

The author, Marge Bonura, is the Director of Sales & Marketing for New England Machinery, Inc. (NEM). NEM is a leading manufacturer of bottle unscramblers, cappers, orienters, retorquers, lidders, pluggers, pump sorter/placers, scoop feeders, hopper elevators and much more. The company has been in business since 1974 selling to the food, beverage, pharmaceutical, personal care, chemical, household products, automotive and other industries. For more information on NEM, visit their website at www.neminc.com.