Spare Parts and Change Parts – Don’t Skimp To Save Money

We have occasionally discovered that our customers will stop purchasing spare parts because they have found another source that saves them money. In the long run, however, the cheaper parts wind up costing them more money. The parts don’t last as long and/or can cause damage and additional wear and tear on the machinery if they are not made to the correct specifications. You may have heard the expression ‘A penny saved is a penny earned’, well in this case ‘a penny saved is a dollar spent on repair and maintenance.’

We did an experiment at our house with ‘no name’ cheap batteries vs a battery with a well known name and reputation. We put the cheaper batteries in an appliance we use on a timer every day and noted the date they were put in. When they died, we noted how long they lasted, then replaced them with the better batteries and noted the dates again. We discovered that the money we saved on purchasing the cheaper batteries was wasted. We had to replace them twice as fast, thus actually spending more money.

It is the same with machinery spare parts and change parts. When buying them for your company’s machinery, buy only ‘genuine’ spare parts made by the original machinery manufacturer. It will be money well spent.

The author, Marge Bonura, is the Director of Sales & Marketing for New England Machinery, Inc. (NEM). NEM is a leading packaging machinery 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.