Buying New, Used or Rebuilt – Which Hydraulic Press Option is Best For Your Organization?
Whether we’re thinking about a car, a home or a new piece of equipment for our business, the thought process behind that consideration is often similar. Should I buy a new car and avoid the hassle of potential repairs or do I opt for a used vehicle with low mileage? What about the car I already know and love – maybe it just needs a few tweaks and it’ll be better than ever before and at significantly lower cost. It’s hard to know what the right decision is but from a business perspective it might be more clearly defined. There could be certain accounting advantages to purchasing a new hydraulic press or you may find the exact model you need and only two years old, saving you a significant sum of money. Today we’re looking at the advantages of buying a new, used or rebuilt hydraulic press, helping you determine what’s the best option for your organization.
Upgrade Anyone?
In no specific order, we’ll start with rebuilding and offer these considerations when it comes to whether to repair or rebuild your existing hydraulic press equipment.
Speaking about our own brand, we know a Macrodyne hydraulic press is built to last and is worthy of repair. We might be biased but your initial investment probably still has lots of life left in it and/or just needs to be reconfigured to meet new specs for the jobs you’re currently working on. We can help. Actually, we can help even if you don’t have a Macrodyne press because we have the skills and expertise to repair or rebuild a wide range of both North American and offshore hydraulic press equipment.
First Consider:
- An inspection. Our multi-disciplinary team has the knowledge and skills required to assess, repair or rebuild your equipment. Start with an inspection so you can make an informed decision!
- Does your press simply need an upgrade? We can modernize or do a complete replacement of the hydraulic or control systems.
- Upgrades that are in keeping with new safety requirements might be all you need to bring your press up to current OHSA, ANSI and CSA Z142.10
- Programming services are also available and may be the only upgrade/retrofit your press requires.
Repairs, Rebuilds or Buying Used?
There are some practical questions to ask yourself starting first with budget and considering any time constraints you might be under.
Purchasing new equipment sometimes takes time in addition to a large outlay of cash. The logistics of selecting, building and installing new equipment may simply prove impossible – or at least “impossible” right now. A repair might be your only option, at least over the short term.
Additionally, Macrodyne maintains easy access to an inventory of hydraulic press parts and electrical system components making repairs and/or rebuilds possible under almost any circumstances.
Equipment location may also be a factor in whether a repair or a replacement happens. Some presses are so large, buildings are built around them rather than a press installed after construction is complete. If your press is in a less than ideal location and manoeuvrability is an issue, a repair makes more sense than a replacement.
When it comes to rebuilds there is no specific industry standard by any means but consistently over time it IS fair to say that if you are looking at as many as 5 major repairable components (or more) this is the time you might want to consider a complete rebuild, particularly if some of those components are the “big ones” such as bearings or brakes. Another factor in the rebuild or repair scenario might also be the disassembly of your press. If you have to disassemble much of the press to get at the parts that need repair – once again, it might just make good sense while the machine is apart – to rebuild afresh knowing that you’ve got new quality parts in place to sustain your older press for another few years to come.
Buying New or Used?
Finally, when is it time to consider a new hydraulic press? Again, there are many factors that go into making this decision. Certainly, your budget and time constraints will once again play a role, as will the type of work you are doing. If the production line has changed significantly and faster cycle times are necessary to keep up – new machinery might be a good idea. Programmable control panels with logic controllers will ultimately lead to performance efficiencies you just might not be able to achieve with a rebuild or repair. There could be some financial accounting advantages to buying new once depreciation costs are factored in or perhaps there are government programs in place that offer incentives, lower interest rates or other special features when a business buys new equipment. It pays to investigate your options. You’ll have to then weigh them against the cost of downtime for installation including the costs of transportation too. New might very well make good fiscal sense but if you’re losing too much time on the production floor, all the financial benefits become a moot point which brings us, finally, to used equipment.
Much like the car comparison we shared way back at the beginning of this post, when you buy used, you might not always be certain of what you’re getting. You could simply be buying someone else’s problems. That said, if you have access to maintenance records that turn out to be meticulous, if you know, like and trust the company selling the press or the service technicians that have worked on it – these all could influence your decision positively. When it comes to industry – there are also often manufacturing equipment auctions where you’re able to pick up excellent equipment at great prices. The unpredictable nature of this option is probably its biggest drawback.
There’s a lot to consider when you consider whether to buy new, repair an old press or search the used hydraulic press market for “just the right press.” Looming time constraints caused by equipment failure can make the decision process that much more difficult. Losing production time and having to ask employees to stay home, missing customer deadlines and more – each might have a negative influence on your ability to make a good decision. A good maintenance plan that is proactive is always a great idea and will certainly help prolong the life of your press – whether it’s new, used or recently repaired.
Finally, it might also be time to take an inventory of your existing equipment and start asking yourself some of the questions we’ve posed in this blog, so you’ll be better prepared when it’s time to ask – “New, Used or Rebuilt.”
