The question you should ask yourself before procuring any machinery
The Indian laundry market is flooded with imported machines alongside the Made-in-India products. While machines are being purchased on the performance and the quality output of the machine, one critical part that has added to the woes of the purchaser is the availability of spare parts.
Every machine has its unique spare parts; thus making it mandatory for the purchaser to go back to the manufacturer every time a replacement is required. It gets all the more complicated when the machine has been directly purchased from abroad or even through a supplier in India. To procure a spare part from abroad takes days, months… and the machine remains idle until it arrives. This is a big loss to the operator. Even so when the spare parts are available with the local supplier, the rates are highly discouraging.
“I have 8-10 imported machines that are lying idle because I can’t get spare parts for them,” laments Ninad Bhatt, Director, Cleanteq. Hence, every investment made in procuring laundry machines should consider the following points:
- What after-sales service is available through the manufacturer?
- What spare parts will need replacement in a year?
- Can any other brand of spare parts be used as a replacement?
- The cost involved in making this purchase directly or through the local supplier.
- The life of the machine and the overall likely spend on its maintenance against its output.