Procuring equipment for your facility is a critical step for any manufacturing organization. Your equipment is the backbone of your entire facility, and how effectively it functions correlates with your business objectives and the overall efficiency of your plant. As all processes stem from your equipment purchases, the ability to select the right equipment is foundational. Since this is such a critical process, it is in a manufacturer’s best interest to turn to an organization that possesses a robust physical inventory to serve as a guide and strategic partner throughout the equipment procurement process.
Strained Purchase Conditions — Tight Timelines
Equipment procurement often comes into conflict with a constrained timeline. In some cases, market conditions can suddenly create the need for rapid increases in capacity, and the drive to realize that increased capacity before a competitor can have a huge impact on both the overall capital expenditure and the speed to market. This can increase the pressure on an already stressful purchasing situation where small differences in cost and time variables have significant consequences. Secondary equipment suppliers are positioned to alleviate this stress in a way that new equipment manufacturers are not by having inventory on-hand for inspection, ready to be shipped immediately.
At Federal Equipment Company, we form relationships with our clients to put them in the best possible situation to succeed. We are trusted partners for many reasons. In addition to helping you procure the right equipment, we offer decontamination services, and troubleshooting and training for solid dose equipment. Additionally, our close relationships with OEMs allow our customers to get the most out of their equipment purchase — including installation, parts and service. Our comprehensive physical inventory eliminates the need to source different pieces of equipment to start a plant or complete a production line — we likely have what is needed in stock, as our warehouses are home to thousands of machines.
Controlling for Delivery
When dealing with new equipment, the average equipment delivery time can range anywhere from six weeks to 24 months. Under pressure to get a production line up and running or replace a broken machine, this can prove extraordinarily costly.
This timeline can become even more extended and expensive when dealing with OEMs outside of the United States. Issues with customs and international tariffs are routine — manufacturers seeking to buy equipment may not be familiar with how demanding this entire process can be. It is important to remember that all of these logistics must be dealt with before any machine reaches the facility; these are all issues that a manufacturer may encounter before sorting out installation, inspection, operation, handling and routine maintenance.
In contrast, at Federal Equipment Company, our average turnaround time on equipment is just one week after payment is received. Rather than having to stall operations and wait for a machine to arrive over a time period that can last up to two years, Federal Equipment Company is able to get all purchased equipment straight to your plant at the speed of business.
Meeting Your Budget Requirements
Beyond the time aspect of procuring new equipment, there is a corresponding financial constraint that is unavoidable. New machinery is more expensive on a base level. In many cases, there is a balancing act between the costs of an equipment upgrade and the ultimate benefits to efficiency that will result from the improved process, so finding the best price for the relevant equipment may determine the feasibility of the upgrade. Those who work with a secondary equipment provider like Federal Equipment Company can expect to save substantially on cost. Procuring machinery from used equipment dealers can save an average of 50–75%, which can mean the difference between procuring an entire production line versus just one machine. Additionally, achieving maximal efficiency from a production line may require sourcing low-cost redundant equipment for critical steps to ensure that production need not halt because of regular downtime or repairs or the use of the critical equipment for another process.
Trusted on All Fronts – Knowing the Buyer and the Seller
At Federal Equipment Company, our showroom floor is just one component of our business that sets us apart in the equipment industry. We are able to implement our expertise in equipment acquisition, which we have been building for over 60 years. We are a reliable equipment partner, as we source the best, most versatile machinery that comes on the market. By doing this, we ensure that the machinery we stock is not only the best value but also the highest quality.
As we have been in business for so long, we have access to some of the best-known names in the industry — and they consistently turn to us as dependable leaders in procurement. In this respect, we are able to vacillate between equipment sellers and buyers, easing the transactions on both ends. Working with us is like dealing with an OEM by proxy, but with a reduced installation turnaround time and lower cost, among other things. A long-term strategic partnership with Federal Equipment Company can further reduce lead times on equipment purchases — from months to weeks — by eliminating the delays associated with qualifying and selecting a new OEM for each specific purchase. As we operate so closely in the two worlds of buyer and seller, we are confident that there is no one in the secondary equipment business that has comparative experience or can match our knowledge of either the equipment or the industry.
Working with a strategic partner is crucial to procuring equipment speedily. We encourage all manufacturers to visit our showroom in order to experience the breadth of our stock first hand. We also understand the value of meeting with a potential partner one-on-one, in order to get a sense of how dealing with an equipment seller like Federal Equipment Company can positively influence the speed of installation and contribute to increased turnaround, while alleviating the stress, pressure and the unknowns that arise when relying on an OEM for pressing equipment needs. Ultimately, Federal Equipment Company works for and with our clients, because when you succeed, so do we.