STUBBORN ECONOMY PUTS PRESSURE ON MACHINE SHOPS

The continuing economic environment is giving the mechanical and industrial sector a few grey hairs of its own with many organisations battling to remain competitive.

The operating environment is forcing them to be ultra vigilant about costs, resource management, productivity and service and they are having to be very innovative in their daily operations.  And for many businesses like EPM, a company involved in welding services in Perth, this means paying extra attention to not only making sure that they meet their customers’ needs – they actually exceed them.

This may mean looking at things like hydraulic cylinders (used by many different industries including mining and materials, petrochemical, gas supply, construction, transport, utilities, agricultural, subsea, water treatment etc) and advising clients on whether it’s more economical to repair or replace them.

In some instances, machine shops and welding services companies simply don’t have the wherewithal to survive the brutal operating environment and they lack the experience, the flexibility and the vision to see it through.

Look at it this way…..  OEM (original equipment manufacturer) parts can cost up to 50% more than precisely machined replacement parts.  That’s obviously good news for organisations looking to cut their costs – but not every machine shop has the capability to manufacture parts to OEM standards.

In the same vein, in many instances, it is possible to repair hydraulic cylinders and hydraulic rams rather than replace them – but that also requires sophisticated cnc machining and technical expertise – which not every machine shop has.  Hydraulic cylinder repair and reconditioning can be a cost-effective way of extending the working life of your equipment.

So what’s the outlook for organisations in the industrial and mechanical sector in this tough economy?  Entities both large and small – need to find the most cost-effective and productive solutions – and for a machine shop in Perth like EPM, that means being innovative, proactive and versatile.