Companies Find Value in Gearbox Replacement

Elk Grove Village, IL August 7, 2011 – With the plastics industry projected to show limited growth, many companies still are looking to expand their business through experimentation of new ideas, concepts and designs. When expansion is necessary, but budgets are tight, used equipment plays a key role. Used machinery is less than 50% of a new piece of equipment.

Studies have shown that businesses that maintain or expand their businesses during an economic slowdown gain market share and emerge stronger when a recession ends.

“More and more of our customers are looking to the used market to expand into new areas or test new product lines,” said Jack Clarke, president of Arlington Plastics Machinery, a used machinery dealer located in Elk Grove Village, Illinois. “Our lab equipment and small scale production lines sell are in high demand.”

The used machinery market is an excellent place to find lab equipment. It may seem obvious to most production managers, that items found in labs like optical comparators and microscopes are found in the used market. But many researchers and product design teams may not know that industry specific items also are available. Small production extrusion lines, lab injection molders, and torque rheometers are some of the items that are readily available used.

After the initial stages of testing, companies are turning to the used market to run their lines without the expense and long lead times of new equipment. If a product requires a short or uncertain production run or lifespan, used equipment can defray the startup costs. Many times the product performs differently in actual production then it does in the lab. By selecting used equipment, individual components of the line may be changed quickly and cheaply. Used equipment dealers may even be able to trade incorrect sized equipment for a correct-sized machine.

One of Arlington’s customers, Alpha Omega Profiles recently benefited from purchasing used equipment to test new product designs on their Alpha Edge Line of lawn edging. “We wanted to experiment with different output rates, and used equipment really allowed us to be cost effective in making the necessary changes to get the product just right,” said Strat Kalamaris, product development manager of Alpha Omega Profiles also located in Elk Grove Village, IL.

Used equipment is a cost-effective way to source machinery in a good economy, but in an uncertain economy its value is even more apparent.

David Pietig pietig@arlingtonmachinery.com 847.956.7300