Replacing a fleet drops costs by one-third.(Great Managers)(Brox Industries finds brand-new equipment cheaper in the long run in terms of maintenance and repair costs)(Column)

Construction Equipment, April, 1999 by Stewart, Larry

In the process of pleasing customers, a paving firm finds that finance charges are cheaper than repair bills Q. How do you justify buying new machines and replacing them before their original components wear out at a firm with a long-standing tradition of buying and rebuilding used machines? A.

"It was unheard of, before, for us to replace a four-to-six-year-old machine with a new one but, financially, it was hard to resist," says Walter Ziobrowski, equipment manager at Brox Industries. "With engine and transmission rebuilds, it was costing us $60,000 to get into the second life of most of our key machines, and we only expect a couple of years of reliable service on a rebuild." With decent residual value, Ziobrowski can replace the same machine...

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