Industrial machinery is often expensive to buy. But the purchase cost is not the only expense you need to worry about. There are many other costs that are also necessary to budget for before you buy industrial machinery. Below are some of the different costs to consider.  

Insurance

If your machinery gets damaged as a result of a fire or flood, you may not be able to afford to replace it. This is why it’s worth insuring your equipment – this way you can afford to repair or replace machinery if it is damaged through no fault of your own. Insurance costs can vary depending on the cost of your machinery. In some cases, commercial property insurance may be able to cover contents like machinery. Some insurance schemes may even be able to cover general repairs and maintenance, but these are generally more expensive and not always worthwhile. 

Training

Employees may need to be thoroughly trained to use machinery – and this training could cost you money. In some cases, workers may need to undertake a course to be licensed to use machinery. While you may be able to hire employees that already have this licence, it could be hard to find such employees when operating certain niche equipment. Therefore you should be prepared to put new recruits through training and to pay for their course if necessary. 

Maintenance

To keep machinery working properly, it needs to be well maintained. For some machines, this could include a maintenance schedule made up of cleaning, lubricating and frequent inspections. Maintenance may be something that your staff can undertake, but for some machines you may be better off outsourcing professionals to service them. You’ll also have to factor in the cost of any cleaning products or lubricants that need to be continuously used and topped up. 

Repairs

Almost all machines will experience wear and tear over time. Before machinery fails completely, it’s important to schedule any repairs that need doing to parts that may be heavily worn. You can identify these heavily worn parts through regular inspections. Various parts ranging from spray nozzles to die blades can be found online. Sourcing these parts yourself could be cheaper than relying on a repair service to source them – however, this does involve knowing exactly which parts are damaged. When outsourcing repairs, make sure to shop around for repair quotes if you already know what the problem is. 

Energy costs

Finally, you need to factor in the energy that your machinery will consume. Modern industrial machinery tends to be a lot more energy-efficient than machines from 20 years ago. That said, some machines can still be very expensive to run. A few examples include wood pulping machines, blast furnaces, chemical processing machines and large cement mixers. Make sure you are prepared for the energy bills that come with running these machines. In some cases where machinery can be powered by electricity, bear in mind that it could be cheaper in the long run to invest in solar panels so that you can power your machinery with free energy from the sun. You could also consider using an energy broker to reduce costs.