Independent Focus

Some of the major crane and hoist service organizations in the US are owned and controlled by hoist manufacturers that would rather sell you their equipment than fix what you already have.  Their advise may really cost you!

If your facility is typical in the US, you likely have hoists and cranes produced by many different manufacturers.  It is a known fact that very few organizations standardize on a brand of hoist or cranes within their plants.  There is a good reason for this.  Unlike people, all hoists and cranes are not created equally.  Each manufacturer has applications that the products they produce are best suited to perform well. 

So, why would a manufacturer want to sell you their equipment rather than fix another's? 

The "offshore" hoist manufacturers with "wholly owned" service operations are driven to convert repair customers to replace existing hoists and cranes with their own brand because it is absolutely in their best interest, but likely not yours!   Some of their motivations:

   1)  They are pushed by their manufacturer-owner to displace other branded equipment.
   2)  They are not very competitive quoting repair parts on other's equipment.
   3)  They make huge margins on their own parts (many parts are marked up 500% over cost)
   4)  They don't have the skills or knowledge to repair "other" brands.
   5)  They have better internal support in repairing their "own"  equipment.
   5)  Replacing equipment takes less skill & knowledge than properly performed repairs.
   6)  Once they have their equipment in your plant, they are "locked in".

The next time your service organization wants to replace an hoist with one produced by their hoist manufacturer parent, have an independent service organization review the situation and provide a second opinion.  You may find that you are much better off to repair than replace!