OEM parts or not?

LANGGUTH –AMERICA                                                 Blog:  AUGUST  2011

What are OEM parts?  Parts might look alike but have modifications which make them unique for a specific application. We at LANGGUTH have solenoid valves and electrical parts in our machines which are modified for our needs and our specific application.

Many times I visited customers who  complained that the parts do not last long enough. When I inspected them, I found that they were aftermarket parts and not made for this application. Someone was ordering them because they  thought  “I can get this cheaper and save money for the company.”Good intention but bad results.

The loss in production time, the frequency to replace this “cheaper” part make this a very expensive venture. The person ordering the aftermarket part (Purchasing department) does not even get to know the problems. They often find out by accident that they have to buy this replacement part more frequently than the OEM part. In the day to day hassle this is frequently  overlooked for a long period of time. The operation cost of the machine is going up, the down time is going up and the waste coming out of the machine increases. Nobody wins and the cheaper part is much more expensive at  the end of the day. Operating personnel is the first to notice the changes but they may  also be the last someone in management is listening to. This is the main reason problems drag on for a long time and nobody does anything about this.

Don’t get me wrong here: I do not mind if a ball bearing or a seal is replaced with a locally bought part as long as it is the same quality and meets the same specifications. It is just not a practical choice to replace critical functioning parts with aftermarket parts and then blame the manufacturer for a poorly performing machine.

Regular service and proper parts will keep peak performance up.

Dieter Vogelsang

Sales & Engineering Director

LANGGUTH AMERICA Ltd.

LANGGUTH AMERICA Ltd. April Blog

The green movement in the packaging industry.  

We hear many things out of all different corners what to do to reduce waste or our carbon footprint. We at LANGGUTH AMERICA Ltd. must be ahead of our time. We believe that for years we have started at the basics. If a machine is idle, we have implemented power saving possibilities which include the heaters going to a power saving mode and other motors can be switched off during the idle time. This no doubt, cuts down electricity consumption.  Another way to save on electricity is to have the proper size motor for the load it has to carry. Oversized motors may seem good but can be very costly over the lifetime of a machine.

Reducing waste is another area of interest. We have often been praised from our customers that it is so easy to set up our machine and that they do not waste labels during set up. Waste is expensive and will get even more expensive in the future as we run out of places to dispose of it. 

In some areas, packaging designers go overboard to come up with fancy styling and use shrink or pressure sensitive labels where a paper label would do the job just fine.  The cost of applying a shrink sleeve is very high and the energy it takes to shrink it to the surface is enormous. Steam or heat is created to shrink these labels onto the surface.  Yes, it makes sense in some areas but not in others and the same is true for pressure sensitive labels.

We should all look at the options we have and decide on what makes sense and not on what is possible. The payback is often substantial  when we start at the bottom such as fixing leaks in air lines,  shutting  off machines not in use and switching off lights not needed all day.

Look at the whole package when buying new equipment and ask the right questions. A good deal can get very expensive over the lifetime of a machine if areas of consumption are not considered.

To save the environment is not free, but it will pay back for all of us in the long run.

Dieter Vogelsang

Sales and Engineering Director

LANGGUTH AMERICA Ltd.