Web Exclusive: If It’s Broke, Fix it Onsite
by Kimberly J. Schwartz
September 25, 2009
A Climax BB5000 Portable Boring Bar repairs pivot points on a Komatsu grader.
Using portable machine tools can aid contractors in minimizing equipment downtime.
Andy Becker, vice president of marketing for Climax Portable Machine Tools, has an interesting perspective to share on how his company’s products are being used by contractors during this recession.
“When a piece of equipment is too big to move to a shop for repair, what we do is make a portable tool to fix the machine onsite.” Becker explains. Climax Portable Machine Tools, founded in 1966, is headquartered in Oregon and sells direct in North America.
According to Becker, the greatest benefit a contractor can reap from using a Climax tool is minimizing the downtime of their equipment. “Everything is done right onsite,” he says, adding this allows for big savings on transportation expenses. And the repairs don’t take a long time to complete. “A lot of our repairs can be done in an hour or less depending on the type of repair we do.”
Becker says, “We sell our tools but right now one of our fastest growing sectors is our rental. In this down economy our rental business is setting records. The primary reason is that a lot of companies’ capital money dried up in the last twelve months. But they can rent tools with their operating funds to keep their equipment ready to go.”
Becker says there are a couple of reasons why renting works well for some users. “They may only have a short-term need or they might want to have access to the latest technologies,” he says. “And in some cases the customer likes to try the machine before they buy it.”
Becker is also happy to report that Climax has benefitted from the ARRA stimulus—the company received a large order this past July from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The order is for a special milling machine that will be used to repair a lock on the Ohio River, and Climax will deliver it in March.
Becker adds that training is a big part of Climax’s operation. In the case of the Army Corps, certain USACE staff members will fly to Oregon and attend a week at the Climax training institute. “We’ll also be sending two senior trainers onsite to train them to use the equipment,” Becker says.
He continues, “Not only do we offer training, but we also are very proud of the fact that we have 365-day, 24-hour customer support. This is especially important to rental customers who aren’t as familiar with the tools, and for those who do weekend work like highway and bridge repair.”
The Climax BB5000 Portable Boring Bar.
He sums up this example: “Using Climax tools onsite, that job can be done in an hour or less. Otherwise you’d have to take the whole thing apart.”
According to Becker, this embodies the Climax mission of bringing the solution to the customer. “The solution is that our tools and training are key to getting a lot more mileage out of the equipment you already have,” he says. “The more you maintain it, the longer it’s going to last. Because we can do the [repair] job onsite, we can save our customers money. By minimizing the downtime, we maximize the uptime of their equipment in the field.”
Kimberly J. Schwartz
schwartzk@bnpmedia.com
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