Did I strike a good deal in buying the tube filler?

Cosmetic, pharmaceutical, personal-hygiene sectors are growing by leaps and bounds. Tube filler is an integral part of most of the process lines. While going for a new machine do we get impressed by the sales spiel, or take it upon ourselves to check the bona fide of the machinery manufacturer? Let alone the tube filler, Cartoner and Bundler are linked to the tube filler in tandem. Even a minor problem in any of the machines in the entire process line will affect entire production..

While buying, we look at quality of the machine and after-sales service. This can be counter-checked from actual users. A visit to the manufacturer's factory is a must. A tête-à-tête with the design / service team will go a long way in learning the strength and weakness of the manufacturer.

While considering capacity, stress should be on the quantum of rejections and the production loss due to frequency of machine breakdowns.

Now comes the affordability factor. Importance should be given to payback period rather than landed cost. The term 'discount' is a misnomer; it is another term for 'price reduction'. Which honest manufacturer will do so unless he is facing dearth of orders due to the exorbitant price tag or technical inferiority?

e.g. A tube filler costs $ 100,000/-. It produces 50,000 filled tubes / shift of 400 minutes. Three shifts will be 150,000 tubes. Suppose, the selling price of each tube is $ 2/-. With a profit margin of 10%, the income from the tube filler amounts to $ 60,000/- per day i.e. $ 9,000,000/- per annum of 300 working days.

Another tube filler costs $ 80,000/- but produces 40,000 tubes per shift i.e. 120,000 per day. The annual income will be $ 7,200,000/-. Out-put considered in both cases is at 90% efficiency during continuous operation.