Manufacturing equipment 101: What is it and how much does it cost?
What is Manufacturing Equipment?
The role of manufacturing equipment is vital to North America’s economy. The manufacturing sector contributed to over 10% of the GDP in the United States.
Any piece of equipment, machines, or supplies a company uses in the production or manufacturing process of goods is manufacturing equipment.
Examples of common pieces of manufacturing equipment include tanks, mixers, generators, compressors, packing machines, shredders, laser cutters/engravers, or conveyor belts.
As you can tell, the term “manufacturing equipment” covers a wide range of machinery that depends on the industry and the types of goods being produced.
Supply chains that heavily use manufacturing equipment include the following industries:
- Farming & Agriculture
- Food & Beverage
- Cosmetics
- Chemical
- Energy
- Mining
- Pharmaceutical
What’re Some of the Most Popular Pieces of Manufacturing Equipment?
Every company doesn’t need a conveyor belt or a laser cutter. Some pieces of manufacturing equipment are best to acquire for your particular industry.
Tanks & Mixers
Storage tanks are perfect for companies that may need to store large quantities of a product at once. Tanks come in materials such as aluminum, stainless steel, carbon steel, cryogenic, fiberglass, and plastic to maintain product freshness and integrity.
Mixers are useful pieces of manufacturing equipment to create a more uniform material blend. Mixers come in various types like ribbon mixers, continuous mixers, double arm mixers, drum tumblers, homogenizer mixers, paddle mixers, and several other options.
Generators
It’s inconvenient, to say the least for manufacturers if there is a power outage. Operations can grind to an abrupt halt without backup power.
This ensures one thing: losing money (not to mention customer satisfaction with delays).
Generators help as a failsafe for these companies to keep running operations with heavy equipment. If your industry has frequent power outages and/or operates in an area where natural disasters like windstorms or hurricanes are the norm, investing in a generator is a good call.
Compressors & Pumps
Sometimes overlooked, compressors and pumps prove to be integral pieces of manufacturing equipment. They help maintain appropriate pressure levels in machines and heavy equipment so operations can continue to run smoothly.
Packaging Machines & Materials Handling
There are so many products today that need to be packaged and delivered safely to the customer’s doorstep. This is where package machines and handlers come in. These vital pieces of manufacturing equipment help improve the efficiency of businesses and eliminate repetitive tasks for workers. These are some of the most essential pieces of manufacturing equipment worldwide.
Laser-cutting Machines
It’s no secret that lasers are extremely precise. Laser-cutting machines can cut various shapes out of metal, wood, acrylic, aluminum, and more with a simple series of computer inputs. Manufacturing equipment like laser cutters is more accurate and precise than manual cutting.
Conveyor Belts
You can’t think of an airport full of passengers and their bags without imagining conveyor belts, can you? Industries like travel extensively use conveyor belts for both efficiency and safety. It would take a horrendously long time for baggage handlers to move countless bags to an airplane without conveyors, not to mention the amount of extra physical labor.
Conveyors belt lines can be customized to fit your company as well. For example, a warehouse may have conveyor belts moving up and down multiple levels. They do cost more upfront, but they are
Weight Filling Machines
Instead of manually weighing products, a weight-filling machine can fill containers with exact weights. For companies, moving materials is more hygienic as well because of less physical handling of goods. These pieces of manufacturing equipment help increase efficiency for companies needing the accuracy of weight measurements.
Paper Cutting Machines
Another piece of popular manufacturing equipment is paper cutters. These machines cut precisely at high volumes and collect finished cuts in one single place. These are common in places such as paper mills. Paper-cutting machines can make common consumer goods to carry other products like ice cream cups, paper coffee cups, and more.
Good News: You Can Easily Finance Manufacturing Equipment
It’s no mystery that these machines cost a lot to purchase new ones. Some business owners surf classifieds and eventually find used equipment, but reliability is often an issue.
Financing equipment is a safe middle-ground for companies. This way they spend a predictable amount on manufacturing equipment each month while capitalizing from newer, reliable, and efficient technology.
Are you considering financing? Contact us if you’re interested and see our stock of manufacturing equipment to finance or lease.
