The High Hidden Costs of Fork Truck Maintenance Driving Fork Truck Free Landscape
What most manufacturers and distribution centers are quickly discovering is how critical it is to consider more than the initial price tag of a fork truck. The sticker price, in fact, represents just a small portion of the total cost of ownership according to Ed Brown at Topper Industrial. The acquisition cost is only about 10 to 20 percent of the total cost of the forklift truck. The Pep Boys, a $2.1-billion automotive-aftermarket retailer based in Philadelphia, PA, knows that well. When the company purchased six forklift trucks in 2003, Schneider and his staff, considered not only the initial purchase price but also the costs of delivery, taxes, insurance, maintenance, operator training, downtime, and “end-of-life” disposal.
Instead of saving money up front and getting a false sense of economy, many large companies are looking at the longer-term cost of ownership, and choosing the fork truck free environment.
Industrial truck prices range from $3,000 for a manually operated “walkie” to $100,000 for large, specialized equipment such as a turret truck. Most, however, will fall in the $15,000 to $30,000 price range.
The actual price depends on the details. A forklift with a 5,000-pound load capacity and a four-wheel, internal combustion truck with pneumatic tires costs approximately $20,500; the same truck with air-cushion tires runs about $18,000. The price for a 5,000-pound, four-wheel electric truck with battery and charger, by contrast, is approximately $25,000.
The High Costs of Maintenance Driving a Forktruck Free Landscape
A significant portion of fork truck costs are related to maintenance and repairs. At first, one may think that a forklift maintenance lift would only be used for major repairs such as removal or repair of electric motors and transmissions. Shortly after receiving a lift truck, mechanics discover a wide variety of expensive and time consuming preventive maintenance and routine repair tasks. Brake jobs, mast repairs, as well as incidental repairs, such as leaks and loose wire brushes are vital for safety, yet with a high dollar cost. What should be routine maintenance and inspections will pinpoint loose or worn parts before they fail and cause costly downtime.
A typical manufacturing plant in the automotive industry (or Tier 1 supplier to the automotive industry) can expect to spend the following maintenance costs for fork truck maintenance (see below). It makes the cost of a $30,000 piece of equipment much more expensive and explains why Fork Fruck Free is urgently needed.
Axles & Motors 2,900 hours
Mast Repairs 496 hours
Leaks and misc. 620 hours
Total Hours 4,016 hours
Labor Costs $40.00 per hour
Total Cost $160,640
*Based on 40 fork trucks per plant
Posted by Jillian Burrow, Marketing Manager for Topper Industrial – Material Handling Solutions
Visit Topper Industrial at MODEX 2016. To view video, go to: http://www.modexshow.com/attendees/youroneminute.aspx.