IMM Field Test: Buying Used vs. Buying New 18763

Business is booming these days and capacity is expanding. Interest rates are low and most molders are buying new injection molding machines. But many molders still believe that they simply cannot afford to buy new. Used machines cost much less and, in the right hands, they can be brought up to speed more affordably than buying new. OEMs argue that new equipment quickly pays for itself by providing better operational efficiencies, quality, and productivity. So which is better, buying new or buying used? To help answer this question, we're launching our first IMM Field Test.

For the next six months, two machines, one new and one bought used, will square off against each other, running identical molds and molding identical parts. For the purposes of the IMM Field Test and for the test alone, Nissei agreed to contribute a brand new 300-ton model FN 6000 hydraulic-clamp molding machine that is equipped with its latest NC9300T controls and a number of options. It will run against a 1982 model-year 300-ton Cincinnati Milacron hydraulic that was bought used for about $15,000. It is safe to say that the FN 6000 costs at least 10 times as much as the used machine. Nissei technical specialists will monitor and analyze the performance of the two machines and their comparative economics. The test will be conducted in the field, under real-world conditions, molding production parts at a 100 percent custom molder with a regional customer base who has always bought used machines. The molder has the option of buying the machine at the end of the six months, or returning it free of charge.

Uptime, energy efficiency, and maintenance test results are what this molder is most interested in evaluating. You might think the older used machine doesn't stand a chance. If you do, you don't know the custom molder involved very well. This shop has proven year after year that "It ain't the car, it's the driver." The molder is Montrose Molders Corp. of South Plainfield, NJ. Montrose Molders is a growing, third-generation, family-owned business that started out in 1964 as a 22-man tool shop called Continental Precision Corp., a division it still operates.

We'll tell you more about the history of the company in the coming months (you can find out more about Montrose Molders yourself by visiting its website: www.montrose-cpc.com), but this much we will let you in on: it's grown from $6 million to $12 million in sales in just the past eight years. In January of last year with a capital investment of $1.5 million, Montrose Molders moved into a new 80,000-sq-ft facility in South Plainfield where it operates 25 molding machines from 30 to 700 tons and from a number of different manufacturers. It moved from an 11,000-sq-ft, 19-machine plant.

All of the company's machines were bought used. For the past eight years, the company has operated debt-free, since it didn't have to make the payments on new machines. It couldn't have afforded to get as many machines as it has now if it had bought new machines. When it came time to grow into the new facility, and to invest in new CNC machines for its moldmaking division, the banks were more than happy to chat with them. Yet, even with used equipment, Montrose Molders has the molding and moldmaking experience, three generations' worth of it, to get the job done right - even the tough stuff. The part to be run by the new Nissei and the used Cincinnati Milacron in the IMM Field Test is a good example.

It's the Air-Stirrup ankle brace from Aircast of Summit, NJ (see accompanying photos). Sort of a cross between an Ace bandage and a plaster cast, the Air-Stirrup secures air bladders between two PP shells that fasten around the heel and the calf with straps and Velcro fasteners. The Velcro attachments for the straps once were applied manually. Montrose Molders designed die sets for the brace tools that mold the tiny Velcro attachment hooks right into the PP brace shells. A special grade of PP was formulated to flow into the many thin Velcro fastener hooks, but still provide the braces with the required strength. Up to 10,000 pairs of brace shells are molded every week.

Aircast's Air-Stirrup braces will be molded on two 300-ton machines, one bought used and one brand new, in a six-month test of machine performance and productivity at Montrose Molders. These PP parts feature tight-toloerance, molded-in Velcro fastenrs.

Montrose Molders wants to know what it can do on this job with a new machine that it can't do with its used press. So do we. By the time you read this, the new Nissei will be up and running in South Plainfield. Which is better, buying used or buying new? We'll keep you posted. The IMM Field Test has begun.

Editor's Note: IMM would like to thank Nissei America Inc. (Anaheim, CA) and its east coast sales representative, Superior Industrial (Flemington, NJ), for their invaluable assistance in this case study.