Total Cost of Ownership: The True Cost of Welding Materials

By Chuck C.

When customers purchase welding materials, the cost per pound is typically a key consideration. There’s nothing wrong with that. After all, higher costs mean lower profit whether you are building a minivan or fixing a rock crusher. However, when it comes to maintenance welding, there are many significant costs involved, and the cost of welding material is only a very small part of the total cost of the repair.

A common term used by procurement experts is called the “total cost of ownership”. This concept stresses the importance of calculating the total cost of owning and operating a piece of equipment over the course of its useful life. When equipment is in the field working, it is performing its job and making money for the owner, but when repairs or maintenance are needed then there are several significant costs to be added to the calculation:

• Downtime: For every minute your equipment isn’t working it is costing you money and reducing productivity. There is a real cost to that lost productivity. If you are a business owner that depends on your equipment, then getting your equipment back to work is the highest priority.
• Labor: Every time equipment breaks or requires maintenance then labor is required. Labor is expensive, and not always available when you need it. If you can decrease the frequency of your repairs, then you can save considerable costs.
• Replacement part costs: Extending the life of your equipment greatly reduces the total cost of ownership. Generally speaking, it is much more expensive to replace your equipment than to repair It.

So, where does the cost of the welding material enter into the equation? The reality is that the cost of welding materials is just a small fraction of the total cost of the repair, less than 2%. While downtime, labor and replacement parts make up the other 98%.

In making the decision which welding material to use for a repair, you shouldn’t be basing your decision on the cost of the welding material, but rather asking yourself if the repair will be successful at reducing the total costs of owning your equipment.

Rockmount welding alloys are specifically designed to produce the highest quality repairs in the toughest of welding conditions. Our products cost more than the standard fabrication alloys that can be bought at your local welding shop, but they work a lot better and will greatly reduce the downtime, labor and replacement part costs associated with repairing and maintaining your equipment. Ultimately our products save your business significant amounts of money.

To help paint the picture, here’s a great testimonial from the field:

“I am the owner of a construction company in Florida. One day my guys had a Bobcat loaded on the trailer ready to be at the jobsite at 7 AM when the mechanics realized one of the hydraulic lines was cracked. They called a number of places to get a new part with no luck. A new one was four days away. Now it was 10 AM and I had four guys standing around looking at my broken Bobcat.
I decided to bite the bullet and rent a Bobcat for three days at $400 a day when the Rockmount representative came in. We told him about our problem and said he could help. He pulled some Gemini/G out of his bag, told us to grab a torch, and we fixed the line right there. My mechanics had never seen anything like that. The whole repair took about five minutes and the guys were on the road in 30 minutes.

Rockmount saved me that day. They sell great products and know what they are doing. Their stuff costs more than what I buy downtown but their products, knowledge and service sold me. They saved me the cost of renting a Bobcat and from losing a job and a customer too. All in all, about $3500.”

Evans Construction – Florida

We know that maintenance welding products cost more than standard fabrication products, but that small price increase is offset thousands of times over by the savings gained when your equipment is confidently running, and your employees are productively working.