Features

Buying second hand machines can be a great strategy of economically starting your printing company or it can be an option in the event of the main press breaking down. So often printers are able to afford a better brand with enhanced features if they decide to buy pre-used machines than they would if they bought all equipment brand new.

It is really a matter of how confident the printer is of his own skills of refurbishing old equipment and managing to coax from it at least 80% of the comparable production output of new machines.

Deciding where to buy the pre-owned machines from could be challenging though. Purchasing from reputed dealers or even the manufacturers themselves (like Heidelberg for instance) is a safe though more expensive option. While live auctions are easy on the wallet though not without limitations. There have been many instances of used machinery being purchased at a fraction of its original cost. Its all a matter of being in the right place at the right time.

Sandeep Bhatia, CEO-Freestyle Group, Dubai says:"I am an engineer and began my career in 1996, joining my father's business, since then I have been refurbishing machinery, buying old machines and getting them into perfect working condition. I am a staunch believer in refurbished machinery, since one does not have to wait months while the machine is being produced, shipped and being installed, while with old machinery, one can buy it at 30% of the cost and within one month start production- saving cost and production time. Another factor in favour of pre-used machinery, is that in a worst case scenario when the printer does not have jobs for the machine, it does not pinch since you have not invested that much. Agreed, the life of a new machine is much more, but I have a pre-used 5-colour Heidelberg which I bought in 1996 and is still working, there are some breakdowns but as in my case I am an engineer, and I have a team of engineers, we are able to restart any machine within 4 hours. 80% of my machinery is refurbished machines, and only 20% is new. When we started we had 20 employees and a few machines, 2 GTO's couple of die cutters, one polar and SORMZ, most of it second hand. Our policy of refurbishing old machines has been the biggest factor in our growth, today we are 200 employees, 6 companies and a vast range of machinery including Roland 4-colour, SM70, PM 52 and many more."

Adding perspective, Haris Kauth, MD-Master Printing Press says: "People do prefer to buy second hand machinery and in these recessionary times it is possible to procure unopened machinery from Europe machines, but in my opinion buying second hand German machines is fine, but not Chinese or Indian machines. I prefer buying my pre-used machinery from suppliers like Heidelberg or distributors like Giffin Graphics, which could cost slightly more, but at least one is assured of spare parts inventory or a warranty period. Currently my second hand machines amount to less than 10% of my entire equipment. I am actively considering employing an engineer and then buying more second hand machines, so that breakdown can be sorted immediately. So, while it does make sense to buy pre-used machines at one fourth of the cost of new machines, one must not completely depend on these machines, as most clients want goods delivered ASAP, so one must supplement with new machines as well. Of course, buying pre-used machines has its own time saving advantages, because buying new machines means they will only be produced once the order for the machinery is placed, so shipment and installation could take months.

Local distributors of pre-used machinery are of the opinion that demand for second hand machinery in the region in 2009-2010 is seeing an increase. Mahmoud Mustafa, product manager, Heidelberg Remarketed Equipment says: "While, post press equipments have more demand in the second hand machinery market, which is typical of the Middle East region, there has been some used equipment sold in the region due to the slow down but this was with cash ready customers as used equipment generally do not benefit from the finance terms." G. Jayaprakash, general manager, Ali Al Hashemi Trading Est. adds: "Yes the demand for second hand machinery in the UAE, Qatar and Saudi Arabia has picked up. The trend that we are observing is customers are still cautious of new investments and hence after inquiring and being interested in new machinery, have opted to buy second hand machines. We usually finance our customers of pre-used machinery; agreeing to a 2-3 year credit period. The policy we follow is to choose and source better quality machines, refurbish them and sell with a 6-month service warranty. We mostly sell Heidelberg pre used machines dealing mostly with press and post press machines, including cutting folding binding etc. We never source pre-owned machines from China or even the Gulf. The thumb rule we follow is never to buy machines which are operated in 3 shifts, but the more sparingly used machines, which still have a 10-15 year life span. Normally we would never buy machines older than 10-12 years, our cut off year for example would be 1998-99.