CHEAP MAY END UP BEING EXPENSIVE

Vandcenter Syd (VCS), a member of the Leading Utilities of the World network, is close to seeing a set of Landia mixers complete 30 years of service.

Furthermore, VCS Denmark, which has supplied the city of Odense with clean drinking water since 1853, says that this firmly underlines the long-term capital and low maintenance benefits of purchasing equipment based on lifetime costs.

Ib Pedersen, who is a Team Leader for the operation of wastewater treatment plants at VCS, comments:
 
"In the water/wastewater industry, there is a direct correlation between price and quality, so it is vital to analyze life-time costs.  Here in Denmark, pumps and mixers are amortized after 20 years, but in the UK, for example, the typical period can be as low as only five years. This results in inevitable replacements and therefore much higher ongoing costs. It is very bad economy having bought something which appears to be a ‘cheaper’ product”.

"Back in 1989, 16 mixers from Landia were delivered to us. Fourteen of them are still running fine in our sludge tanks – even the original stainless steel propellers from the last two, which have been installed into other agitators.

Ib Pedersen continues: “It is indeed possible to set criteria for service and set requirements for information expected life-time costs when preparing tender documents. I would like to encourage my colleagues in the industry to remember that and think long-term – and in addition to prices, it is also very important to look at service as well.
 
"We have been offered cheap products from the Far East, and when we asked about service, we were told that there was a man in Germany who could come and visit us if needed. It is simply not good enough. We emphasize the importance of back-up from a company such as Landia, who is committed and able to provide support to their customers.

In nearly three years, the service team has been here just twice a year carrying out basic maintenance work and very rarely having to repair anything”.

Landia’s Area Sales Manager, Jacob Eybe Holdgaard, continues:

“We are pleased to provide guarantee on our mixer propellers throughout the lifetime of the product, because we know that our products are of high quality and are very unlike some of the cheaper materials being offered, which are quite frankly designed to fail”, he said.

“Theoretically, we could earn more money by delivering products that have to be replaced more often - but that would be a very short-term strategy. We maintain our worldwide position by selling products that truly stand behind the quality. We are a manufacturer – not a spare parts company – and that means volume, for example, the increasing amount of equipment that we sell to China.  Chinese customers could buy much, much cheaper mixers and pumps at home, but more and more wastewater companies become aware of the lifetime costs and start to embrace it.

He adds: “It is very encouraging to see such a huge country as China, adopting this approach from a small, yet uncompromising nation as Denmark, which is so passionate about achieving exemplary water- and wastewater treatment technology.  Our belief in providing first-class, long-lasting products is unbreakable.  We see manufacturers in some parts of the word promote designs that are all about the outside of the mixer or pump – but we focus very much on the hardware that is inside.  For us, there must be quality in every detail.  In this way, our customers will avoid having to upgrade or replace the equipment after only a few years”.