There are many factors that have influenced our decision before we decided to take on and become a dealership for CEMSA in Namibia. Due to years of extensive cleaning that we have successfully completed within some of the top fishing factories, we were advised to use a leading brand of machinery in the market to be able to complete the tasks at hand. This brand of machinery which we have been using until late has done well, but at a huge cost.
These were some of the factors that we faced when the recommended machinery was put into use once it was purchased. Initially, the cost of buying the machines was reasonably priced within the different ranges of the specifications that we needed. What we needed was a high-pressure machine that could distribute anything from 150 – 250 bars, yet at the same time would be able to do foaming and lastly, that would be able to work long hours without fail. Since then, with regards to the foaming, we have completely changed from wet foaming to dry foaming and have had separate foaming systems installed on-site. When starting off in the beginning we found that the chemical injectors to the machines were a complete unit to the cylinder head and that the chemicals that we were using were too strong for the material of the chemical injectors/cylinder head, therefore when the chemical injector stopped working or needed to be replaced the whole cylinder head had to be replaced as well. We then changed the setup and started using bottle foamers which were expensive initially but were cheaper than replacing a whole cylinder head. With the bottle foamers, we had a problem with time restraints as the changing from the lance to the bottle foamer and vice versa was extremely time-consuming. Overall, it worked, yet replacement parts were extremely expensive on the bottle foamers.
We found that over time parts became extremely expensive, materials on the parts changed and did not last as long as at the beginning (specifically wear and tear items). One of the huge areas we learnt a hard lesson in was the environment it worked as well as the daily operations of the machines. Despite training the robustness of machines was not great causing these machines to be very high maintenance. Initially in the beginning we would have the machines serviced at a dealership but became too expensive as the intervals of services were between 1 to three months at most on 20 different machines. Labour ranged from N$450.00 up to N$650.00 per hour despite the pricing on the replacement parts. We opened our own workshop and employed qualified technicians. We then faced another problem with service parts, despite the astronomical prices on the parts generally the waiting period was 6 – 8 weeks. This meant ordering in bulk on the wear and tear items and anything other than that we had machines out of operation for that period.
We started sourcing a reliable machine that could replace our existing machines, and that is when we came across CEMSA. They have a standing reputation, are less than a third of the price on service parts that last, machines that are robust and have truly exceeded our expectations as they have been crafted especially for our environment. What made this product so much easier and cheaper to work with is that there were separate parts and not one complete unit – E.g., the cylinder head is not part of the chemical injector, or the pressure valve is not part of the cylinder head thus making it a lot cheaper and easier to replace only the part that needs replacing instead of replacing a whole cylinder head. We have installed a box machine that runs 12hrs + a day and have only done oil changes over the last year and replaced one pressure valve, this machine has replaced three other working machines and maintenance, in general, is very low. Parts are easily accessible, and the pricing of the initial machine is competitive in the market. We have complete faith in the product and that’s why we decide to invest in partnering with CEMSA to become their dealership for Namibia. Since then, we are in the growing stages and have a qualified workshop available for services at reasonable prices.
Please don’t hesitate to come and chat with us even if it is just to get more in-depth information with regards to the products available in the market and pricing thereof.
Written by: Ryan Wolmarans Workshop Manager from Baywash Cleaning.